1908

Wilhelm Fette founds a toolmaking company in Hamburg Altona.
First patent for an innovative "Hanseatic keyway miller" and "Hanseatic slot hole miller".
1916

Hans Kruse becomes plant manager and general manager.
Commencement of hob manufacture.
1917

Hans Kruse initiates the founding of the German Precision  Tool Association (DVP).
The company Fette becomes a founding member of the "Standards Committee for General Machine Construction" which is established in the same year.
1918

The product line is expanded, and the custom manufacture is changed over to mass production.
Spiral bits, counterbores, and screw cutting tools are added to the manufactured line.
1925

Fette employs 50 people.
1926

Fette becomes a member of the Champer of Industry and Commerce and thereby completes the transition from individual unit production to industrial mass production.
1935

The plant operates its own rapid steel hardening shop, one of the first to be used in toolmaking anywhere.
1936

The company has 500 employees.
1938

The red FETTE precision tool catalog appears for the first time. It was so comprehensive, and so modern in its design, that it remained a much-used reference work in wide circles of the industry for the next 20 years.
1941

Introduction of Hobs with indexable high-speed steel inserts.
1942

Death of Wilhelm Fette, the company's founder.
1945

End of the Second World War, disassembly of the plant. Discontinuation of tool manufacture. Fette takes up machinery repair work. This leads to the establishment of a machine construction department.
1948

Development and manufacture of tablet presses.
1949

Tool manufacture begins again.
1951/52

The production of new thread rolling heads for shipless thread cutting under the company's own patent begins.
The designers in the firm develop the new high-performance screw taps Markant (Distinctive) and Rasant (Rapid).
1952/53

All of the operations move to Schwarzenbek.
1958

Management and staff celebrate the company's 50-year anniversary.
900 people are working for the company.
1960

Fette has 1000 employees.
1970

Construction of the first high-speed tablet presses.
1971

Due to his age, Hans Kruse sells the company Fette to Saarbergwerke AG.
The sole probrietorship Wilhelm Fette becomes a GmbH (limited liability company). The CEO is Karel Klaisner.
1983

Operation of the first TiN coating plant starts.
1985

The first computer-controlled press with inprocess monitoring for unmanned operation is made.
1988

The shareholders of the Leitz Group acquire Fette GmbH. Leitz is the successful world market leader in the development and production of precision tools for wood and plastic processing.
1990

The vacuum hardening shop starts operation.
1991

The interchangeable die disk for high-performance tablet presses is introduced. Extension of the coating capacity with a combined TiCN/TiN plant.
1992

Opening of the Tools Technology Centre for seminars, training, demonstrations and trials.
1993

Founding of the Leitz Metalworking Technology Group.
Certification for DIN/ISO 9001.
1998

Redesign and renovation of the staff canteen.
The coating plant is fitted with the most up-to-date equipment. Usable for all PVD coatings.
The first precision press for metal powder is constructed.
1999

The first washeable rotary press is built. Enlargement of the building and extension of the capacity of the tableting production sector.



2001

The Fette division of tablet presses changes its name to "Fette Compacting".
2003

Development of the patented die table segments.
Completion and the inauguration of the new Hall 2a.
2004

Construction of the first non-European production facility of Fette Compacting in Nanjing, China.
2005

Expansion of the global LMT presence with sales and service companies as well as automotive support centers in Europe, the USA, China, and India.
2007

Award for the "intelligent Rolling Head" ES16 during the EMO exhibition.
2008

100th anniversary.
Dedication of the new Innovation and Training Centre "LMT Academy".
Fette employs more than 1,000 people in Schwarzenbek.