Dieter Ramsauer

Ramsauer was the son of Franziska Ramsauer and toolmaker Hermann Ramsauer, and grew up in Velbert. He attended elementary school and completed an apprenticeship as a toolmaker after leaving school. This was followed by engineering studies at the Technisch-wissenschaftliche Fachlehranstalt (Tewifa) on Lake Constance.[1]

Ramsauer initially worked as a design and sales engineer and set up his own engineering office in 1973.[2] He designed components for a metalworking company for which he worked as a sales engineer. Whilst working for the company he developed numerous patents, which were then transferred to the company on the basis of a licensing agreement.[3]

In 1991 he initially founded Dieter Ramsauer Konstruktionselemente GmbH (DIRAK) with 15 employees, but this now operates internationally including in the U.S., China, Singapore, India, the Middle East, and others.[3] [4] As the company continued to expand, Ramsauer built headquarters in Ennepetal-Oelkinghausen in 1998.[1] The product range of the company, which is also represented at trade fairs, consists of approximately 4,500 catalogue items in the fields of closure, hinge, and connection technology.

Ramsauer developed a modular rotary latch, as well as a modular rod lock system.[5]

This was followed by the development of the swing lever latch and by a new type of modular rod lock system that can be mounted outside the seal in the folding area of a control cabinet.[5]

Ramsauer's DIRAK-SNAP-Technology (DST) enables simplification of assembly. This invention earned him a nomination for "Engineer of the Year" 2007 from the U.S. trade magazine Design News.[4] DIRAK-SNAP-Technology also received the Product of the Year 2005 award from the trade magazine KEM Konstruktion.