Metal Pusher: The Last Master

Metal Pusher: The Last Master

Ten years ago, Mustafa Zeki passed his master's examination as a metal presser. “Since then there has been no master in this beautiful profession,” says the now 52-year-old. Since January 1st of this year, he has taken over the traditional metal spinning shop from Wilhelm Seidl, who was the third generation to run the Viennese company founded in 1908 and has now retired. “It’s a really nice change for me,” says Zeki. “I have been the hacker here for over 20 years, now I am the owner and managing director.” His son-in-law supports him with the long overdue digitalization of accounting and customer contacts, and his former boss helps out with bureaucratic matters. The only employee he employs is Oliver Wagner, a 30-year-old trained metal worker. The workshop is located on the 4th floor of the historic workshop courtyard, which was built in Vienna Mariahilf in 1907 under Emperor Franz Josef. Time seems to have stood still here. On shelves behind the ancient, multi-ton machines for turning, pressing, drilling, folding and grinding metal, there are countless shapes made of steel, wood or plastic over which various metals are placed and pressed into the desired shape.

Headlight housings, air filters, intake manifolds, hubcaps, brake fluid containers and entire exhaust systems made of sheet steel, aluminum or brass are made in Mustafa Zeki's metal spinning shop. Private collectors or museums such as the Hausberger Vintage Car Museum in Puchberg am Schneeberg are among his customers. “We work from drawings or simply from broken parts,” explains the metal pusher. The negative molds he makes are often only needed for a few parts, then they end up in one of four magazines that are filled to the ceiling with molds. Zeki's customer file also includes well-known names such as the Augarten porcelain factory, for which he produces, among other things, brass stands for table lamps. And the statue of the Amadeus Award is also made in the historic Viennese metal workshop. Business is satisfactory, although irregular. Mustafa Zeki: “Sometimes it’s too little, sometimes it’s too much, but the bottom line is that it works well.”