About Der Konstrukteur

Der Konstrukteur

Der Konstrukteur is the design-engineering magazine for Germany's mechanical-engineering constructors: the Fachmagazin "Am Puls der Technik" (at the pulse of technology), published by the Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH (vfmz) in Mainz — eight print issues a year plus special issues, with the portal derkonstrukteur.de carrying the daily news flow. Its formula — "Erlebe die Faszination Technik für Konstrukteure" (experience the fascination of technology for design engineers) — serves the Konstrukteure, developers and technical decision-makers of the Maschinenbau: the drive technology, the fluid technology, the automation, the materials and joining technology, the design elements. A member of the IVW audit, the magazine combines the print issues with the e-paper, the social channels and the special editions "Antreiben – Steuern – Bewegen" and "MOBILITY."

Overview

Der Konstrukteur is the working magazine of the design engineer. The format: eight print issues a year (the 01/2025 issue at 14.50 euros, the annual subscription at 99 euros) plus the yearly special issue "Antreiben – Steuern – Bewegen" and the twice-yearly "MOBILITY" special — the print program for the constructor's year. The portal derkonstrukteur.de extends the rhythm into the daily: the "Menschen & Märkte" news, the specialist departments, the interviews.

The readership — the Konstrukteure, the developers, the technical buyers of the mechanical and plant engineering industry — the people who design the machines. The editorial departments map the constructor's world: Antriebstechnik (drive technology), Fluidtechnik (fluid technology), Automatisierungstechnik (automation), Software & Prototyping, Werkstoff- & Verbindungstechnik (materials and joining technology), Konstruktionselemente (design elements), Verbindungselemente & Befestigungstechnik (fasteners) — plus the rotating Specials: Intralogistik, Hygienic Design, Sensortechnik, Robotik.

The editorial personality — per the VDI Verlag eLibrary's summary — is the application-oriented preparation for smart design solutions, with people playing a large role: "Menschen spielen eine große Rolle, sie machen die Technik greifbar" (people make technology tangible). The "Der Konstrukteur persönlich" portraits (the product developer, the department head), the "Klartext" opinion pieces (AI in design), the interviews (the igus additive-manufacturing head on four materials at once) — the magazine shows personality. The IVW membership documents the audited distribution.

History

Der Konstrukteur is published by the Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH of Mainz — the Mainz specialist-publishing house (vfmz.de, 06131/992-148) behind a portfolio of technical B2B titles. The magazine's imprint history — the issue numbering (01/2025, 09/2022, 07-08/2023), the price development (13.00 euros in 2022, 14.50 in 2025), the IVW membership — documents a continuously published design-engineering title through the 2020s.

The 01/2025 issue — the year's opening — deserves its telling. The January/February 2025 issue (44 pages, 14.50 euros) shows the magazine's machinery: the editorial ("Innovation bewegt was"), the Werkstoff- und Verbindungstechnik pages, the Hannover Messe preview (partner country Canada), the EPLAN partner network news, the Automatisierungstechnik section (implementation, challenges, rotary pulse), the Antriebstechnik pages (cycloid gears, short-time current supply), the Konstruktionselemente (the heart of the matter, locking bolts), the magnetic-clamping safety, the Special Intralogistik (flatbed intralogistics), and the "Dipl.-Ing. Guido Follert" portrait. The issue's function — the 01/2025's — exemplifies the format: the trade fair ahead, the technologies current, the people portrait — the constructor's January in 44 pages.

The product evolution — the rhythm and the specials — deserves its telling. The eight-issues rhythm with the double issues (05-06/2021, 07-08/2023) structures the year: the monthly issues for the news flow, the doubles for the summer. The special-issue program — "Antreiben – Steuern – Bewegen" (drive, control, move) yearly, "MOBILITY" twice yearly — adds the focus publications: the drive year's themes in one volume. The e-paper at digital.derkonstrukteur.de carries the print issues digitally; the social presence (Facebook "DerKonstrukteur," Twitter @derkonstrukteu) carries the community; the VDI Verlag eLibrary carries the title in the engineers' digital library. The editorial contact (n.steinicke@vfmz.de) and the advertising contact (sales@vfmz.de) run through the Mainz publishing house — the vfmz as the title's home.

Coverage and Content

The editorial program follows the mechanical-engineering year. The drive coverage — the Antriebstechnik — addresses motors, gears, actuators: the hybrid drive packages, the DC micro-motors, the well gears from huge to tiny. The fluid coverage — the Fluidtechnik — addresses hydraulics and lubrication: the directly controlled valves, the proportional-valve amplifiers, the sustainability of hydraulic fluids and sensor-based fluid management (the Bantleon interview). The automation coverage — the Automatisierungstechnik — addresses the automated factory: the operating solutions, the implementation challenges, the hybrid cables.

The materials coverage — the Werkstoff- & Verbindungstechnik — addresses coating-suitable design, adhesives, the four-materials-at-once interview. The elements coverage — the Konstruktionselemente — addresses the design details: the hydraulic clamping elements (title story), the locking pins, the industrial shock absorbers, the standard parts. The software coverage — the Software & Prototyping — addresses CAD, simulation, 3D-printed prototypes. The people coverage — the "Menschen & Märkte" — addresses the industry's personnel and market news: the VDI/IW engineering monitor (96,760 open positions in Q4 2025), the trade fairs (FMB Bad Salzuflen, AMB), the appointments (Siemens Germany's new leadership team).

The special coverage — the rotating Specials (Intralogistik, Hygienic Design, Sensortechnik, Robotik) and the special issues (Antreiben – Steuern – Bewegen, MOBILITY) — deepens the focus themes. The formats' mix — the eight print issues, the specials, the portal, the e-paper — defines Der Konstrukteur: the design engineer's magazine at the pulse of technology.

Organization and Ownership

Der Konstrukteur is published by the Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH (vfmz), Mainz — the publisher behind the title's print, portal and e-paper. The editorial contact is n.steinicke@vfmz.de; advertising runs through sales@vfmz.de. The magazine is a member of the IVW (Informations-Gemeinschaft zur Feststellung der Verbreitung von Werbeträgern), Berlin — the audited circulation.

The magazine's market position — the design engineer's magazine "am Puls der Technik" — places it among the German mechanical-engineering trade press: the application-oriented title for the constructor's practice. The "Fühl den Puls der Technik" subscription campaign — the annual subscription at 99 euros with the welcome gift of the contour gauge (Konturenlehre) — sells the fascination: the 25-cm measuring width, the 6-cm measuring depth, the immediate template for precise cuts. The campaign's function — the subscription's — is the trade-press classic: the useful tool as the welcome gift — the constructor's gauge from the constructor's magazine. The business model follows the B2B trade-press pattern: the annual subscription (99 euros: eight print issues plus the special issues), single-issue sales (14.50 euros), advertising across print, portal and e-paper, and the special-issue environments. The IVW membership — the Informations-Gemeinschaft zur Feststellung der Verbreitung von Werbeträgern, Berlin — audits the distribution: the verified circulation as the advertising currency. The VDI Verlag eLibrary distribution — the engineers' digital library carrying the title — extends the reach into the VDI's digital ecosystem. The model's function — the B2B's — is the trade press: the qualified readers, the audited reach, the specialist advertisers — the constructor's market in the constructor's magazine. Detailed circulation figures beyond the IVW membership, staffing and revenue figures, and the exact founding year are not publicly confirmed.

Digital Presence

The magazine's digital home is derkonstrukteur.de — "Am Puls der Technik": the portal with the "Menschen & Märkte" news, the specialist departments (Antriebstechnik, Fluidtechnik, Automatisierungstechnik, Software & Prototyping, Werkstoff- & Verbindungstechnik, Konstruktionselemente), the interviews and the event news. The e-paper at digital.derkonstrukteur.de carries the print issues digitally. The magazine is present on Facebook (DerKonstrukteur) and X/Twitter (@derkonstrukteu).

The digital strategy follows the B2B trade-publisher logic: the print issues for the deep read — the eight issues, the specials — the portal for the daily news flow — the people and markets, the product news, the interviews. As the design-engineering magazine — the Mainz-published Fachmagazin (the vfmz publishing house, the IVW audit, the special-issue program) — Der Konstrukteur remains the constructor's paper: the fascination of technology for design engineers, in print and at derkonstrukteur.de.