Aluminum works in Wutöschingen

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Aluminum works in Wutöschingen
legal form AG & Co. KG
founding 1914
Seat Wutöschingen , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management Frank Aehlen (CEO), Heiko Maier; Johannes Freiherr von Salmuth (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)
Number of employees 521
sales 170 million euros
Branch Aluminum processing
Website www.aww.de
As of December 31, 2018

The aluminum plant shapes the townscape of Wutöschingen

The Aluminum-Werke Wutöschingen ( AWW ) are an industrial aluminum processing company in Wutöschingen in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg . The company was founded in 1914 by Georg Giulini , whose descendants, the Freiherr von Salmuth family, still represent the company in the fifth generation on the supervisory board.

history

founding

The company began with the engineer Fritz Burr . Around 1900 he worked for Ferdinand von Zeppelin in Friedrichshafen. After a brief job as operations manager at the Carl Berg rolling mill in Eveking , he decided to set up his own business. His idea was based on the still young material aluminum. The processing required a lot of energy, which he wanted to generate using water power in the Wutöschingen grinding mill acquired in 1902. The aluminum production was not yet fully developed, so that he initially dealt with the production of brass and red brass parts. After the conversion to electrical energy, aluminum production had become feasible and Zeppelin needed aluminum profiles for the construction of the airships . He therefore financed the construction of a rolling mill with 40,000 marks. In order to receive the raw material in the form of aluminum strips, Fritz Burr advertised in a trade magazine. The Giulini brothers at that time in Ludwigshafen am Rhein then got in touch and were able to decide to work together. Fritz Burr was able to convincingly refuse the request to locate the new rolling mill in Ludwigshafen and the aluminum rolling mill in Wutöschingen was built in 1909/10.

World War One - Inflation

A second rolling mill was set up as early as 1911. This increased the demand for electricity, and the transport options had to be constantly expanded. First hand carts pulled by a St. Bernard , then ox and carts and finally a horse and cart were used. It was not until the 1920s that the plant received a truck. The rail connection for the plant, which had been required over many years, was never realized. Around 1910 the plant employed between 60 and 70 workers. The monthly production was 60 tons. In addition to electrical supplies, sheets and dishes were made.

In 1914, Count Georg Giulini took over the plant and named the company Aluminum-Walzwerke Wutöschingen. The plan to move the plant to Ludwigshafen was finally abandoned. In 1920 a storage shed, a car shed and a joinery were built. The factory canteen was located opposite the factory entrance. 247 workers were now employed.

Great Depression and World War II

Due to inflation , the plant was shut down from 1924 to 1926. The management was then moved from Ludwigshafen to Wutöschingen. In 1929, 3,198 tons of aluminum were turned over again. But the global economic crisis brought another decline, so in 1931 only 158 workers were employed. In 1933 the situation improved again, new products were developed and the manufacture of slugs began. In 1930 the company canteen was expanded to include a room that could hold 1,000 people. During the Second World War, the plant became a supplier for the armaments industry. Productivity was increased enormously, including forced labor and prisoners of war. In 1944, tunnels were created in a nearby rock face made of shell limestone as an air raid shelter for 1,500 people. In 1945 it was seized by French troops . After that the factory was largely dismantled, this lasted until 1947. Only a few newer machines were used in France. In the end, the rolling mill in Yugoslavia and a hall in North Africa were not reused.

New beginning

In the course of 1945 the company was able to manufacture cooking pots and kitchen utensils again. On October 30, 1948, the coercive measures were largely lifted and the plant was rebuilt by Curt Freiherr von Salmuth , husband of Georg Giulini's granddaughter Alwine. 558 workers were already employed again. However, the production of new aluminum was still prohibited. A glassworks was built in Ludwigshafen , which produced glass containers which were encased in aluminum in Wutöschingen. These thermal devices were successfully sold under the name Supertherm by the newly founded sales company Oberbadische Industriewerke für Glas, Metall und Kunststoff GmbH .

After the general aluminum ban was lifted in 1949, the Baden state government guaranteed a loan in the same year for the “establishment of an 'aluminum extrusion plant' in cooperation with the company Karl Altenburger KG , Jestetten.”: “The creation of a pressing plant instead of the re-establishment of an expensive one The rolling mill was [...] a happy decision. ”The newly built plant was entered in the commercial register on May 25, 1950 as Aluminum-Presswerk Wutöschingen GmbH (APW). With the establishment of this company, which was integrated on the factory premises, “the phase 'dismantling and reconstruction' was completed.” The extrusion products subsequently reached 50% of the aluminum semi-finished products (1973).

In 1950 a sand casting plant was built in addition to the chill foundry . Large-scale production of slugs began in 1953.

The company law division into AWW and APW, which led to some complications, was ended in 1954 with the merger of APW and AWW under the changed name Aluminum-Werke Wutöschingen (AWW). (Timmermann, p. 54.)

From 1973 to 2000 the owner family was represented by Wigand von Salmuth and Sigismund von Salmuth (1928–2018) in the company, today by Johannes von Salmuth (Chairman) and Gebhard von Salmuth on the Supervisory Board.

Significance for the region

The further processing and development of new technologies led to the establishment or settlement of further companies that process and refine products. Particularly noteworthy here are the anodizing plants and powder coating plants at Horheim and Lauchringen and the wholesale trade in profiles and work parts.

present

At the beginning of 2019, the Alu-Werke presented expansion plans. "The AWW wants to renew itself in several construction stages by 2025."

literature

  • Kurt Timmermann: Chronicle of the Aluminum Works Wutöschingen GmbH , Hoppenstedt-Verlag, Ludwigshafen 1973.
  • Local administration Wutöschingen (ed.), Wutöschingen - then and now Das Lesebuch , 2006.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sandra Holzwarth: New construction of a production hall , Südkurier, June 20, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Horst Häussler, The aluminum industry - formative industrial force of the municipality of Wutöschingen , In: Wutöschingen- once and today Das Lesebuch , 2006, p. 215 ff.
  3. ↑ Kurt Timmermann: Chronicle of the Aluminum Works Wutöschingen GmbH , Hoppenstedt-Verlag, Ludwigshafen 1973, p. 43.
  4. ↑ Kurt Timmermann: AWW-Chronik , 1973, p. 45 f.
  5. ↑ Company website STOBAG Alufinish
  6. ↑ Company website König Metallveredelung
  7. ↑ Company website alfer aluminum
  8. ↑ Peter Rosa: Local council gives the green light , Südkurier, February 21, 2019.

Coordinates: 47 ° 39 ′ 42.3 "  N , 8 ° 22 ′ 4.3"  E