WECO fireworks
| WECO Feuerwerk GmbH | |
|---|---|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1948 |
| Seat |
Eitorf , Germany
|
| management |
|
| Number of employees | 450 |
| sales | 93.8 million euros (2015/2016) |
| Branch | pyrotechnics |
| Website | www.weco.de |
| As of December 27, 2018 | |
The WECO Fireworks GmbH , formerly WECO Pyrotechnic GmbH, is a 1948 Manufacturer of fireworks with headquarters in North Rhine-Westphalia Eitorf . With an annual production of around 25 million fireworks rockets and around 100 million other fireworks items, WECO is the market leader in the fireworks sector in Germany and Europe.
history
In October 1948, Hermann Weber and Oskar Drößmar founded the company PYRO-Chemie Hermann Weber & Co. in Eitorf , which initially produced sparklers . The plant in Eitorf was expanded by 1964 and the product range was expanded to include rockets and firecrackers . In 1966 Weber handed the management of the company on to his adoptive son Frank Weber-Picard and Günter Scherzer. Two years later PYRO-Chemie bought a competing company in Kiel-Holtenau and in 1969 another competitor from Berlin. From 1975 the products were delivered via a large warehouse in Nuremberg- Altenfurt , which was used until 2002. In 1983 Hermann Weber withdrew from the management; he received the Federal Cross of Merit in the same year . For the main plant in Eitorf, a new central warehouse was built in 1984 on 40,000 m² of purchased space.
1987 changed its name PYRO-chemistry in WECO Pyrotechnic GmbH to, derived from the company's founders We over and Co . In 1989 WECO took over the toy pistols and amorces factory Ferdinand Wicke in Hattingen and in 1991 from the Treuhand a traditional fireworks factory in Freiberg , which had been in existence for 300 years and from then on produced fireworks as Saxony . In 1997 the first combination fireworks products were developed. In 1998 - for the company's 50th anniversary - Thomas Schreiber and Dieter Kuchheuser took over the management, while Frank Weber-Picard continued to work in an advisory capacity for the company and at the same time was the sole shareholder of WECO GmbH until 2003. In 1999 PyroMaXx GmbH was founded as a holding company for various secondary brands. SF-Automotive Freiberg , which produces pyrotechnic granulates for gas generators in airbags for Takata Petri GmbH, was established as a further part of the group . Since a large part of the production comes from China, an office for quality control, sales and the optimization of exports was set up there. In 2001, another office was rented for import at the Hamburg free port. The warehouse in Nuremberg was given up in 2002 due to restructuring of sales.
In 2003 Frank Weber-Picard handed over 94% of the company shares to the managing directors Schreiber and Kuchheuser. The subsidiary Sachsen Feuerwerk , which was acquired in 1991 , was renamed as a branch in WECO Freiberg in 2004 . In 2005 and 2006, WECO founded subsidiaries in France ( WECO France ), Austria ( WECO Austria GmbH ) and Great Britain ( WECO UK Limited ). Marketing was intensified as a sponsor of the Bundesliga soccer club VfL Bochum . In December 2007 NEWCO Safety Technologies (NST) was founded as a 100% WECO subsidiary on the site in Kiel ; this produces pyrotechnic articles for security technology.
particularities
In contrast to most German competing companies, WECO is the only large manufacturer that produces around 35% of its total production in Germany: in the production facilities in Eitorf , Kiel and Freiberg ( Saxony ). In the long term, further production capacities should be relocated from China to Germany.
Weco products are sold by Aldi -Süd under the trademark "Helios". Aldi-Nord, on the other hand, does without relabelling.
Victories and honors
- In 2000 WECO became world champion at the fireworks championships and achieved victory and the platinum Jupiter in the one-off match between the 2004 world champions in Montreal .
- In Eitorf, Weco Strasse was named after the company.
Hermann Weber Foundation
The company founder Weber bequeathed parts of his assets to a foundation. With a long-term grant, this took over the expansion and maintenance of the Eitorfer indoor pool into a fun pool, which was renamed the Hermann-Weber-Bad as a result.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Annual financial statements for the business year from May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011 in the Electronic Federal Gazette
- ↑ WECO company portrait weco.de
- ↑ Thomas Reibetanz, Gabriele Fleischer: Weco sends palms to heaven. ( Memento from December 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: Freiepresse.de, message from December 11, 2009
- ↑ Finanznachrichten.de: WECO Fireworks International Awarded / “The 9th China International Fireworks Festival” recognizes WECO as one of the most important and influential fireworks companies worldwide. News from June 19, 2009
- ↑ www.weco-pyro.de: Range of offers.
- ↑ Helmut Reuter: "Lass' krachen": Only three days for annual sales. Report in RNZOnline from December 12, 2016.
- ↑ China ade: firecrackers company builds German production. Report to T-Online Wirtschaft dated December 28, 2008
Web links
- weco.de - Official website of the company
Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 9.2 ″ N , 7 ° 28 ′ 5 ″ E