Winkler group of companies
| winkler group of companies
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| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG (headquarters) |
| founding | 1901 |
| Seat | Stuttgart (Headquarters) |
| management | Rüdiger Hahn, Bernd Sixt, Hans-Paul Strobel |
| Number of employees | approx. 1,700 (2019) |
| sales | 433 million euros (2018) |
| Branch | Commercial vehicle parts trade |
| Website | www.winkler.de |
| As of July 6, 2018 | |
The winkler group of companies is a wholesaler and specialist in commercial vehicle spare parts and workshop requirements based in Stuttgart . She mainly looks after commercial vehicle owners, bus companies, workshops and agricultural businesses.
The group of companies has branches in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Poland , the Czech Republic , Latvia and Slovakia . The corporate group includes the central administration Christian Winkler GmbH & Co. KG as well as the Handelsbetriebe Winkler Fahrzeugteile GmbH, the logistics company Winkler Logistik GmbH, the technology center Winkler Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH and the export subsidiary Winkler Truck and Trailer Parts GmbH.
The company currently employs around 1,700 people at over 40 locations. The turnover in 2018 was 433 million euros.
history
1901–1924: In 1901 Christian Winkler went into business for himself as a wagon smith in Stuttgart, five years later he was appointed court wagon blacksmith to the royal Württemberg and was called to the stables. In 1914 his eldest son Ludwig joined the company as an apprentice. Christian Winkler went blind that same year. Despite this stroke of fate, Ludwig and his younger brother Wilhelm, who also joined the company some time later, were trained by their father.
1925–1945: After the forced dissolution of the Marstall, the company was left with nothing. Despite the difficult economic situation, new premises were purchased. The future belonged to the automobile . This gave rise to the new company idea for the manufacture and repair of automotive springs - which quickly made the company known. Development work for Porsche , Daimler-Benz , Kälble and Auwärter-Neoplan was just as much a part of the range of tasks as the series production of springs, stabilizers and other parts. A new production hall was built in the early 1940s. Using newly developed techniques, axles were straightened and bearing and kingpin seats were repaired.
1946–1962: The new production hall was the only building to survive the war. The rebuilding of the company began with the currency reform in 1948 and thanks to the Marshall Plan things quickly improved. The old workshop building was rebuilt and expanded. In 1958 a large new building was built. The repair technology was perfected and expanded in the new Weilimdorf branch.
1963–1985: In 1963, the wholesale of commercial vehicle parts began. Under a new generation of management, wholesale quickly developed into a dynamically growing area. In 1975 a modern company was built in Ludwigsburg , in which the repair departments were combined. The head office in Stuttgart housed administration, trade and the manufacture and repair of springs. A rapid development began in 1972 with new locations in Karlsruhe , Freiburg and Ulm .
1986–1999: In 1987 the first central warehouse was founded in Ulm. In 1996 the second central warehouse was opened in Kassel . Winkler developed into a full-range supplier with operations throughout Germany. The first foreign location was set up in Härkingen, Switzerland, and the export company winkler Truck and Trailer Parts was founded.
2000 – today: In 2001 winkler started selling spare parts for agricultural machines. Further companies opened in Switzerland, Latvia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. From 2002 to 2011 the number of employees in the winkler group doubled. After more than two years of construction, the extension of the winkler central warehouse in Ulm was completed in 2013. In 2019, the third winkler central warehouse was opened in Himberg near Vienna. This said central warehouse was built purely with equity.
Business areas
winkler vehicle parts
Winkler trading companies look after commercial vehicle owners, workshops, agricultural businesses and bus companies, advise their customers on identification problems and give repair tips. There are target-group-specific advisory teams at each location.
winkler logistics
The logistics company winkler Logistik stocks over 200,000 parts for trucks , trailers , semi-trailers , buses , vans, forklifts and agricultural machinery in two of the largest central warehouses for commercial vehicle spare parts in Europe in Ulm and Lohfelden near Kassel .
winkler Truck and Trailer Parts
The subsidiary in Stuttgart exports commercial vehicle parts all over the world via local trading partners. Truck and Trailer Parts uses the entire winkler product range as well as the services of winkler Logistik.
winkler vehicle technology
Winkler Fahrzeugtechnik, based in Ludwigsburg, focuses on the repair of commercial vehicles and is one of the few specialists in axle repairs in Germany. The affiliated forklift center offers special repairs for forklifts.
Product areas
The product range includes spare parts and accessories for Axles, brakes and steering , lighting and electrical , chemical products, cleaning products and paints , Compressed air and electronic parts , Cabin parts and on-board equipment , automotive components and load securing , suspension and damping , hydraulic , cooling and air-conditioning , engine and Drive parts , tank and silo parts , workshop and operating requirements as well as agricultural requirements .
Repair
In addition to purchasing new parts, the company also offers the repair of damaged old parts at its technology center in Ludwigsburg . Commercial vehicles of all types and makes as well as their components such as axles and hydraulics are made operational again there. In addition, industrial machines and plant components can be restored there.
Member of associations
The group of companies is active in the Carat and GVA associations. In the GVA (Gesamtverband Autoteile-Handel eV) the company supports the "Right to repair" initiative, which advocates the independent commercial vehicle parts trade. Rüdiger Hahn is represented on the GVA Presidium, Hans-Paul Strobel in the commercial vehicle working group.
literature
- Management of Christian Winkler GmbH (publisher): 100 years of Winkler: many companies have tradition, this has a future! Self-published Leporello , 2001
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ for the whole paragraph: History at winkler.de, accessed on April 28, 2016
- ↑ for the entire paragraph: Business areas at winkler.de, accessed on April 28, 2016
- ↑ Product areas at winkler.de, accessed on April 28, 2016
- ↑ winkler vehicle technology at winkler.de, accessed on April 28, 2016
- ^ GVA - organs. In: www.gva.de. Retrieved June 16, 2016 .