Witzenmann Group
| Witzenmann Group
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1854 |
| Seat |
Pforzheim , Germany
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| Number of employees | over 4,600 |
| sales | approx. 644 million euros (2019) |
| Branch | Metal processing |
| Website | www.witzenmann.com |
The Witzenmann Group is an international manufacturer of flexible metallic elements . Together with Eugène Levavasseur, the company's founder Heinrich Witzenmann invented the flexible metal hose in 1885. The two jewelry manufacturers developed a liquid-tight and robust hose from the goose gargle chain .
The invention is considered to be the founding impetus for a new industry for flexible metallic elements (metal hoses) and expansion joints . The Witzenmann Group is a family company and has its headquarters in Pforzheim , Baden-Württemberg .
Witzenmann is active in 24 countries in Europe, the USA, Brazil , the People's Republic of China , India and South Korea with over 4,300 employees and achieves a turnover of approx. 614 million euros.
history
In 1854 Heinrich Witzenmann founded a jewelry factory in Pforzheim together with Louis Kuppenheim. On November 6, 1854, she received the concession. In 1861 the Heinrich Witzenmann company employed 60 people. In 1877 Heinrich Witzenmann founded another jewelry factory in Paris together with Eugène Levavasseur, a French businessman. Heinrich Witzenmann invented the metal hose together with Levavasseur in Paris in 1885. In France, the metal hose received the patent number 170479 on August 4, 1885 , and in Germany the patent number 34871 on August 27, 1885. Heinrich Witzenmann founded a metal hose factory in 1886 at the age of 60 as a test workshop in his jewelry factory in Pforzheim with three employees. In 1889, regular production started with five employees and sales on a small scale. The daily output was about 100 meters. From October 20, 1889, the second coiled version of the metal hose was protected with the German Reich Patent No. 52751 (Heinrich Witzenmann). Heinrich Witzenmann's sons Adolf (born October 11, 1872) and Emil Witzenmann (born December 18, 1867) joined the company in 1890. In 1891, Heinrich Witzenmann began developing the metal hose in its third coiled version (Agraff hose). Eugène Levavasseur died in 1893. In 1894 the double metal hose was protected by the German Imperial Patent No. 76745 (Heinrich Witzenmann). The trademark "Hydra" was registered in 1899. In 1900, jewelry production was finally abandoned and a subsidiary was founded in Riga . In 1904 a subsidiary was founded in Berlin . Heinrich Witzenmann died in 1906.
In 1909, Emil Witzenmann invented the welded metal hose as German Reich Patent No. 237 250 from January 10, 1909. The double-walled welded metal hose and the metal hose compensator were protected in 1920 as German Reich Patent No. 367 185 from July 29, 1920 (Emil Witzenmann ). In 1928 production of helically corrugated metal hoses began and the subsidiary United Pforzheimer Wiener Metallschlauchfabrik was founded. From 1885 to 1935, 1,000 patents were registered. Walter Witzenmann , son of Emil Witzenmann, joined the company in 1935. In 1936 the production of metal bellows started. Walter Witzenmann became managing director in 1937. His brother Herbert joined the company in the same year. On February 23, 1945, the factory buildings were destroyed when Pforzheim was destroyed . The work was resumed on May 22nd under the direction of the brothers Herbert and Walter Witzenmann.
The production of multi-walled axial expansion joints began in 1952. In 1954 the company had 350 employees, an export quota of 20% and a turnover of 6 million DM. In 1960, Fleitmann GmbH from Iserlohn , a manufacturer of shower hoses, was acquired. In 1965 the Berlin branch, which had been destroyed in the war, was re-established. After his brother left, Walter Witzenmann managed the company alone from 1966. In 1969 the Swedish metal hose factory Metallslangfabriken Huddinge AB in Huddinge near Stockholm was acquired. In 1970 the production of pipe supports began and the company employed 682 people. The expansion joint program was expanded in 1973 to an inner diameter of up to twelve meters. In 1979 miniature bellows were added to the production program. The French subsidiary Witzenmann Sarl was founded in Antony near Paris. The HYDRA trademark was registered for services in 1982.
In 1985 a license agreement for production in the Czech city of Opava was signed. In 1988 Herbert Witzenmann died. In 1989 Witzenmann Espanola was founded. In 1990 the metal hose factory in Zwickau and the pipeline technology in Werdau became part of the Witzenmann Group. In 1993 the sales company Vlkanova-Witzenmann in Slovakia and Witzenmann Opava in the Czech Republic were founded . Witzenmann USA was founded in 1996. A subsidiary Witzenmann India was established in 1999, with a location in Calcutta, India. A second Witzenmann India location followed in Chennai in 2010 .
In addition to manufacturing and sales, the Witzenmann Group is also involved in the further technological development of flexible metallic elements. Research and development costs in 2010 amounted to five percent of total sales. Witzenmann has registered over 2,500 patents in the company's history up to 2010. In 2011, Witzenmann Russia began expanding production in Ufa . Witzenmann Japan was founded in 2011 and Witzenmann Mexico in 2015.
In 2020, IG Metall concluded a collective agreement to secure the location of Witzenmann GmbH with the employers' association Südwestmetall. It includes the exclusion of redundancies for operational reasons until mid-2022 and the stipulation of a minimum number of employees until 2024. In addition, Witzenmann GmbH undertakes to invest more than 50 million euros and to build another plant in the Buchbusch industrial park
Witzenmann GmbH is a member of the trade association for industrial companies in Baden .
Management and supervisory board
- Members of the management
- Andreas Kampf (Chairman)
- Philip Paschen
- Eberhard Wildermuth
- Heiko Pott
- Members of the supervisory board
- Herbert Paschen (Chairman), Heidelberg
- Jakob William von Trotha (Deputy Chairman), Braunschweig
- Daniel Witzenmann-Krell, Pforzheim
- Sigvard Clasen, Pforzheim
- Siegfried Goll, Markdorf
- Frank Martin, Freiburg
- Andreas Meiniger, Pforzheim
- Cornelia Ast (Deputy Chair), Pforzheim
- Michael Fath, Remchingen
Products
Under the brand name HYDRA, Witzenmann produces metal hoses , expansion joints, metal bellows, as well as vehicle parts and pipe supports. The flexible metallic elements are used to absorb or decouple vibrations, thermal expansion or system movements. They are used in industry, automotive and commercial vehicle technology, technical building equipment, aerospace, steel and electrical industry, mechanical engineering, medical technology and in the field of regenerative energies.
flexible vehicle parts
Compensator overview
Metal hoses
6-axis test bench
- Compensators are flexible line elements which, depending on their design, absorb axial, lateral and / or angular movements and vibrations. For example, linear expansion in hot and cold pipelines or aggregate vibrations and movements that have to be decoupled from the downstream systems.
- Metal hoses differ in corrugated hoses (pressure-tight) and wrapped hoses (not pressure-tight). Metal hoses are used to compensate for thermal movements or lifting movements, or as flexible, noise-dampening compensation elements between vibrating and rigid systems. Wrapped hoses are often used as sheathed protective hoses, for example to protect sensitive fiber optic cables from mechanical damage.
- Metal bellows combine high compressive strength with low adjustment force rates. They are usually movable in all directions and arranged in a diameter range of up to 500 mm. Metal bellows include corrugated bellows, diaphragm bellows, and precision bellows. The precision bellows are small metal bellows with a diameter of less than 3 mm. They are designed for high pressures (> 200 bar). Due to the required precision, these bellows are manufactured under clean or clean room conditions.
- Vehicle parts are flexible line elements or line systems that are used in the vehicle in media circuits or as decoupling elements in exhaust systems. The smallest flexible elements are also used in piezo injection systems (see precision bellows).
- Pipe supports are components for storing or fixing pipes. These include loose, roller, slide and fixed bearings, spring and constant hangers as well as load chains or shock brakes. The latter absorb vibrations from pipelines with high amplitudes, such as those that can occur during earthquakes.
swell
- Koch, Hans-Eberhard: 100 Years of Metallschlauch Pforzheim, 1985
- Witzenmann GmbH: company archive
- Company history of Witzenmann GmbH by Gregor Mühlthaler
- Flexible metallic lines: metal hose, metal bellows, metal compensator: Verlag Moderne Industrie, 2016, ISBN 978-3-86236-089-5 . (Library of Technology: 382)
- Sustainability report 2018
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ IG Metall Pforzheim: IG Metall agrees collective agreement on site security at Witzenmann , accessed on June 1, 2020
- ↑ Member company of the wvib