Tradition - Innovation - Future

 

For more than 180 years C.D. Wälzholz has been known for groundbreaking innovations. Shortly after its foundation the family owned company started to expand rapidly by manufacturing novel, customer-oriented products and by using modern production technology. In the early years these products mainly comprised particularly elastic loom reeds, special wires for umbrellas and parasols and cold rolled crinoline springs for hooped skirts. 35 years after it had been founded CDW was one of the leading companies in the cold rolling industry and was already exporting products to Japan and England as early as in 1890.

For decades technological progress guaranteed the company's existence. CDW has always managed to defy difficult market conditions and thus emerged stronger from all crises due to its solid belief in the power of innovation as a means of safeguarding the future of the company.

In its plants C.D. Wälzholz has always used state-of-the-art machinery and has supplied materials for foremost technologies. At the end of the 19th century, for example, it was paragon steel, and in the 1950s Olympia-tested ski edge profiles. Today, development efforts and material production focus on innovative and flexible materials such as high-strength spring steels for seat belt systems, extremely thin electrical steel strip for environmentally friendly hybrid drives and efficient plants to generate energy. A number of global companies cooperate closely with CDW regarding development – a tradition of know-how transfer which benefits every partner.

In the most recent past C.D. Wälzholz has continued to expand into international markets. Today, with more than 1,900 employees, we are one of the largest cold rolling plants in the world, and we are consistently strengthening our international focus. We have production plants and distribution centers in Asia and America in order to be able to supply strategically important target markets directly. At the same time C.D. Wälzholz has also strengthened the regional locations. Here innovations are developed that will continue to guarantee us a top position in the cold rolling industry.

Thus we look back at more than 180-year-long tradition of innovations and look forward towards the future driven by continuously high ambitions.

 

History
1829 Purchase of the wire rod mill "Auf’m Graben" (Mühlengraben) in the Nahmer Valley; soon afterwards tenancy on the "Borggräfen-Rolle" nearby, a mill for fine wire and thin flat wire
1845

The Caspar D. Wälzholz reed factory is now one of twelve reed and wire works in Hohenlimburg

1848

Crisis due to the German revolution with stagnant sales, decrease of production and redundancies

1850-1857 Purchase of the mill "Borggräfen-Rolle"
1854

Special wire production for umbrellas and parasols starts –   a big seller in subsequent years

1857 Generational change – the company founder Caspar D. Wälzholz passes on a sound company to his son Ludwig
1863 Production of a wide range of iron and steel wires, springs, loom reeds made of iron, steel or brass wire, numerous high-quality special wires such as chain wire, telegraph wire, nail wire, binding wire, machine wire as well as wire for embroidery needles, forks, umbrellas and parasols; furthermore manufacturing of punched iron plates to guide threads in looms (maillons), and additionally trade with other iron, steel and brass goods purchased from other manufacturers
1864 Demolition of the old wire mill and erection of a modern, two-storied factory hall; in addition to the old water wheel a 12 hp steam engine is installed as well
1866 Erection of the first cold rolling mills with cast iron rolls and an own hardening shop in order to be able to manufacture cold rolled crinoline wires
1866-1867 Due to the Prussian-Austrian war the crinoline wire production comes to a standstill – Wälzholz now produces iron wire for military boots
1868 Expansion: purchase of turning lathe, installation of more powerful steam engine, erection of office and packaging buildings, and extension of drawing shop; furthermore the company joins the health relief insurance founded by manufacturers in Hohenlimburg
1870 New applications for cold rolled steel: instruments, screws, springs, sewing machines, bicycles, locks, florist wire and gun parts
1874 Ludwig Wälzholz dies as the result of an illness and his just 20-year-old son Ludwig takes over the management together with his brothers August and Gisbert. However, Louise Wälzholz remains the owner
1884 Sales crisis due to diminishing demand for corsage steel and crinoline steel
1887 Further development of crinoline steel to paragon steel
1896 Construction of a larger cold rolling mill operated by two steam engines
1905 Co-foundation of the new company "Union-Gesellschaft für Metallindustrie GmbH" in Fröndenberg together with "Feuerhake & Cie." (chain and bicycle production)
1906-1910 Erection of another cold rolling mill
1919 Günter Wälzholz becomes general partner
1921 Dr. jur. Hans Junius, Ludwig Wälzholz's son-in-law, joins the management as company lawyer.
1937 Dr. jur. Hans Junius becomes general partner and Ludwig Wälzholz retires from company management. Otto Dreiser becomes proxy
1939-1945 Manufacturing for metal goods and arms industry, partly using forced laborers and POWs
1946 Dr. jur Hans Junius's son, Hans Martin Junius, takes over the responsibility at the company; a subsequent bestseller is the Junius poker, the so-called "Justo"
1951 Erection of new halls, amongst others the "Paragon Hall“; at the annealing shop the old gas and coal powered pots are replaced by an electric continuous annealing furnace
1953-1955 Dr. jur. Hans Junius's sons, Hans Martin Junius and Eckart Wälzholz-Junius take over the company management together with the nephew Dieter Wälzholz
1954 Formal opening of the Ludwig hall
until 1962 Erection of five large halls and the relocation of the most important parts of the cold rolling plant with the high-performance reversing mill, the annealing shop and the dynamo strip department to Hagen; construction of a new annealing line for electrical steel strip
1966

The new central administration building is set up in Hagen-Fley

1969 Erection of the plant "Hagen-Fley-Nord"
1972 Commissioning of a modern push-pull pickling line
1973 Foundation of  Brasmetal Waelzholz S.A. in Sao Paulo and close-down of the company "Union-Gesellschaft für Metallindustrie GmbH" in Fröndenberg
1975 Commissioning of the large 4-stand tandem cold rolling mill
1983 Expansion of the annealing plant and equipping it with box annealing furnaces
1989 Construction of a high rack storage warehouse
1990 Management taken over by Dr.-Ing. Hans-Toni Junius and Herbert Otten (graduate economist)
1991 Start of a modern ski edge center in Hagen-Hohenlimburg
1996 Acquisition of a Hoesch electrical steel continuous annealing furnace and together with D&B foundation of the joint subsidiary CDW-Edge in Cleveland, Ohio USA.
2000 Acquisition of "Hagen-Kabel", the former cold rolling mill "Hoesch Hohenlimburg"
2001 Acquisition of "IJ Stahleisenhandel" from the Junius family and transformation into the CDW service center in IS-Stenglingsen; takeover of D&B and foundation of the CDW Service Center D&B, Ltd. in Cleveland/Ohio (USA)
2002 Acquisition of the cold rolling mill "Kaltwalzwerk Brockhaus" in Plettenberg
2003 Acquisition of Bernier in Thiers (France) and foundation of C.D. Wälzholz France SAS
2007 Acquisition of the cold rolling mill "Kaltwalzwerk Röchling KG" in Oberkochen, Foundation of Service Center "Wälzholz New Material (Taicang) Co., Ltd" in China; joint venture of CDW and "Hugo Kern and Liebers GmbH & Co. KG" to become Taicang Wälzholz – Kern-Liebers New Material Co., Ltd
2008 Dr. Hans-Toni Junius takes over the company management as Chairman of the Board; foundation of CDW Asia in HongKong
2011 Acquisition of majority stake in Brasmetal Waelzholz S.A. in Sao Paulo 
CDW Worldwide
Select one of our international websites
CDW at the CWIEME 2012
June 26th - 28th in Berlin
Hall 2.1, Stand 4115
 
CDW amongst the TOP 100 best innovators in 2011
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