Würth AG celebrates 60th anniversary

Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth founded Schrauben Würth GmbH in Basel on 30 April 1962 as the second foreign subsidiary of today's Würth Group. In 60 years, the two-man operation has grown into a company with around 750 employees, 43 craft stores and more than 150,000 products.

Würth AG with its headquarters in Arlesheim. (Image: zVg / Würth)

Würth AG has been supplying craftsmen in all sectors with quality products and coordinated system solutions for the workshop, the warehouse and on the road for 60 years now. Reinhold Würth, a trained wholesaler and retailer, took over the management of the Adolf Würth screw wholesaler based in Künzelsau, Germany, after the unexpected death of his father in 1954 at the age of just 19. Today, the international Würth Group claims to be the world market leader in the development, manufacture and sale of assembly and fastening materials. In addition, trading and production companies, the Allied Companies, are active in related business fields. These include, for example, electrical wholesale or the electronics sector through to financial services. The Group employs more than 83,000 people in over 400 companies with over 2,400 branches in more than 80 countries worldwide.

Würth AG in Switzerland

Even as a child, Reinhold Würth had been able to accompany his father on sales trips to Austria and Switzerland. This paved the way for the expansion of the business field. In an interview in January 2022, Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Group's Family Trusts, what his fondest memory of the founding period is: "Those were my own trips to the Swiss Confederation to help set up the sales force organization and canvass customers." But he also has fond memories of private matters: "As a passionate skier, I was in Davos almost every winter season for 40 years. Today, at the age of 86, I treasure the memories of the descents from the Weissfluh summit to Küblis with a difference in altitude of 2,000 meters."

From a two-man business to a wholesale company

The first employees of Schrauben Würth GmbH were true pioneers. Virtually from nowhere, they conquered new territories with their pointing book and order pad - with success. Schrauben Würth GmbH grew rapidly and as early as 1966, sales exceeded 1 million Swiss francs. In 1979, the 10 million franc sales mark was cracked. Anno 1983 the transformation from Würth GmbH to Würth AG took place. Würth AG moved into its current headquarters in Arlesheim in 1985. In 2003, the administration and sales center was expanded by two large warehouses, an office wing and the architecturally sophisticated Forum Würth, where art and culture moved in. In 2021, Würth AG generated annual sales of around CHF 183.5 million. Among other things, Würth AG attributes this to its successful multi-channel strategy, through which customers are reached via all customer contact points.

Proximity to customers as a success factor

According to Würth AG, it is optimism, dynamism, appreciation of employees and commitment to customers that have shaped and continue to shape the corporate culture in Switzerland. The ability to constantly reinvent the business, the products and Würth itself are the factors behind the outstanding success story that Würth AG has been writing for 60 years now.

Würth also began to develop its own products in 1975. ORSY®, ASSY®, ZEBRA® and M-CUBE® today stand for functionality, durability and high quality. More than 400 sales staff, 43 tradesmen stores, the online store and the Würth App with the Click&Collect function ensure great proximity to customers. For the past year, Würth AG customers have also been able to collect points with every purchase and redeem them for attractive rewards. E-business as part of the multi-channel strategy will continue to grow in importance in the future. And company patron Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth promises: "You can be sure that the employees of Würth AG will continue to go to great lengths in the future to fulfill the wishes of our customers and to provide service in the true sense of the word, namely to serve and to perform."

More information: www.wuerth-ag.ch

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