History

In 1919 the engineer Adolf Waldrich (until then a partner of the company H.A. Waldrich Siegen) came to Coburg together with the engineer Emil Hardt. They took a small factory in the Gerbergasse with 20 employees and founded the firm "Globuswerke" in February 1920.

First they were engaged in the repair of machine tools, but soon they began to develop glass processing machines of their own. This branch of business developed so well that the existent rooms rapidly became too small. Therefore, they bought a building in Hahnweg (today's head office) and relocated there in 1926. Emil Hardt left the company, which from then on was called “Maschinenfabrik Adolf Waldrich”.

Continuous new designs and the development of the hydraulic drive system were the final breakthrough. This patented innovation was first presented at Leipzig Trade Fair in 1936. The personnel grew to 240 employees.

Due to the consequences of the war, the staff was reduced to 50 employees. The series production of planing machines, the further development of the production range and the contiuous expansion of the production capacity allowed the workforce to grow 347 employees by 1950.

In the same year, on March 5, the company's founder Adolf Waldrich died at the age of 61. His son Otto successfully assumed management of the business. The line of planing machines was expanded with combined grinding and milling machines, and together with innovations like thread-peeling and extrusion worm-milling machines it was possible to open up new markets.

The export share increased continuously. In 1955 a new era in company history began with the development of guideway and surface grinding machines. Very soon these machines became the focus of the product line. From this time on Waldrich Coburg has had a reputation as a supplier with top precision and reliability.

By 1960 the number of staff had increased to 665. In December 1963 there was a serious gas explosion in which several buildings were destroyed. When the company was rebuilt, more offices and factory buildings were added.

The company had its largest workforce in 1970 with 1,000 employees. The market development required ever larger and more precise machines. This led to the first machine with an NC control system being delivered in 1971, followed in 1975 by the first portal milling machine with a table width of 5,000 mm and a clamping length of 18,000 mm. As a result, the first irreversible step was taken to becoming a heavy equipment manufacturer.

Another highlight was the delivery of the first portal milling machine with a gantry design to Kraftwerksunion in Mülheim, Germany, in 1973.

The company was extremely successful when Otto Waldrich retired to private life and sold the company to the American Ingersoll Group in 1986. The market was divided up and the staff was reduced to approximately 400 employees within 6 years.

All members of the Ingersoll Group developed and produced milling machines. This was one reason why new approaches were sought in Coburg and the decision was made to enlarge the product range. Vertical turning machines were developed and new markets were entered for this purpose. In 1997 the first machine with a rotary table diameter of 2,500 mm was completed.

The model range of milling machines was expanded with the ValuTec and MultiTec products. In 1999 the first horizontal milling machine was installed. The MultiTec concept with its modular design and its broad range of applications attracted such great interest that it was aearded the Innovation Prize by the the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Otto Wieshau, in July 2001.