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Knowledge and tradition cannot be bought. One has to work hard every day to obtain them.

Despite the fact that many things have changed since we were founded, our commitment to precision, passion for plastics and our pioneering spirit do not falter.

What began as a courageous step has now become indispensable in modern industrial production. In 1937, when our founder Oskar Gaudlitz decided to use plastics, which were hardly researched at the time, it turned out to be the basis of our 80-year-long success story.

  • Outline of the first GAUDLITZ company building
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2018 – Sales and engineering subsidiary in the U.S.A.

The worldwide network of ways of thinking and acting is progressing. Borders are being abolished and new challenges offer new opportunities. GAUDLITZ Inc. was founded in 2018 to be represented and active on the North American market. It offers sales and engineering services for and with our production partners and customers.

  • Subsidiary in the U.S.A.

2015 – Acquisition of the plant in Dačice

Eastern Europe as a factor for success in the international competition. To further strengthen our position as the quality leader in the European core markets, the acquisition of the, until now, self-operating plant in Dačice (Czech Republic) took place on the 15th of December 2015.

It is yet another milestone for our drive towards the internationalization and the strength of our competitiveness in the global market. Due to the integration of our customer base over all three locations and the mutual group internal order coordination, we can assure our customer an even better service on a global scale with the same uniform quality. From the strategic and structural point of view, as well as to further promote the reciprocative know-how transfer, the merger now enables a closer linkage to the headquarter in Coburg.

  • GAUDLITZ Czech Republic Dačice
    GAUDLITZ Czech Republic Dačice

2014 - Change in corporate management

On the 1st of January 2014, Niels Roelofsen takes the helm of the GAUDLITZ Group. The 46-year-old business engineer transferred from the north Bavarian company RAPA GmbH, in which he had been working since 2006, and lastly as the VP Marketing & Sales of Powertrain & Comfort Systems.

With his specific background from the automotive industry, Mr. Roelofsen brings in a new spirit and know-how to the company. One of his major goals is to systematically enhance GAUDLITZ as a brand and to acquire new target markets. As an example, this includes the expansion of Assembly Groups and System Assembly, consistent focussing on customers' requirements as well as the continuous improvement of processes along the entire value chain. "I am greatly looking forward to taking on the new challenge of helping GAUDLITZ, with all its dedicated employees and magnificent products, to further improve their international standing", statement by Mr. Roelofsen when joining the company.

 

  • Niels Roelofsen, CEO GAUDLITZ GmbH
    Niels Roelofsen, CEO GAUDLITZ GmbH

2009 - Setting up of a cleanroom

In Coburg, at this time, efforts were intensified to make inroads into the medical engineering market, a market the company had been serving for many years. Establishment of a cleanroom became essential. A production area of 400m² was created which, shortly afterwards, was equipped with a Class 8 cleanroom, making it more than suitable for customers with very high purity and cleanliness requirements. In addition to this very important step for expanding the medical engineering business, certification in accordance with DIN ISO 13845 was attained, confirming to customers the existence of a comprehensive and mature management system.

 

  • Opening of a clean room in 2010
    Opening the cleanroom in 2010

2007 - Internationalisation continues – Gaudlitz s.r.o. Dačice

Internationalisation proceeds: GAUDLITZ conquers Eastern Europe. After setting up a plant of our own in Wuxi, China, the next step was to serve the Eastern European market locally. In 2007, the cornerstone for this was set by establishing a joint venture with the Austrian company, INTENSA. Today, GAUDLITZ still owns 83% of the shares in this joint venture. INTENSA was a suitable partner due to its comprehensive core competencies especially in development and because of its geographical proximity to the chosen location in the Czech Republic. First of all, it was decided to house the newly founded manufacturing company in small premises in order to concentrate on the acquisition of appropriate customers and projects and to make the future enlargement of the small start-up possible.

 

  • GAUDLITZ plant in Dačice
    The plant in Dačice

2004 - GAUDLITZ goes international

In 2004 GAUDLITZ was ready to expand into the Asian market. This was the first step towards the company’s international expansion. The decision was taken to choose the city of Wuxi in the Greater Shanghai area as a location for the initial GGP joint venture, which was founded with the Green Point company.

Having started business in Wuxi, decisions were quickly taken in 2008, to take a 100% share in the Chinese company, thus making it a fully-fledged subsidiary, and to rebrand it Gaudlitz Precision Technology, enabling inroads to be made into the Chinese market.

Furthermore, in 2005, because quality and customer requirements were increasing all the time, we decided to undergo a thorough certification according to DIN ISO 9001.

Certification according to DIN ISO 14001 confirms that the company is maintaining an environmental management system according to globally recognised standards. One important feature of this certification is the continual improvement process, which GAUDLITZ introduced in the form of a staff suggestions scheme.

 

  • The staff of the plant in Wuxi, China
    The Staff
  • Conclusion of the contract, Wuxi, China
    Signing of contract

1992 - Transfer of ownership to WASAG AG

1992 was an important year for the company. GAUDLITZ GmbH, which had previously been run by its owners, became an integral part of WASAG AG. WASAG AG is based in Essen. At first the employees feared that the group possibly wanted to put an end to business activities. Luckily, this proved not to be the case as we got a parent company that believed in the competence and production expertise we possess at GAUDLITZ. In 2011, H&R WASAG AG was renamed and currently trades under the name of H & R AG.

1991 - Largest building expansion in the history of GAUDLITZ

In 1991, the largest building phase in the company‘s history took place. This consisted of many extensions and enlargements to the site on Callenberger Straße. The new hall, future home to the thermoplastics section, was built. This was an important step and a positive signal to the company's customers, employees and the region; making GAUDLITZ an even more important in the plastics processing industry and a significant employer in the Coburg region. The acquisition of a ZEISS CNC coordinate measuring machine was an important technological enhancement in this decade. This highly-advanced device then enabled us to carry out high precision measurements for our customers.

 

  • New thermoplast production plant
    New thermoplastic production hall
  • Zeiss CNC coordinate measuring machine
    The ZEISS CNC coordinate measuring machine

1986 - Fit for the future – A training centre is set up

In 1986 GAUDLITZ set up a training centre, as it was known at the time. At that time company management already knew that well-trained personnel were essential if one wanted to supply top-quality, valuable products to customers and partners. In addition to a pool of well-equipped machines it is people who, due to their expertise and depth of knowledge, are in a position to convince the customer of the value of our products. So the decision was taken to set up our own internal training centre in order to train young people as specialists in many different professions. Even today the training centre is an important part of the company, because it is here that tomorrow‘s experts arise.

 

  • Use of CAD/CAM in the construction
    CAD/CAM being used in design
  • A glance at the training centre
    A view of the training centre at the time

1980 - Expansion of the thermoplastics department

While the town of Coburg benefitted from the building of the B4 in 1977, radical changes took place at GAUDLITZ regarding company-internal infrastructures. The new thermoplastics department started working, an expansion that was necessary in order to be able to complete procured projects. Three years later the newly created department underwent further expansion, an expansion that saw the machine capacity rise to 5000 KN, which also meant that many interesting items could be added to our product portfolio.

 

  • The new plant for production of thermoplasts
    The new thermoplastics production hall

1975 - The first wire cutting electrical discharge machine

In addition to the expansion of company buildings, the expansion of technical equipment and machinery stock was an important part of the company‘s further development. Consequently, the first computer-controlled wire cutting electrical discharge machine for the Tooling/Erosion division was acquired in 1975. Thanks to this new equipment it was possible for our trained specialist personnel to guarantee a high degree of accuracy in tool shape and dimensions.

  • Wire erosion

1970 - Expansion of the company building: 5-storey new development

As part of the continuous expansion of company activities, an extentions of the company premises became essential in 1970. In order to create more space it was decided to add a new building on to the existing plant wing. In that year the Design and Tool making departments moved into the newly-erected building. The main feature of the building, particularly at night, is the stained-glass window commissioned by Karl Gaudlitz and done with the assistance of a good friend. This stained-glass glass window, containing Mr Gaudlitz‘s initials, extends across the entire staircase.

 

  • 5-storey building extension
    5-storey extended building

1965 - Quality Assurance and Metrology grow in importance

During the further development of the company‘s technical competency, Quality Assurance, Metrology and Inspection were continuously built up from an early stage in order to set GAUDLITZ apart from the competition. Furthermore, in 1965, various powerful testing and metrological equipment was acquired, making it possible for our customers to precisely analyse their components. Even in the early years GAUDLITZ was intent on delivering flawless products to customers. This is why expansion of the Quality Assurance and Metrology has become such an important subject as the years went by.

 

  • Testing machines
    Testing machines
  • Testing equipment for quality measurement
    Quality testing equipment

1958 - Extending material expertise

In 1958 it was decided to include thermoplastics as well as duroplastics in the production programme. This was a further decisive step towards strengthening the company‘s well-established expertise in the area of production engineering. We could thereby extend the range of customers‘ projects utilising the essential characteristics and behaviour of thermoplastic plastic materials. In 1958, Oskar Gaudlitz oHG initiated a new era when his company began using thermoplastics, until then Gaulitz had specialised in duroplastics processing. From this moment on, thermoplastics made reliable metal/plastic joining possible, which has become increasingly important in the automotive industry. This development marked the first step towards replacing metal with plastic, which is becoming increasingly common today.

 

  • A glance at the plastic manufacturing
    Plastic production
  • Company building at night
    the company building by night

1955 - Moving to the new plant

In 1955, the move to the new and current plant at No. 42 Callenberger Straße, took place. The rise in new orders made this move necessary. By this stage GAUDLITZ had acquired a name on the market and among its customers for dependability and excellence. To this day the location in Callenberger Straße has remained the headquarters of a company which has gone on to expand internationally.

 

  • Group photo on the day of relocating
    Group photo on the day of the move
  • Company building in 1955 in Callenberger Straße
    Company building in Callenberger Straße in 1955

1949 - Establishment of our own mold making facility

The setting up of our own tool making facility was without doubt an important milestone in the history of the company. This satisfied a fundamental requirement for the technological development of the company. From then on, thanks to the newest machine tools and our excellently-trained specialist personnel, we were in a position to guarantee our customers the shortest possible production times while simultaneously achieving the highest level of precision. Over the decades, the mould making facility developed into the showpiece of our company, creating a positive image in the industry, which GAUDLITZ profits from to this day.

 

1937 - The GAUDLITZ company is founded in Kanonenweg

The Gaudlitz success story began in 1937 when Oskar Gaudlitz founded the company in Kanonenweg in Coburg. At the outset, company activities concentrated on manufacturing duroplastic moulded parts. Even then customer satisfaction was the main objective and work was carried out with great dedication and passion.

Use of a modern material

During this time, the company founder decided to use the modern material known as plastic and this decision reveals his courage and foresight. This decision proved to be a correct one as modern industrial production today is difficult to imagine without plastic, a material which can be used for many different applications.

Oskar GAUDLITZ, born in Gräfenthal, lead the company until his tragic death in 1945. Then his children, Elizabeth and Karl Gaudlitz took over the running of the company.

 

  • Oskar Gaudlitz
    Oskar Gaudlitz