Global player with strong roots: 6 decades of pipe tool innovation in red.

ROTHENBERGER celebrates 60-year anniversary

Kelkheim. For the 60th anniversary of the business, the pipe tool specialist ROTHENBERGER, located in Kelkheim near Taunus in the state of Hesse, presents itself with unbridled power for innovation and stable business performance. Once again, it has been shown just how important family enterprises that are orientated towards sustainability are for the entire economic landscape, especially in uncertain times.

The traditional red tools and machinery from ROTHENBERGER can now be found in building sites and in industry around the world. This success was already in the 'genes' of the company when Edwin Rothenberger founded it in 1949. As an individual, he represented the entire philosophy for success of the business as it is today: a richness of ideas, a close-knit family as the core and the support of the business, an orientation towards growth with a realistic outlook and a strong connection with the native region and its people. In the 2nd generation, Chairman Helmut Rothenberger has been successfully and carefully controlling the fate of the business since 1985.

With Ms Sabine Rothenberger, the 3rd generation has now also been involved for the past five years. She is just as happy to follow the traditions of the family enterprise as her sister, Ms Sandra Rothenberger, who represents the interests of the family on the company's board of directors.

Pipelines for energy and water as vital lifelines for the world: From the outset, pipe machining has been the focus of all of ROTHENBERGER's activities. Coming from a background of soldering and welding, the business had already revolutionised pipe connection in the late 60s with the ROCAM Expander, which is still being produced today. With the legendary R-system tools, in 1967 ROTHENBERGER were the first to give mechanics an integrated system, which everything fitted into. The technology of fitting-less pipe connections was significantly promoted and perfected by ROTHENBERGER from the 90s onwards.

Innovation, professionalism and quality as a safeguard for the future.

The ROTHENBERGER brand and sub-group form the core of the Helmut Rothenberger group, the leading technology corporate group with traditional brands and small-scale market leaders in the areas of tool and environmental technology as well as machine tools. In the year 2008, the entire corporate group with almost 3,000 staff achieved a turnover of more than €500m for the first time. This was based on technological advances, applied research and development but above all many years of customer and staff satisfaction.

With over 50 group companies and 14 production plants worldwide, ROTHENBERGER now presents itself as a global player, while at the same time never forgetting its responsibilities towards its native region, as figures such as its training quota of over10 per cent make clear.


And the company has firmly anchored the processes of value creation, development and training in the Rhine-Main area with its ROTHENBERGER TEC Center, which was opened in 2008 and is considered to be one of the industry's model centres for training, innovation and production. More than 100 new, qualified workplaces were created in the TEC Center, which provides more than one good reason for Hesse's Minister-President Roland Koch to be present here, not just for the inauguration but also for the company's anniversary as a guest speaker.

Research and development based on the accurate knowledge of market and user requirements are ranked very highly at ROTHENBERGER, which is impressively demonstrated by more than 150 international patents and trademarks. With a wide range of products for the top-quality market, extending from robust water pump pliers to high-tech pipe inspection systems, ROTHENBERGER shows itself to be in a first class position for the coming successful decades.

'The development of technologically sophisticated products and the qualification of staff and users are key factors in our success,' observes Chairman Helmut Rothenberger. 'Therefore, as a family enterprise we will above all continue to place activities that promote skill and innovation at the centre of our business operations, regardless of how market conditions develop.'

Your media contact:
ROTHENBERGER AG
Martin  Baier
Marketing & Public Relations Manager
Industriestraße 7
D-65779 Kelkheim/Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 61 95 / 800-3760
Fax: +49 (0) 61 95 / 800-53760
E-mail: martin.baier(at)rothenberger.com
www.rothenberger.com