WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM
Westfälische Drahtindustrie GmbH (WDI) was founded in 1856 by Carl Hobrecker in Hamm, Germany under the name of “Hobrecker, Witte and Herbers” and was the first European wire manufacturer to use steam engines.
In 1872, the company was publically listed and renamed to “Aktiengesellschaft Westfälischer Draht-Industrie-Verein”, forming the world’s largest company for the production of drawn wires. Undergoing various structural changes, WDI later on became part of Germany’s large steel corporations such as Klöckner, Krupp and Hoesch.
In 1993, Werner Pampus became the majority shareholder and led WDI back to independence. Under his leadership, WDI has become one of Europe’s leading wire manufacturers and a strategic partner for the wire processing industry and beyond.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
Looking back on 150 years of tradition, WDI has evolved into the largest privately-held wire producer in Europe. Today, finished products are manufactured at 17 locations across Germany.
The group operates in eight business segments, each dedicated to high quality standards. All of them play a leading role in their particular industry.
WHERE WE ARE GOING
WDI has set four key strategic goals towards which we orientate our business performance:
• increase company value
• expand the market position of our products by actively shaping the industry
• continually improve customer satisfaction with product and service quality, technology and safety
• run an economically and ecologically sustainable business.