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Story 190 – 1820 – Business model

No need to keep reinventing the wheel

Since the beginning Wieland has also been growing through acquisitions

Already Philipp Jakob Wieland had the motto to look beyond his own horizons – not only to acquire know-how, but also shareholdings or even entire companies. All his successors have followed this strategy to this day – with impressive success.

  • 1820: Philipp Jakob Wieland starts his business by taking over the art and bell foundry of his uncle Thomas Frauenlob. This is later followed by the acquisition of several mills in Ulm (1828, 1859) and Herrlingen (1841), which are expanded into production sites.
  • 1865: The plant in Vöhringen also goes back to the purchase of a mill.
  • 1931: Wieland buys a 90 per cent share in Messingwerk Schwarzwald AG. The company is renamed Metallwerke Schwarzwald AG in 1941 and has been part of the Wieland Group since 2001.
  • 1987: Purchase of the Langenberg copper and brass works. Wieland thus also acquires a 50 per cent share in Schwermetall Halbzeugwerk GmbH & Co. KG in Stolberg.
  • 1988: Acquisition of B. Mason & Sons Ltd. in Birmingham. The company now operates under the name Wieland Metals Birmingham (UK).
  • 1989/90: Wieland acquires a slitting centre in Northampton – today Wieland Nemco (UK) – and takes a share in the Cimsa slitting centre in Barcelona – today Wieland Cimsa (ES).
  • 1993: Acquisition of the Erich Rössler slitting centre in Kaufbeuren – today Wieland Roessler (DE).
  • 1999: Wieland acquires a majority interest in Austria Buntmetall AG in Enzesfeld, which includes further companies in Amstetten and Enzesfeld – today Wieland Austria (AT).
  • 2005: Acquisition of Manner Metals in Copenhagen – today Wieland Manner (DK).
  • 2007: Purchase of the Swiss Almeta Stahl- und Metallhandel AG – today Wieland Metalix (CH).
  • 2008: Wieland participates in Wolverine Tube Shanghai (CN) and acquires the Ulm-based SMB Sondermaschinenbau GmbH – today Wieland Anlagentechnik (DE).
  • 2009: Acquisition of the trading company Fudickar Sauerländer Metallhandel - today Wieland Fudickar.
  • 2010: Wieland acquires the shares of the Japanese Kobe Steel in the joint venture KobeWieland Copper Products in the USA – today Wieland Copper Products (US).
  • 2013: Acquisition of the Wolverine Tubagem finned tube mill in Esposende – today Wieland Thermal Solutions Lda (PT).
  • 2015: In Ulm, Metallschmelzwerk Ulm GmbH is acquired – today Wieland Recycling, Ulm (DE).
  • 2017: In the USA Wieland acquires Kessler Industries LLC.
  • 2018: Purchase of shares in the Norwegian Bluesea Technology and in the Austrian UrbanGold GmbH (AT). In addition, the companies Diversified Metals Inc. and E. Jordan Brookes Co. are also acquired in the USA.
  • 2019: In the largest acquisition in the company's history, Wieland acquires the North American market leader Global Brass & Copper (US) – today Wieland Metals North America (US) – and thus expands its position as one of the largest companies in its industry worldwide.

Learn more about
Wieland Group

Aerial view Wieland factory Langenberg

Langenberg Kupfer- und Messingwerke have been part of Wieland since 1987. Today, some 300 employees produce high-quality copper and copper alloys strip.

Aerial view Wieland factory Birmingham

With B. Mason & Sons Ltd. in Birmingham, Wieland acquired its first company outside Germany in 1988.

Aerial view Wieland factory Austria

The former Austria Buntmetall AG in Enzesfeld (AT) is part of Wieland since 1999, now known as Wieland Austria (AT).