Internationalisation
Following World War II, Hannes Voith and Hugo Rupf, who served as Executive Board Chairman, then launched a high-growth phase for the company. Their first post-war delivery was a Voith turbine for Norway in 1947. Then major orders started pouring in: In 1949 eight Voith Schneider Propellers went to the United Africa Company, 46 Voith turbo-transmissions were shipped to Brazil, and in 1951, a new paper-making machine was delivered to the Netherlands. At the same time, Voith's new triple-converter transmission for motorised railcars, and its DIWA bus transmissions made Voith the market leader in drive technology. In 1953, Voith produced Europe's fastest newsprint paper machine for the Feldmühle AG: running at speeds of 600 metre/min, and producing up to 200 tons of newsprint each day. At the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, Voith was awarded a gold medal for developing the first turbo-transmission for the diesel-hydraulic locomotives of the Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Railways).
Throughout the 1960s, Voith rapidly expanded to become an internationally active corporation. In 1962, Voith participated on Europe's largest pumped-storage hydroelectric power station, the Vianden Pumped Storage Plant, in Vianden, Luxembourg, by supplying two spiral turbines, four storage pumps, and two pump turbines. For years later, Voith set another record by delivering the widest newsprint machine in the world to Sweden. Between 1962 and 1966, the company also made major investments in the Indian company Utkal Machinery Ltd., and the Spanish company Talleres de Tolosa. Voith also took over the tooling and paper machine manufacturer Dörries, as well as founding new sales offices in Great Britain and France. In addition, a new subsidiary was founded in Brazil in 1964: the Voith S.A. in São Paulo.
In the 1970s, Voith developed its centrimatic clutch, and the R130 retarder for buses and utility vehicles. In the USA, Voith founded a subsidiary in Appleton, Wisconsin in 1974, and also became the major shareholder of Morden Machines in Portland, Oregon. Two years later, Voith founded its first Japanese subsidiary. Following the death of Hanns Voith, Hugo Rupf became the company's Managing Director in 1971, and in 1973, he became the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Following the acquisition of Appleton Mills, USA in 1983, Voith entered the market for paper machine clothing. In addition, Voith took over the hydropower operations of the US market leader Allis Chalmers in York, Pennsylvania. Within a few years, Voith expanded its US workforce from 200 to 1,300. In 1985, Voith also entered the India, establishing a production plant in Hyderabad.
In the 1990s, Voith began to expand its operations in the Far East, concentrating on China. In 1994, Voith supplied the turbines for the world's largest pumped storage hydroelectric power station at Guangzhou II. And two years later, Voith received the contract to build the world's largest fine paper machine in Dagang. In Kunshan and Liaoyang, China, the company also opened new production plants in 1996.
Under the leadership of Michael Rogowski, who had been Voith's spokesman since 1986, the company was reorganised, and it became a management-holding, with independently operating commercial sectors. In the following years, Voith's technical masterpieces were the introduction of the R 115 integrated retarder in 1988, and the commissioning of the largest European deinking facility in Schongau in 1989.
In 1994, Voith and the Swiss company, Sulzer, merged their technical paper production activities and in 1999 Voith acquired the technical paper-making operations of the British company, Scapa - thereby became the leader in machine clothing technologies. The next year, the Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation was founded as a joint venture between the two international leaders in turbine and generator technologies.
In 2000, Voith's leadership also changed hands, with Michael Rogowski handing over the company's operational responsibilities to Hermut Kormann. Under his leadership, Voith has become a worldwide, family-run company - with orders totaling €4 billion, and a workforce of 34,000 people. A key development has been Voith's entry into the field of technical industrial service. By assuming the controlling interest in the DIW Deutsche Industriewartung AG, Stuttgart, the cornerstone was laid for the new commercial division: Voith Industrial Services. In past years, this division has seen considerable growth and other acquisitions have also followed, including: The Imo-Hüther Group, the US Premier Group and Hörmann Industrial Technologies.
In May 2006, the new Voith Paper Technology Center was opened in Heidenheim. In Scotland, Voith's subsidiary Wavegen introduced the first wave-driven generator that can supply electricity to a local power grid.
On October 1, 2010 the holding company changed its legal form from Aktiengesellschaft (AG) to GmbH.
Read more about this topic: Voith, Company History