The WENZEL Group restructures its shareholders and concentrates on metrology
24.07.18 - On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, metrology supplier WENZEL from Wiesthal is breaking new ground.
Dr. Heike Wenzel is now the sole managing partner of WENZEL Group GmbH & Co. KG. Her brother Frank Wenzel will leave the company. As a result, the WENZEL Group remains 100% family-owned and will continue to expand its market position in the field of metrology.
In recent years, WENZEL has transformed itself from a medium-sized enterprise into a global corporation with more than 630 employees. This was made possible by strong growth in the area of metrology products and services. The digital transformation opens up tremendous opportunities for metrology. These include measuring in and on the production line, integration into automation solutions and the interaction of tactile and optical measurement solutions in companies. WENZEL wants to exploit these opportunities and invest more in innovative developments. For this reason, the gear metrology and styling solutions divisions will be removed from the group and continued by Frank Wenzel.
No changes to structures and contacts
The foundations of the WENZEL Group were laid by Werner Wenzel in 1968. Back then a small workshop with just three people, the Group now boasts more than 630 employees. WENZEL serves customers around the world and has developed into a leading supplier of metrology and styling solutions. In its metrology division the WENZEL Group will retain its established structures and dependable contact base.
Overall, the group will remain largely unchanged; only WENZEL DesignTec GmbH and a small location in Karlsruhe will leave the company. All the other locations in Germany and abroad will remain part of the WENZEL Group. A cooperation agreement ensures that production and service orders are still processed with high quality.
Positive reaction from the workforce
The changes were communicated in advance to the workforce and local media. A key issue is that the company headquarters in Wiesthal will remain responsible for machinery production. 320 employees, some of them second-generation, work here and have been crucial to the company’s success to date.
“Preserving my parents’ legacy and getting it into shape for the next generation is a matter very close to my heart,” says Dr. Heike Wenzel. She sees the new direction being taken as the right logical step. “The separation of our businesses will increase transparency and cooperation within the company, providing what is certainly a positive boost that will translate into real benefits for us.”
With the departure of Frank Wenzel, Prof. Heiko Wenzel-Schinzer will now be promoted to the business management. His responsibilities include the Group’s digitization strategy. Since 2015, he has been supporting the WENZEL Group in reorganizing its software development and the digital transformation. He is married to Dr. Heike Wenzel, so the tradition of a family-owned business with streamlined decision-making processes will be retained at management level. Now and in the future, the WENZEL Group will remain the world’s largest family-run supplier of metrology.
You would like more information? Please watch the interview with our CEO, Dr. Heike Wenzel: