Origins and early years
The company origins can be traced back to the German blacksmith Eduard Vossloh. After having returned from the Franco-Prussian War, Vossloh undertook various forms of work and struggled to turn a profit until he secured a major contract during 1883 for the manufacture of spring washers, used for rail fasteners, from the Royal Prussian Railway; allegedly, the Prussian authorities had looked positively upon his military service. Lacking the resources to fulfil the order, Vossloh hired several workers and obtained help from another German company, Kugel & Berg, which delivered the needed wire to construct the metal lock rings. Soon after the order's fulfilment, additional orders followed, and Vossloh had no shortage of work. On 11 July 1888, the Eduard Vossloh Company was registered; that same year, the business moved to new premises outside of Werdohl's inner core that facilitated an expanded workshop and product range.
By the mid-1890s, this workshop had been equipped with a variety of machines and effectively become a small factory. In 1899, Edward Vossloh died and his three oldest sons took on the management of the company. One of these sons, Karl Vossloh, became an engineer and expanded the company’s product range by developing various new metal components for the railways. The business grew steadily around this time; by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, it employed roughly 240 people and provided a steady living for the Vossloh family. During 1917, a large German steel maker, Rheinische Stahlwerke Duisburg, held talks with the Vossloh family on acquiring the firm; however, terms could not be agreed and no such deal took place. In the aftermath of the conflict, the demand for forged products collapsed and Vossloh opted to focus on smaller metal components instead of manufacturing larger ones, establishing a modest plant to produce sheet metal along with a separate new facility to supply the former with raw materials.
During the early 1920s, the business was reorganised into three limited liability companies, each led by one of the three oldest Vossloh brothers; one headed the production plants in Werdohl, another led the Lüdenscheid factory, and the last brother was responsible for marketing and sales. In 1924, Vossloh acquired a wood processing plant in Dillenburg; by this time, Vossloh maintained more than 60 company-owned apartments that were rented at low prices to Vossloh employees. During 1927, Karl Vossloh developed the high tension ring, which went on to become the standard used on numerous railways across Europe, including Germany. By the late 1920s, Vossloh had developed a network of sales offices across the region, including offices in Königsberg, Breslau, Munich, Frankfurt/Main, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Throughout the early 20th century, the company continued to grow, producing general hardware, including decorative items and lampholders for electric lights; its diverse product range helped it survive the Great Recession.
Demand for Vossloh's products remained strong throughout the 1930s and into the Second World War; in the war year, women took the place of many of the male craftsmen that were sent off to fight. During early 1945, amid the closing months of the conflict, the firm's facilities in Werdohl were destroyed by a bomb. Subsidiaries marketing lampholders, which were located in Kaliningrad, Wrocław and East Germany, ceased to be part of the company due to the post-war changes to Germany's national borders made at the end of the conflict. In contrast, Werdohl has remained an important location to the company; even in the 21st century, the headquarters of Vossloh AG and Vossloh Fastening Systems GmbH (Core Components division) are located here.[4][5]
During 1946, production of holders for fluorescent tubes was allowed to take place at a plant in Lüdenscheid. By 1950, recovery was well underway, with in excess of 700 employees at Vossloh's three production facilities.[5] By 1962, an additional plant for lighting products had opened in Selm and the Vossloh works employed 1,300 people, with 500 more employed in subsidiaries. A decisive turning point in the company's fortunes occurred in 1967 when Vossloh obtained a license to produce a new tension clamp rail fastening developed by Prof. Hermann Meier, director of the Deutsche Bundesbahn.[4][6]
As a result of a recession in Germany in the 1980s, two plants were closed and many employees were laid-off, reducing Vossloh's headcount by almost half. Management was brought in from outside the Vossloh family, and the rival company Schwabe GmbH was acquired. Schwabe's lighting ballast products complemented Vossloh's lighting fittings product range and, on 1 December 1989, Vossloh-Werke GmbH became a public stock company or Aktiengesellschaft (AG). At that time, there were three company divisions : Vossloh-Werke GmbH (Werdohl) (railway components, e.g., tension clamps), Vossloh-Schwabe GmbH (Urbach) (electrical lighting products and components), and Hansa Metallwarengesellschaft mbH Thiessen & Hager (decorative products, sunscreen products).[4][6]
1990s and beyond
The current listed company was founded in 1990. On 13 June 1990, the shares of Vossloh AG were listed on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange for the first time. During the 1990s, the reunification of Germany, and the opening of new markets in eastern Europe, resulted in additional demand for its rail fastening products on the former Deutsche Reichsbahn and elsewhere. Hoesch Maschinenfabrik Deutschland GmbH and W. Hegenscheidt GmbH, manufacturers of railway wheelset machining equipment, were acquired in the mid-1990s. In 1997, the company was first listed on the MDAX. During 1998, the railway switch manufacturing company VAE group was acquired by Voestalpine AG and Vossloh.[4][6]
However, a recession in the 1990s contributed to the sale of Vossloh's "non-recession-resilient" decorative products division to Arquati S.p.A. of Italy in 1997. Under company CEO Burkhard Schuchmann during and after the 1990s, Vossloh was re-orientated as a rail-industry-based company. In 2002, the lighting division was sold to Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. of Osaka, Japan,[4]
