Voith

Voith is a German technology group whose origins lie in nineteenth-century mechanical engineering, metalworking and the manufacture of equipment for paper production and hydropower. The company developed from Johann Matthäus Voith’s locksmith and repair workshop in Heidenheim, which he had taken over in 1825. Under his son Friedrich Voith, the business became an industrial manufacturer and was formally established as J. M. Voith on January 1, 1867. The early company served the industrial economy of Württemberg by repairing and reproducing machinery used by textile and paper manufacturers. Its decisive specialization emerged through work on wood grinders, wood-pulp preparation equipment and paper machines. Voith improved machinery based on the wood-grinding technology associated with Friedrich Gottlob Keller and entered into a long-running technical relationship with paper manufacturer Heinrich Voelter. In 1881, the company produced its first complete Voith paper machine, marking a transition from workshop production to a specialized paper-technology business. Hydropower became the second major foundation of the group. Voith manufactured water turbines, including Francis and Pelton designs, and later developed equipment for the expanding electrical-power industry. Its research facilities at Hermaringen and Brunnenmühle supported hydraulic testing and helped connect the company with scientific engineering. In 1903, Voith received an order for twelve large Francis turbines for power plants associated with Niagara Falls, an important international milestone for its turbine business. During the twentieth century, Voith broadened from paper and hydroelectric machinery into mechanical and hydrodynamic drive technology. It began building gear transmissions in 1922, developed hydrodynamic couplings based on the Föttinger principle in 1929, and participated in the development of the Voith Schneider propeller, a maneuverable marine propulsion and steering system patented jointly with engineer Ernst Schneider in 1927. These technologies supported later applications in ships, rail vehicles, industrial machinery and road vehicles. Voith is not primarily an automobile brand. Automotive and road-vehicle drive applications form only part of a much wider industrial portfolio. The group’s principal areas are equipment and services for paper mills, hydropower and energy systems, transport propulsion and drive technology, and selected raw-material industries. Its offering combines large-scale machinery with engineering, maintenance, modernization, automation and digital applications. The company remains family-owned and operates internationally, with locations in more than 60 countries. The reference material describes approximately 22,000 employees and sales of about €5.2 billion, but these figures are not assigned here to a specific reporting period. Voith’s identity is therefore best understood as that of a global, privately held industrial technology group rather than a consumer-facing product brand. Its long-term positioning rests on engineering depth, application-specific systems, lifecycle service and the ability to combine mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and digital technologies.

Voith’s history began in 1825, when Johann Matthäus Voith assumed control of his father’s locksmith workshop in Heidenheim. The workshop repaired water wheels, textile machinery and paper-mill equipment, and participated in the construction of a paper machine developed by Johann Jakob Widmann. During the middle decades of the nineteenth century, the business moved beyond repair work and began reproducing and improving machinery imported from Britain. The company’s industrial direction was shaped by its relationship with paper manufacturer Heinrich Voelter. From the 1850s onward, Voith worked on mechanical wood grinders and later on refiners for preparing wood pulp. The business added a metalworking shop and foundry, enabling it to make increasingly large machines internally. A major order following a fire at Voelter’s paper mill required the production of eight hollander beaters and accelerated the expansion of the manufacturing works. On January 1, 1867, Friedrich Voith took over the workshop as sole owner. This date is treated as the formal founding of the company. Under Friedrich’s leadership, the enterprise specialized in paper machinery while also entering water-turbine construction. It received a patent for a wood grinder with a toothed loading rack in 1869 and exhibited wood-grinding technology at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna, where the development received a progress medal. Voith produced its first complete paper machine in 1881 for Raithelhuber, Bezner & Cie. in Gemmrigheim. In parallel, it developed turbine technology, initially producing improved Francis turbines and later high-pressure Pelton turbines. As electricity generation expanded, water turbines became an increasingly important business. In 1903, the company won an order for twelve 12,000-horsepower Francis turbines for power plants at Niagara Falls in the United States and Canada. Internationalization followed. Voith opened its first subsidiary in Sankt Pölten, Austria, in 1904. Research and testing became more formalized through turbine facilities in Hermaringen and Brunnenmühle. The Brunnenmühle site became a hydraulic research and testing center and was associated with Germany’s early pumped-storage hydropower work. The company also continued expanding its paper-machine business; by 1913 it had supplied 150 paper machines, including a very large newsprint machine for Holmen Bruks in Sweden. In 1912, Friedrich Voith converted the company into a general partnership and transferred most of his shares to his sons. After his death in 1913, the family continued to direct the enterprise. The interwar period brought a strategic expansion into drive technology. In 1922, Voith began producing gear transmissions and also built its first Kaplan turbine. Research into hydrodynamic energy transfer led to hydrodynamic couplings in 1929, including equipment for the Koepchenwerk pumped-storage plant. Marine propulsion became another distinctive field. Engineer Ernst Schneider and Voith’s Sankt Pölten operation jointly applied for a patent in 1927 for the Voith Schneider propeller, a system that combines propulsion and steering and provides high maneuverability. Voith subsequently developed related drive systems for industrial machinery, rolling stock and road vehicles. By 1934, the company had delivered more than 11,000 turbines for hydropower and pumped-storage installations, according to the cited historical material. Across the following decades, Voith evolved into a diversified industrial technology group. Its core activities remained centered on paper machinery, hydropower and drive technology, while services, automation and digital applications became increasingly important. The company’s present identity reflects this accumulated engineering portfolio: it supplies systems and lifecycle support to energy, paper, raw-materials and transport markets worldwide. Voith remains privately held and family-owned, with a global operating footprint.

1. 1929Hydrodynamic coupling development

   Voith develops hydrodynamic couplings based on the Föttinger principle for industrial and energy applications.

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2. 1927Voith Schneider propeller patent application

   Voith and engineer Ernst Schneider jointly apply for a patent covering the highly maneuverable Voith Schneider propeller.

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3. 1922Entry into gear transmissions

   Voith begins manufacturing gear transmissions and builds its first Kaplan turbine.

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4. 1904First foreign subsidiary

   Voith opens its first subsidiary in Sankt Pölten, Austria.

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5. 1903Niagara Falls turbine order

   Voith receives an order for twelve large Francis turbines for power plants associated with Niagara Falls.

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6. 1881First complete Voith paper machine

   The first complete Voith paper machine is delivered to Raithelhuber, Bezner & Cie. in Gemmrigheim.

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7. 1873Progress medal at the Vienna World Exhibition

   Friedrich Voith and Heinrich Voelter exhibit a Voith wood grinder and receive recognition for the development.

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8. 1869Wood-grinder patent

   Voith receives its first patent for a wood grinder with a toothed loading rack.

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9. 1867Formal founding of J. M. Voith

   Friedrich Voith takes over the business as sole owner on January 1, the date generally used as Voith’s founding year.

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10. 1825Johann Matthäus Voith takes over the family workshop

    Johann Matthäus Voith assumes control of his father’s locksmith workshop in Heidenheim, establishing the business’s industrial predecessor.

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A family-owned engineering and technology partner for capital-intensive industries, emphasizing technically integrated systems, application expertise, research and development, and long-term service rather than consumer products.

• Paper machinesPaper-production equipment1881

  Voith’s paper-machine business grew out of its nineteenth-century work on wood grinding and pulp preparation. The group supplies large-scale machinery and integrated systems for producing paper and related grades, supported by process engineering, automation, modernization and lifecycle services.

• Wood grinders and stock-preparation systemsPulp and paper equipment

  Wood grinders, refiners and related stock-preparation equipment formed the technical basis of Voith’s early specialization. These systems process raw material into pulp or furnish suitable for paper production and remain part of the company’s broader paper-technology heritage.

• Hydropower turbinesEnergy equipment1873

  Voith manufactures and engineers turbine technology for hydropower and pumped-storage applications. Its historical range includes Francis, Pelton and Kaplan turbines, with associated engineering, testing, modernization and service capabilities.

• Voith Schneider PropellerMarine propulsion1927

  The Voith Schneider Propeller is a cycloidal marine propulsion system that provides both thrust and steering through controllable vertically oriented blades. Its maneuverability made it distinctive for vessels requiring precise control in confined or demanding operating environments.

• Hydrodynamic couplings and transmissionsIndustrial and vehicle drive technology1929

  Voith’s hydrodynamic drive technology transfers power through fluid dynamics and was developed from the company’s turbine expertise and the Föttinger principle. Applications have included industrial machinery, energy installations, rail vehicles, marine systems and road vehicles.

• 1927Development of the Voith Schneider propellerProduct launch

  Marine operators needed propulsion that could provide unusually precise maneuvering and steering.

  What changed. Voith and Ernst Schneider jointly pursued and patented a cycloidal propulsion and steering system.

  Aftermath. The technology became one of Voith’s best-known transport products and supported the group’s marine-propulsion identity.

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• 1922Expansion into drive technologyStrategy

  Voith’s accumulated expertise in turbines and fluid dynamics created a basis for entering a wider industrial-drive market.

  What changed. The company began building gear transmissions and expanded its hydrodynamic engineering activities.

  Aftermath. Drive technology became a durable business area serving industrial, transport and energy applications.

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• 1867Specialization in paper machinery and turbinesStrategy

  After Friedrich Voith assumed sole ownership, the former repair workshop was being transformed into an industrial manufacturing company.

  What changed. Voith concentrated on paper machines and wood-processing equipment while building a parallel business in water wheels and turbines.

  Aftermath. This combination established the two principal technological foundations of the later Voith Group: paper technology and energy machinery.

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1. Voith
2. Voith Group official website