Netzsch is ringing in its 150th anniversary year, with more than 4,100 employees worldwide joining in the celebration. From a small workshop in Selb, Germany, the firm has grown to an internationally successful mechanical engineering group. 

Two brothers — Thomas Netzsch, a locksmith, and his younger brother Christian Netzsch,   an engineer — set up their own business in 1873. The pair developed a quality product that won over the fire departments of the region. The fire extinguishers from the "Gebrüder Netzsch Maschinenfabrik” were a big seller. From there, the Netzsch brothers went on to develop machines for ceramic production that were also renowned for their quality. With the boom of the porcelain industry at that time in the Fichtelgebirge, the company finally concentrated entirely on the production of the ceramics industry equipment. 

Today, the family-owned company spans the globe with its three business units: pumps and systems; grinding and dispersing, and analyzing and testing. Netzsch offers products such as the Mohno pump, wet mill and rheometer, with around 210 production and sales locations and more than 4,100 employees. The Netzsch Group is once again headed by two brothers from Selb: Moritz and Paul Netzsch. As the fifth generation of the Netzsch family of owners, they run the company along with chief financial officer Jens Niessner.

SUCCESS OVER GENERATIONS

Netzsch has, of course, far outgrown the workshop in Selb, but the company’s executives want to remain true to its family values and roots. In this anniversary year, Moritz Netzsch said, "It is important to me that we have a stable, continued development of what we do today. My wish is that, with all the reflection, with all the necessary rethinking and new thinking, we grow organically, and bring the company into the next generation stronger than ever."

This is one of the reasons why Netzsch had its corporate history researched from a variety of perspectives for its 150th anniversary. That history show the company helped shape entire industries over many years. Netzsch has been able to adapt to radical changes in the corporate world and in the marketplace. Sometimes, this meant a drastic repositioning. 

Important milestones in the company's history can be attributed to Erich Netzsch (1903-1990) and Thomas Netzsch (1946-2010). Both managing directors shaped the company in their own distinctive way and brought it forward with their decisions. The discovery and further development of the Mohno pump under Erich Netzsch and the intensive internationalization under Thomas Netzsch are just two examples. The company still benefits from these formative decisions today. Success at Netzsch always has a cross-generational component. 

The same applies to an understanding of values and quality that, for generations, has not only focused on the company's own products and customers, but also on its employees. Thus, 25- and even 40-year anniversaries are nothing unusual at Netzsch - even internationally. The average length of service of the international workforce at Netzsch is high at 10.6 years. At the German locations, employees even remain employed for an average of 13 years. 

"You can feel our Netzsch spirit at every location,” Niessner said. "I often meet employees, whether it's in China, Brazil or Waldkraiburg, and realize in conversation that a son or daughter now also works for us. Our spirit is not only inherited by the owner family, but also by our workforce.”

"WE DRIVE INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS"

The company’s long-time slogan has been “Proven excellence.”

“We can prove our excellence from our history,” Paul Netzsch said.

In 2022, the company launched a new strategy for the three business units, with a new slogan: "We drive industrial progress to sustain a successful eco-system through generations." The new mission for the future reveals a strengthened will to shape things at Netzsch. 

Since 2019, for example, employees have been involved in the development of futuristic ideas in Netzsch’s own innovation incubator, NEDGEX, and are always on the lookout for potential new business areas. In 2021, NEDGEX was honored by Infront Consulting and the business magazine Capital as one of the best Digital Innovations Labs in Germany with the Digital Lab Award. 

In its anniversary year, Netzsch is planning extensive celebrations at all major international locations. The company will share the various facets of its history with its workforce, customers and partners, as well as interested members of the public, in a magazine and an anniversary blog.

What began in 1873 in a workshop in Selb has, of course, long outgrown its infancy,” Moritz Netzsch said. “But Netzsch wants to remain true to its family values and roots. It is important to me that we have a stable, continued development of what we do today.”