History: WashTec AG - Autowaschtechnik weit voraus.

History

50 years of experience in the manufacture of car wash systems

The history of WashTec dates back to the year of the invention of the motor car itself. Hans Kleindienst founded the original company, called Kleindienst GmbH & Co. KG, in Augsburg in 1885. In the same year, Carl Friedrich Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and their designer Wilhelm Maybach succeeded in getting their petrol car to run. Many years later, a number of company mergers produced CaliforniaKleindienst GmbH, which was by then already the leading manufacturer of car wash systems. In the millennium year 2000, WESUMAT and CaliforniaKleindienst merged, creating what is now WashTec AG.


Kleindienst		WESUMAT


1885 – Opening of the machine building factory in Augsburg Carl Benz builds the first motor vehicle. At the same time, Kleindienst GmbH & Co. KG is founded in Augsburg. Initially specialising in the manufacture of machines for large laundries, the company later successfully develops and produces lifts.





1963 – A new technology revolutionises vehicle washing A. Rohé GmbH, founded in 1946, develops the first three-brush gantry and lays the foundations for cost-effective car washing. In 1965, the Augsburg firm Kleindienst GmbH & Co. KG develops the first car wash tunnel of its own.		1962 – The first car washing system is developed WESUMAT presents the first fully automatic brush car wash. It is a runaway success. Until 1968, the systems are manufactured at MBB under licence. The company expands unstoppably before starting to manufacture for itself in 1970.





1967 – The first commercial vehicle washing system appears in the market. With a clear height of 3 m and manual operation, the first washing system for commercial vehicles was usable within limitations. It was followed in 1974 by the first fully automatic washing system with a clear height of 4.10 m.





1996 – Combined competences produce market leadership The Osorno Group, which is now the holding company for both Kleindienst GmbH & Co. and A. Rohé GmbH, merges the two firms. California Kleindienst GmbH is created and continues the German market leadership in the building of vehicle wash systems.		1994 – Expansion and stock exchange launch Permanent expansion leads to the establishment of a holding company in 1994, into which WESUMAT Fahrzeugwaschanlangen GmbH, founded in 1984, is incorporated. This is followed in 1997 by the changeover to WESUMAT Holding AG and the company's launch on the stock exchange.

WashTec

2000 –
Merging for a common future

In 2000, two of the driving forces behind professional vehicle cleaning - WESUMAT and CaliforniaKleindienst - merge to form WashTec AG. The merger creates a global market leader in vehicle washing systems. The combination of skills in research, production and service is still unique today.

2008 –
WashTec AG signs agreement to acquire AUWA-Chemie GmbH

The acquisition of AUWA is consistent with WashTec’s strategic positioning as a full solution provider of all services around the carwash value chain. AUWA-Chemie GmbH offers a complete range of carwash chemicals.
As on of the top companies in its sector, AUWA offers a product range the world over that is completely NTA-free.

2010 –
WashTec acquires the product line "AdeKema" of carwash chemicals manufacturer Flügger

Historie

2012 –
WashTec is celebrating its anniversary: 50 years of car washes – a success story "Made in Augsburg"

On 8 August 1962, i.e. precisely 50 years ago, the Augsburg-based company WESUMAT applied for a patent for the invention of the world’s first “automatic car wash”. This was a two-brush system that circled around the stationary vehicle on rails during the washing process. This laid the foundation for a service industry, which in Germany alone generates an annual turnover of more than 1.3 billion euros. The entrepreneurial success story has continued through to this very day. The company WashTec AG is the world’s leading producer of vehicle washing systems and, with its workforce of some 1,600 plus employees, produces, markets and services a complete product portfolio of washing systems for cars and commercial vehicles.

You can find out more on the topic of 50 years of car washes in the press release of 11 January 2011. Read more...