2024-10-02 08:36:29
75 years ago, Reinhold Würth began his apprenticeship in his father’s screw shop. The two-man business became a billion-dollar company. Now the company patriarch wants to step back.
After more than 75 years of work, entrepreneur Reinhold Würth, known as the “Screw King,” wants to take a step back from his career. “I will hand over the chairmanship of the foundation’s supervisory board on January 1, 2025 – to my grandson Benjamin,” said Würth at a ceremony to mark his work anniversary in Künzelsau. In the future, he will take on the position of honorary chairman and will probably “complain along” from the background. “But Benjamin is the future of this company.”
The 89-year-old had already left day-to-day business in 1994, but subsequently chaired the foundation’s supervisory board, among other things. The control committee monitors the family foundations that own the Würth Group and is involved in important strategic decisions. To this day, the word “old Würth” still has a lot of weight in Künzelsau. Benjamin Würth has been deputy chairman of the committee since the beginning of 2023 and was already considered a potential successor to his grandfather.
The company patriarch sees the group, which is considered the world market leader in the field of fastening and assembly technology, as well prepared for the future. He said he was coming to the end of his life. “But I am sure that the company today, in its current state, has the strength to grow into a successful future that goes far beyond today’s dimensions.”
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) gave the ceremonial speech at Würth. He praised him, among other things, as an “innovative traditionalist and tradition-conscious innovator.” In addition to Würth’s commitment to art and culture, the Chancellor particularly emphasized the role of his family – because “without this family, the company would not exist.”
The Chancellor also thanked Würth for his political comments in the past. “For you, dear Mr. Würth, to clearly and clearly contradict the divisive and fear-mongering people is part of a democratic culture.” It was only in the spring that the 89-year-old warned against the AfD in a five-page letter and advised his employees in this country not to vote for the party. He also had a swipe in store on Tuesday: “I already know how I’ll vote next time. But I’m not saying that. At least I won’t vote for one party – definitely not.”
In 1949, when he was 14 years old at the time, Würth began an apprenticeship in his father’s screw wholesaler. After his death five years later, he took over the small business at the age of 19. Under his leadership, the company expanded on a large scale in the following decades. Today the range includes more than a million products – including for craft and industrial businesses. In addition to screws and dowels, this also includes tools and occupational safety items. The group produces some of it itself.
The former two-man business has made Würth a billionaire – he is now one of the richest Germans. More than 88,500 people around the world recently worked for the retail group – a good 27,400 of them in Germany. In 2023, the Würth Group achieved sales of more than 20 billion euros and an annual profit of 1.13 billion euros.
But Würth is also a patron of the arts – and has continued to expand his collection in recent years. Most recently it included more than 20,000 works, which are exhibited in several museums in his homeland and at company locations abroad. Künzelsau and the region are considered Würth Land anyway: the name is shared by, among other things, a nearby airport, a university, a symphony orchestra and a culture and congress center.