1949
The engineer Edwin Rothenberger founded the company on 24 May 1949 as a trading company in Frankfurt am Main. The product range included tools, machines and welding technology - the joining of pipes was at the centre of business activities. The range of products appealed to customers, so the company grew steadily and expanded its premises in Frankfurt several times within a short space of time.
1967
At the International Trade Fair for Sanitary and Heating Technology (ISH) in 1967, ROTHENBERGER presented the so-called R-System, which contributed significantly to the company's success. The R-System consisted of tools for expanding, collaring and bending pipes and enabled plumbers to connect pipes without fittings: It eliminated the need for soldered sockets, T-pieces and L-bends, saving time and materials.
1974
The great demand for ROTHENBERGER products soon necessitated a change of location: in 1974, the company moved to Kelkheim, near Frankfurt. In the same year, the second generation of the Rothenberger family took over the management and continued to invest in the development of the company. In 1985, Dr Helmut Rothenberger took over as CEO of ROTHENBERGER AG, to which all ROTHENBERGER companies still belong today. He moved to the Supervisory Board of the AG in 2013. Dr Christian Heine has been Chairman of the Executive Board of ROTHENBERGER AG since 2016.
2000s
Thanks to the user-friendliness, quality and durability of its products, ROTHENBERGER has earned a place in the toolboxes of trade professionals. Over several decades, the company has built up and expanded its capacities and opened up more and more markets.
The family business conquered the market for pipe tools in other countries by setting up its own subsidiaries in countries outside Germany and investing in international brands such as VIRAX in France and North Africa and SUPER-EGO in Spain and Latin America. The Rothenberger family also added special expertise to the core business by acquiring companies specialising in pipe tools and machines. In this way, the company continued to develop pipe tools and related technologies - always with the users of the tools in mind.
2010s
We see ourselves as a cosmopolitan family that tackles new challenges with courage and entrepreneurial spirit and always faces any conditions and requirements head on. We believe in quality, diligence, dynamism and respect and see these as the guiding principles of our entrepreneurial activities. In line with this corporate philosophy, we have identified 7 ROTHENBERGER core values on which we base our actions.
- Cohesion as a family
- Trust
- Responsibility
- Efficiency
- quality
- Courage
- Entrepreneurial spirit
2021
On 20 and 21 October 2021, ROTHENBERGER organised the Influencer Days for the first time. Under the motto "CAS Influencer Days" in cooperation with Metabo, ROTHENBERGER invited over 50 social media influencers from the trade sector. Over the two days, the invited guests from all over Europe were able to get to know Metabo's cross-manufacturer cordless system, the Cordless Alliance System (CAS), at first hand.
These days marked an important step for ROTHENBERGER towards a modern, digital marketing strategy that is specifically geared towards a younger and tech-savvy target group.
2023
ROTHENBERGER strengthens its position as an innovative tool manufacturer by becoming a (founding) member of the cordless alliance system Cordless Alliance System (CAS) from Metabo. This decision enables ROTHENBERGER to offer its customers even more flexibility and compatibility when using cordless tools.
In the same year, ROTHENBERGER founded the international training academy "RO-KAT Academy". This focusses on specialists in the field of pipe and sewer technology. The Academy offers practice-orientated seminars in which participants acquire the in-depth knowledge and practical skills required for the safe and efficient use of ROTHENBERGER equipment and technologies.
2024
In April 2024, ROTHENBERGER put a new, fully automated small parts warehouse into operation in Kelkheim. Controlled by 19 high-speed robots over an area of 700 square metres, the system makes order picking more efficient and speeds up the ordering process considerably.
2024
In the same year, ROTHENBERGER celebrated its 75th anniversary and looked back on a successful company history. In addition, a new production hall was ceremoniously opened in the TEC Centre Kelkheim. This modern hall, which triples the production area, strengthens the local site and is also an investment by the company in innovation and sustainability. With this expansion, ROTHENBERGER aims to achieve climate-neutral production by 2025, while the increased capacity will meet the global demand for press technology products.