English - Groz-Beckert

experience
an eventful history
1852 - today

2 | INTRODUCTION
Past experience determines the future – and, throughout its event -
ful history since 1852, Groz-Beckert has experienced a great deal.
During that time the company has developed with consistence and
intelligence, overcoming periods of political as well as economic
hardship by treating them as opportunities for new potential and
new beginnings. The march of time never ends, and Groz-Beckert
continues to provide its own impetus on a sustainable basis.
Find out all about the company's exciting history in this brochure.
Discover how, over the past century and a half, Groz-Beckert has
developed into an important partner for the entire textile industry.
Look forward to numerous insights, prognoses, historic milestones
and authentic tales from the past.
>>
METICULOUS FROM
THE VERY START:
THEODOR GROZ'S
NOTEBOOK (CA. 1883)
THE BASIS:
THE BUILDING ON BAHNHOFSTRASSE (CA. 1884)
GROWTH:
COMPANY HEADQUARTERS (CA. 1950)
INNOVATIVE:
TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (2010)

BASED ON TRADITION:
THE COATS OF ARMS OF
THE GROZ AND BECKERT
FAMILIES
The depictions provided of our products are not to scale and are
intended for illustrative purposes only. Consequently they make
no claim to be an accurate representation of the original.
® = Registered trademark of the Groz-Beckert company group.
© = This publication is copyrighted. All rights reserved, in particular
the right of duplication, distribution and translation. This
publication or any parts thereof may not be reproduced or stored,
processed, duplicated or distributed using electronic systems in
any form or by any means whatsoever without the express written
consent of Groz-Beckert.
Introduction and contents 2 | 3
In words
Beginnings 4
Development 6
Continuation 8
In brief
1852 - 1969 14
1970 - 1995 16
1996 - 2002 18
2003 - 2007 20
2008 - 2010 22
CONTENTS | 3
>>

4 | BEGINNINGS
The Swabian Alb, in the first half of the 19th century: a rough moun-
tain plateau, sloping away at its south-eastern edge towards the upper
reaches of the River Danube. This is the location of Ebingen, today
known as Albstadt. The small Swabian town has only one thing to offer
its inhabitants: a life of hardship. The people here are just only able to
feed themselves from the fruits of their labour. Their primary source of
income is hosiery knitting. It will be a long time before the incipient
industrial revolution finally reaches Ebingen. One of those who will
bring it here is Theodor Groz.
>>
Theodor Groz, the son of Daniel Groz, a
dispensing chemist, leaves his home town
after his father’s early death and enters into
an apprenticeship with a needle-master in
Ludwigsburg. Then he travels further; his
goal is Vienna. In this metropolis on the
Danube he accumulates more experience
in the art of needle manufacture. In 1852
he returns to Ebingen and marries Rosina
Rieber. He also opens a shop selling toys
and fashion accessories, with its own needle
workshop. His slogan, “Better needles”,
is still valid today. At the same time Ernst
Beckert is spending his childhood in the
Saxon town of Eibenberg, near Chemnitz.
Here, too, many people live primarily from
hosiery knitting. Like his father before him,
the 12-year-old Ernst Beckert's father often
has to work the hand wheel of the knitting
loom. The young boy is not in the least
interested in knitting, trains as a mechanic,
and works in mining until he breaks both
legs in an accident. He is confined to bed
for months. More out of boredom than
anything else, he occupies himself with
his father’s needles and thinks about
needle manufacture. He spends the last
of his money on high-grade barbed wire,
and tests out various production and
hardening processes. At Christmas in
1860, he makes his breakthrough. Thus,
while Theodor Groz is celebrating his first
successes in needle production and is
already employing 25 people, Ernst Beckert
is also finding his way into the craft of
needle-making. He grows increasingly
ambitious and, in 1871, the year in which
Bismarck declares the new German Reich,
Ernst Beckert starts his own needle production
in his home town of Eibenberg.
From now on there are two needle factories
in Germany, both heading in the same
direction along a path that will ultimately
bring them together.
Non-stop series of inventions
The road to worldwide success is a long
one. The first requirement is economic
survival. This is because needle production
is a difficult trade, in which all the
work is done by hand. At the same time it
has to keep step with rapid innovation. In
the early years Theodor Groz was only
producing sharp-pointed iron needles, but
soon a new material entered the market
from France: steel. Good steel is expensive,
however, and has to be hardened by
means of a special process. Over the next
few years it was the search for adequate
material and a special hardening process
that determined the working day and success
at the end of it. In 1864, for instance,
while Ernst Beckert in Saxony is perfecting
his knowledge of needle-making, the
Swabian Theodor Groz is threatened with
the loss of his entire clientele. The reason:
low-quality wire. Four hundred thousand
circular warp loom needles have been
produced but cannot be used – all part of
the fate of a needle-maker. In the early
1860s, the advance of steel is joined by
that of a new type of needle – the latch

needle, invented by Matthew Townsend,
an English textile engineer. The first person
to produce these needles in Germany is
Theodor Groz, starting in 1863. Eleven
years later his son Daniel, together with
his friend Daniel Beck, makes a decisive
improvement to them. In future, the slot
in which the latch is fastened is no longer
stamped but machined. Daniel Groz
brought this idea with him from Saxony,
where he had worked for two years for
the biggest needle producers. He may
even have made the acquaintance of an
ingenious young entrepreneur named
Ernst Beckert, who by then had opened
his own factory and, in a few years' time,
would be one of the biggest names in the
business. On the Swabian Alb, these
developments are accompanied by the
transition from a workshop to a needle
factory. Production is increased and everlarger
hardening furnaces and more efficient
steam engines are brought into use.
One invention follows hard on the heels
THE COMPANY'S OWN SPECIAL
MACHINERY PRODUCTION AT
THE BITZ FACTORY IN 1902
of another: the pointed-needle press, for
instance, or the “spoon” machine for producing
latches, both of which were developed
by a technical employee, Ferdinand
Binder. By the mid-1880s needle production
had already surpassed the million
mark. Nowadays, however, far more than
that quantity is produced in a single day.
All in the family
Economic growth is accompanied by
expan sion of the premises. After 23 years
the workshop in the street called Am
Unteren Tor has outlived its usefulness.
In 1875 Theodor Groz moves into new
business premises in the Pfarrstrasse in
Ebingen. In the same year Carl Theodor
Beck starts to work for him in Bitz. The
next few years bring various removals
and extensions, and the head office of the
firm does not reach its final home in the
Wiesenstrasse until 1902. Today the street
is named after the founder of the firm.
Building work also begins in Chemnitz,
BEGINNINGS | 5
TOOL OF THE TIME:
MANUAL SETTING DEVICE (CA. 1900)
POINTED-NEEDLE PRESS >>
at Beckerstrasse 27-29. Within a quarter
of a century Ernst Beckert's business has
grown to a considerable size. In 1895 a
branch is opened in Stollberg, in the Erz
Mountains, and over the following 10 years
evolves into a complete factory. By 1898
the company is already employing more
than 200 people. The first Chemnitz factory
is bursting at the seams. Building an extension
on one side only brings short-term
relief, however, and so an imposing new
building is erected in the Metzer strasse
in 1905. The move is no longer supervised
by the founder himself, however, but by
his son-in-law and successor Julius
Seelmann-Eggebert. Ernst Beckert dies in
Radebeul on October 4, 1909. Far away on
the Swabian Alb, the generational change
has taken place long since. Back in 1879
Theodor Groz had made his two eldest
sons, Theodor and Daniel, active partners
in the firm, as reflected in the name of the
company: Theodor Groz & Sons. It is not
the older brother who succeeds the

6 | DEVELOPMENT
father, however, for a sad reason: in April
1892 both Theodor Groz Senior and Junior
die within three days of one another. For
a short time the inventive Daniel Groz
runs the company, but leaves it for health
reasons in 1897. Management passes to
his younger brother, Oskar, and to his
brother-in-law Heinrich Cless who, however,
leaves a few years later to set up his
own business. Finally, in 1901, Adolf Groz,
the youngest son of the founder, becomes
an active partner. It is this generation of
sons and sons-in-law, Oskar and Adolf
Groz on the one side and Julius Seelmann-
Eggebert on the other, which ultimately
leads the two companies towards a merger.
The first collaboration starts in 1918:
the two companies have long since made
names for themselves on the world market,
and once World War I is over they
decide to reactivate their international
activities and establish a joint sales office
in New York. A first step on the way to
>>
joining forces? Certainly: They go on to
prepare the second step, while the merg-
er itself is ultimately carried out by their
grand children's generation.
Unravelling and rejoining
The year 1923 brings hyperinflation – a loaf
of bread costs several billion Marks. These
consequences of the world war also leave
traces on the needle industry. Everybody
needs needles. Production cannot keep up
with demand, and a lively but illusory
econ omy develops. New needle factories
appear. But then the economy collapses,
money loses its value, and prices fall.
Renowned needle factories con sider a
merg er in 1924 in order to ensure their
sur vival; the nine leading ones in Saxony,
headed by Ernst Beckert, and the Swabian
firm of Theodor Groz & Sons negotiate
with one another. However, the economy
now starts improving again and these
negotiations peter out. Nevertheless the
interest is there, the contacts have been
made, and the idea continues to mature
silently. Four years later merger plans
col lapse again, this time because opinions
differ about automatic production methods –
in which the Swabians are a step ahead
of the Saxons. However, Julius Seel mann-
Eggebert is the only one of the Saxon
manufacturers to recognize and respect
this fact. From then on it is only the two
biggest needle manufacturers, Theodor
Groz & Sons and Ernst Beckert, who consider
a merger. Many years are still to
pass before one can come about, however.
In 1937, the day finally comes: the new
firm takes the name of 'Theodor Groz und
Söhne & Ernst Beckert Nadel fabriken
Commandit-Gesellschaft Ebingen und
Chemnitz' – which, being rather long, is
usually shortened to Groz-Beckert. It is
managed by Hans and Walther Groz, the
sons of Alfred Groz, and by Fritz Seelmann-
Eggebert who took over from his father
NEEDLE PATTERN BOOK CA. 1930
WORKERS CA. 1935

Julius. The company represents two-thirds
of the entire German knitting needle indus-
try, which puts it in an excellent posi tion
against competition. But then comes the
war, and destruction.
Heavy setbacks
Chemnitz is heavily bombed in the night
of 5th March 1945, and one of the buildings
to be hit is the Beckert factory. Part of
it is burned down, another part collapses.
The finished-goods warehouse and all
the needles and sinkers are destroyed.
Everything is lost, even the company’s
official rubber stamp. Nevertheless, most
of the machines have only suffered minor
damage and will soon be ready for use
again. Friedrich Ernst Beckert, the son of
the founder, and Dora Steude, a granddaughter,
lose their lives. Fritz Seelmann-
Eggebert is hit by a heavy air-raid shelter
door and suffers bruises on his back.
The Groz works in Ebingen and Bitz come
off relatively lightly, Bitz remaining completely
unscathed. However, on 17th April
1945 low-flying aircraft open fire on the
nearby Ebingen railroad station and set
an ammu nition train on fire. The explosions
continue all day, shattering doors
and win dows. The roofs are damaged. The
devastation is enormous, but the basic
structure is unharmed. Then comes the
fate ful moment – the end of the Third
Reich, the start of the post-war era. The
Allies demand reparations and start dismantling
German industrial plants. Groz-
Beckert is also affected. Everything that is
left in the Chemnitz factory is dismantled
and taken away to Russia. Fritz Seelmann-
Eggebert is arrested and spends four
years in Russian custody. More than 500
machines are dismantled in Ebingen as
well, and transported to France. But then
something amazing occurs: the dismantling
work is stopped. It is not possible to
make proper use of the machines at their
DEVELOPMENT | 7
HUGE CHALLENGES:
AFTER THE EXPLOSION OF
THE AMMUNITION TRAIN IN
EBINGEN ON 19.04.1945
new destinations. At the same time there
is a huge demand for needles in France.
It is thus the French knitwear industry, of
all things, which urges that Groz-Beckert
should be retained.
>>
Social network
What about the employees? How have
they survived the war? What does restarting
operations mean to them? Many have
not yet returned from the war. Many are
helping with the work of clearing up. And
while the first customers come to
Ebingen and enquire about needles, people
have one major problem – hunger. The
manage ment solves the problem by selling
needles for food, which they distribute,
because people who work also need
to eat. This ingenious plan leads on to
greater things; a works canteen is set up,
and is a sign to the employees of social
commitment. It is not the first in the company’s
history; a works health fund had

8 | CONTINUATION
EXEMPLARY:
THE WORKS HEALTH FUND, DATING BACK TO 1888
>>
been set up as long ago as 1888, a pre cursor
of the works health funds now found
in many big firms. Later, in 1929, it was
joined by a pension and welfare fund.
However, a year after the end of the war
the French military government puts an
end to these social security elements and
the works health fund does not re-open
until 1949, at the unanimous request of
the workforce and in the face of opposition
from representatives of a purely state-run
social insurance plan. That is not all. The
construction of several hundred workers’
apartments helps to relieve the urgent
housing shortage. Older employees are
given the facility of relaxing once every
two years in the company leisure centre
in the Black Forest in addition to the
annual holiday to which they are entitled.
The company thus sets new standards in
showing a sense of responsibility towards
its employees by providing benefits far
beyond the usual level.
Successful connections
Production starts up again. Under the
pressure of circumstances, with materials,
machines, and workers all in short supply,
new technical designs and ever more
highly automated production methods
become established. International business
contacts are also taken up again. People
abroad remember the reliable Groz-Beckert
needles, and they need them. Urgently.
Even before the war the company had
been the world leader in the field of knitting
and warp-knitting machine needles.
Now, in a world divided into two power
blocks, nothing is possible without the
top-quality needles from the Swabian Alb.
The Saxon needle factories are now stateowned
enterprises and their output is all
going to Russia. Although the needle
industries in the Western countries have
gained ground during the war years, their
quality has still not caught up with that of
Groz-Beckert. So the old contacts can be
taken up again quickly. The testimonials of
friendship are deeply moving; one customer
from Crete reports that his father
had wept with joy over the first consignment
of needles, and had kissed each
indi vidual box. Anyone who realizes that a
textile manufacturer who has all the yarn,
machinery, and workers that he needs but
is condemned to idleness if he has no
needles will understand this reaction. By
1948 Groz-Beckert is already delivering to
39 different countries, and exports account
for 63 percent of the total output. In 1950
as much is produced on the Swabian Alb
as both factories together had been producing
before the war, and twice as much
in 1952. At this point in time the company
employs 2,150 people – a figure that is set
to grow constantly over the coming years.
Far greater effect
The company has been international right
from its earliest days, and was already
doing its first business in the USA back in
the early 1860s. Regular overseas busi-

ness has been running since about 1880,
although it has been interrupted many
times, mainly by wars. But now, from 1952
onwards, more and more production and
affiliated sales companies are founded in
Germany and abroad. For instance, in 1960
Groz-Beckert starts to open up the growing
Asian market by working out of the
Indian city of Chandigarh. This is followed
in 1969 by Groz-Beckert Portuguesa Lda,
near Porto, and 10 years later anoth er
Portuguese factory, Euronadel, is acquired.
MADE TO MEASURE:
NEEDLE PRODUCTION IN ALBSTADT-EBINGEN, CA. 1950
THE ORIGINAL:
FIRST EDITION OF
"DER NADLER" IN 1953
As a result of the political re-opening of
Eastern Europe, Groz-Beckert takes over
the Czech needle factory of AKRA and in
2001 renames it Groz-Beckert Czech s.r.o.
Groz-Beckert also opens a factory in China
in the mid-1990s: Yantex. All these are just
examples of the way the company has
developed in the last 50 years. This development
has been accompanied by an
expansion of its fields of business.
Up to 1980 Groz-Beckert was only engaged
in the field of needles for knitting and
warp-knitting machines, but now the range
has been expanded to include needles
for sewing and shoe machines and also
felting and structuring needles. Finally
the acquisition of the “Eisbär” brand in
1998 and the Swiss firm of Grob Horgen
AG in 2000 brought tufting and weaving
machine accessories into the range as
well. Groz-Beckert is thus showing proof
of its technical competence in everything
that requires precision, beyond the limits
of needle production.
CONTINUATION | 9
Technology and Development Centre (TEZ)
Develop, research and improve. What
made Theodor Groz and Ernst Beckert successful
entrepreneurs – and ultimately
brought the company international
success – remains a timeless maxim. In
accordance with it, the Technology and
Development Centre (TEZ) was built at
the company's headquarters in Albstadt.
It was officially opened in July, 2010.
The TEZ is a platform for research and
development, for intensification of the
system concept, for innovations and for
synergies. Here, in close cooperation with
machine builders, users and partners,
Groz-Beckert is shaping the textile future.
Five Technical Centres for the most diverse
textile production methods form the central
focus: they are the Technical Centre
Knitting, the Technical Centre Weaving, the
Technical Centre Felting, the Technical
Centre Tufting and the Technical Centre
Sewing. Machines and production lines
are also integral components of these
IMPRESSIVE AND SETTING NEW STANDARDS:
THE TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
>>

10 | CONTINUATION
Technical Centres: They enable application
experiments, the production of short and
special runs as a service to partners, and
also the testing of Groz-Beckert products
under real production conditions.
Furthermore, training options are available
to customers and employees for everything
relating to the Groz-Beckert core
competencies. The broad and varied product
range is being constantly enhanced
by the addition of systems solutions and
services. Initial examples of systems
solutions here include knitting heads for
circular knitting machines, the Board
Master System (BMS) – an efficient semiautomatic
machine for needleboard
handling – and the entirely new needleholder
GEBESWITCH ®. Moreover, in the
service sector and as a complement to its
laboratory services Groz-Beckert offers the
"Card Clothing“ service in the Nonwovens
division, plus a sewing-machine-needle
consulting service. Integration of further
>>
LABORATORIES AND TECHNICAL CENTRES – THE MOST
IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF THE TEZ
training and qualification also plays an
important role at the TEZ. At its headquarters
in Albstadt, Groz-Beckert employs a
full-time staff of roughly 30 commercial
and 145 technical apprentices. In addition
to development offices and various recrea
tion rooms and conference rooms,
the TEZ also contains a generously-sized
training workshop for this purpose.
Furthermore, together with the University
of Albstadt-Sigmaringen, Groz-Beckert
is offering the course "Textile Product
Technology – Technical Textiles“, and has
made rooms and facilities at the TEZ
available for this. A further key component
of the Technology and Development
Centre is the Groz-Beckert Laboratory,
offering lab services for the most diverse
sectors, ranging from textile technology
and mechanical engineering to the aerospace
industry. Chemical and failure analyses
are carried out, along with materials
consulting and development. A particular
highlight is the auditorium: Equipped with
state-of-the-art multimedia technology
and simultaneous interpreting booths, it
can accommodate up to 275 people.
A connection to the future
The Technology and Development Centre
is not the only milestone where construction
projects are concerned. In April 2007
a pedestrian bridge made from reinforced
concrete in the Albstadt district of Laut -
lingen had to be dismantled because of
corrosion and the resulting safety problems.
Textiles are rust-free, of course – and
this was reason enough for Groz-Beckert
to propose a textile solution for the
reconstruction of the bridge. The plan was
to use a special textile reinforcement in
place of the ferroconcrete, in order to
enable longer service life by means of
comparatively better material properties
as well
as a positive eco-balance. The town of

THE TEZ AUDITORIUM ACCOMODATES
UP TO 275 PEOPLE
Albstadt decided in favour of these plans,
and in March 2008 the contract was signed
for the construction project. Groz-Beckert
acted as general contractor and also participated
in the costs. Building work began
on the substructure and other sections
in November 2009. Just one year later,
Groz-Beckert was able to officially hand
over a 100-metre-long bridge to the town
of Albstadt. This project is a prime example
of what textile production can do, and is
also a calling-card for Albstadt and the
CONTINUATION | 11
TEXTILES AT ITS CORE:
THE TEXTILE REINFORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE
IN ALBSTADT-LAUTLINGEN IS ROUGHLY
100 METRES LONG
>>
entire region.
Parallel to these milestones, the company
also successfully acquired further subsidiaries
and distribution channels worldwide.
With far more than 6,000 employees
and around 70,000 prototypes, Groz-Beckert
is active internationally in over 150 markets.
That is diversity – diversity with a
past and a future.

Meßstetten, 1902

Workers at the Meßstetten branch in 1902. However much work materials and techniques have
changed until the present day, it is the company's employees that have always been crucial to its
success. The commitment, expertise and precision of each individual greatly define the superior
quality of the products.
>>

14 | 1852 - 1969
THEODOR GROZ,
COMPANY LETTERHEAD
>> 1852 | 1863 | 1871 | 1884 | 1888 1905 | 1918 | 1922 | 1927 | 1929
The founders
ERNST BECKERT,
COMPANY LETTERHEAD
WARP KNITTING NEEDLE SOLID STAMPED NEEDLE
1852_Theodor Groz opens a toys and fashion
accessories store and also a needle-making
workshop in Ebingen.
1871_Ernst Beckert establishes a needle factory
in Eibenberg in the Erz Mountains.
Innovation
1852_Theodor Groz produces warp-knitting
needles used in seamless production for the
very first time.
1863_The first latch needle comes from
Ebingen.
New head office
1884_Theodor Groz & Söhne move into
the factory building on Bahnhofstrasse
in Ebingen.
Social commitment
1888_Foundation of a works health fund.
New building
1905_New headquarters of the Ernst
Beckert Needle Factory in Metzerstrasse,
Chemnitz.
Internationality
1918_First joint foreign sales office
of the Groz and Beckert companies
established in New York, USA.
1927_Foundation of a distribution
company in Paris, France.
Innovation
1922_Introduction of solid
stamped needles.
Social commitment
1929_Foundation of a company pension
fund at Theodor Groz & Söhne.

SALES OUTLET IN NEW YORK
1937 | 1945 | 1952 | 1960 | 1965 | 1969
New start
COMPANY MERGER
EMPLOYEES AT CHANDIGARH
HOFA-SPEC HOSIERY KNITTING NEEDLE
1937_Theodor Groz & Söhne and Ernst
Beckert merge to form one company.
1945_The Chemnitz factory is destroyed
in the war, and the machines are dismantled
and taken to Russia.
1945_The dismantling process is stopped
in Ebingen at the request of the French
textile industry, and production is restarted.
Innovation
1952_Groz-Beckert presents the
Hofa-Spec hosiery knitting needle.
It is a mere 0.34 millimetres thick.
Jubilee
1952_Groz-Beckert celebrates its 100th
anniversary. The company employs
2,150 people. A partnership agreement
is concluded between the owners and
the employees.
Internationality
1960_Foundation of a Groz-Beckert
production plant in Chandigarh, India.
1965_Distribution company in
Barcelona, Spain.
1969_Foundation of the production
company Groz-Beckert Portuguesa Lda.
in Valadares near Porto, Portugal.
1852 - 1969 | 15
PRODUCTION PLANT
IN PORTO
>>

16 | 1970 - 1995
MEANDER NEEDLE
LOW-PROFILE MEANDER SHAPE NEEDLE
>> 1971 | 1978 | 1980 1983 | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1992
Innovation
1971_Introduction of the "meander" needle.
1978_Further development of the meander
shape to create the low-profile needle.
Internationality
1980_Acquisition of the company
Torrington Portuguesa near Lisbon,
Portugal; name changed to Euronadel
Industrias de Agulhas Lda.
Range expansion
1980_Groz-Beckert now produces and
distributes sewing- and shoe-machine
needles as well as felting and structuring
needles.
HIGH PERFORMANCE STEEL/PLASTIC
COMPOSITE NEEDLE, SPRING LATCH NEEDLE
AND TRANSFER FLAT-KNITTING NEEDLE
Innovation
1983_Patent granted on the high performance
steel/plastic composite needle. It
combines the advantages of the full-shank
with those of the low-profile meander
shape needle.
1987_Introduction of the spring latch
needle for modern flat knitting machines.
1989_Presentation of the compound needle
for flat knitting with a transfer device.
1989_Market rollout of the rectangular
blind-stitch needle.
1991_Introduction of the special application
needle SAN ® for jeans and fine knitwear.
1992_Presentation of the transfer flatknitting
needle with integrated selector.
Internationality
1987_Foundation of a distribution company
in Leicester, England.
1991_Further distribution companies
founded in Milan, Italy and Osaka, Japan.

SPECIAL APPLICATION NEEDLES
SAN ® 10 AND SAN ® 6 GEBEDUR ®
1993 | 1994 | 1995
Innovation
1993_Market rollout of the titanium
nitride-coated GEBEDUR ® sewing-machine
needle.
1993_ Introduction of the Tri STAR ®, a
felting needle with concave triangular
surfaces.
1994_Introduction of the felting needle
GEBEDUR ® I. It is especially suitable for
needling man-made fibres.
Internationality
1993_Groz-Beckert acquires the Akra-
Werke in Budweis, Lužice and Klobouky,
known collectively from 2000 onwards
as Groz-Beckert Czech s.r.o.
1993_Acquisition of Exeltor in Bedford,
Canada.
1994_Foundation of the distribution
subsidiary Groz-Beckert de México S.A. de
C.V. in Naucalpan, Mexico.
1995_Foundation of the production
company Yantex (Yantai) Precision Textile
Accessories Co. Ltd. in Yantai, China.
1970 - 1995 | 17
Tri STAR ® NEEDLE GEBEDUR ® FELTING NEEDLE
>>

18 | 1996 - 2002
SELECTOR
COMPONENT
>> 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
Innovation
CIRCULAR KNITTING
NEEDLE – JUST ONE OF
COUNTLESS PATENTS
1996_Selector for electronically
controlled knitting machines.
1996_Fine-gauge fork needle with
gauge 38 gg.
1997_Introduction of the felting needle
GEBEDUR ® II. It is used for needling
natural fibres as well as insulation and
fireproof materials.
1998_Introduction of the Cross STAR ®
felting needle for production of the most
uniform fabric.
GAUGE PARTS TUFTING
Range expansion
1998_Acquisition of the "Eisbär" trademark
and the tufting needle business
of Jos. Zimmermann, Aachen.
1999_Acquisition of the Singer Factory
in Würselen.
Internationality
1998_Foundation of distribution subsidiary
Sinotech Asia Ltd., Hong Kong.
Cross STAR ®

2000 | 2001 | 2002
Range expansion
2000_Groz-Beckert acquires the Swiss
company GROB HORGEN AG and is now
active in the weaving-machine accessories
market segment.
New building
2000_Groz-Beckert expands its production
facilities in Albstadt.
HEADQUARTERS IN
ALBSTADT, GERMANY
DISTRIBUTION SUBSIDIARY,
HONG KONG
Internationality
2001_Foundation of two further distribution
subsidiaries in Seoul, South Korea
and Singapore.
Range expansion
2001_Groz-Beckert acquires the company
of SCHMEING, Raesfeld, Germany, thereby
expanding its weaving-machine accessories
segment.
Innovation
2001_Special application needle SAN ® 11
for multidirectional automatic and difficult
quilt-stitching applications.
2002_ALforfix ® heald frame.
2002_The company has 40 active patents
in the knitting sector alone.
Jubilee
2002_Groz-Beckert celebrates its 150th
anniversary.
1996 - 2002 | 19
>>

20 | 2003 - 2007
litespeed ® HyTec ®
>> 2003 | 2004 | 2005
Range expansion
2003_Further expansion in the sewingmachine-needle
sector.
2004_Groz-Beckert enters the system
components sector
GEBECON ® SYSTEM COMPONENTS
JETSTRIP
TRANSFER
WING NEEDLE
Innovation
2003_The litespeed ® needle is presented
at the ITMA in Birmingham.
2003_The GEBECON ® needle is patented.
2004_Groz-Beckert discontinues the first
HyTec ® jetstrips for waterjet hydroentanglement
systems and taps new markets.
2004_New fine-gauge fork needle with
gauge 43 gg.
2005_Introduction of the transfer
wing needle and the TWIN C Power ® heald
frame.
Internationality
2004_Foundation of P.T. Groz-Beckert
Indonesia in Bandung, as a new distribution
subsidiary.
TWIN C Power ® HEALD FRAME

TWINTEC ® TWIN FLAT STEEL HEALD
2006 | 2007
Range expansion
NEEDLEHOLDER
GEBESWITCH ®
2006_Takeover of SMC GmbH and
expansion of the range with cylinders,
dials and sinker rings for circular knitting
machines.
2007_Acquisition of the Bräcker company's
heald eye business.
Innovation
2007_Numerous different products
and systems are presented at the ITMA
in Munich:
- OPTILOOP ® coating for knitting-machine
needles.
- Innovative packaging solutions for
sinkers in knitting cylinders.
- Circular knitting head for gauge E66.
- Segmented cylinders for circular
knitting machines to reduce energy
consumption.
- Cylinder with cooling ducts for active
cooling systems.
- Needle Oil Test Kit – neutral oil consulting
and analysis in the knitting sector.
KNITTING HEAD FOR CIRCULAR
KNITTING MACHINES
- TWINtec ® twin flat steel healds, new
leno healds and ALtop ® heald frame.
- Shedding system for weaving.
- Board Master System (BMS) for all-round
effective needleboard handling.
- Developments in all-steel sets for the
production of nonwoven and velour.
- New generation Level Cut Looper (LCL),
Nickel-Free Finish (NFF) and Cut Pile
Looper Tungsten Insert (CPL-TI) for
tufting.
- Needleholder GEBESWITCH ® for mediumheavy
lockstitching machines.
New building
2006_Preparations begin for the
Technology and Development Centre at
the company headquarters in Albstadt.
2003 - 2007 | 21
THE PLANNING PHASE:
THE TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
AS A 3D MODEL
SHEDDING SYSTEM FOR
WEAVING MACHINES
>>

22 | 2008- 2010
TEXTILE REINFORCED
CONCRETE BRIDGE IN
ALBSTADT-LAUTLINGEN
PosiLeno ® FRAME
>> 2008 | 2009 | 2010
Range expansion
2008_Acquisition of the mechanical
engineering companies Oskar Fischer
GmbH and Knotex GmbH & Co. KG in
the weaving sector.
Innovation
2008_Conversion kit for rotary knitting
machines from gauges E28 to E44.
2008_Positively driven leno device
PosiLeno ® for far higher processing speeds.
2008_ALbasic ® heald frame for looper
weaving machines.
2008_LPC lockstitch (Loop Position
Control).
2010_LPC chainstitch (Loop Position
Control)
Internationality
2008_The distribution subsidiary
Groz-Beckert Taiwan Ltd. begins operations
in Taipei.
2008_Foundation of Groz-Beckert Vietnam
in Ai Nghia, Vietnam.
Social
2008_Construction work for a pathbreaking
textile concrete bridge in
Albstadt is given the go-ahead – a project
comprehensively accompanied and
supported by Groz-Beckert.
2009_Short-time work and qualification
measures as a consequence of the global
recession.
2010_Completion of the textile reinforced
concrete bridge in Albstadt-Lautlingen
and handover to the town of Albstadt.
2010_Awarded the KYOCERA
Environment Prize in the former German
Bundestag, Bonn.
New building
2008_Construction work commences
on the Technology and Development
Centre at the company headquarters in
Albstadt, Germany.
2010_Official opening of the Technology
and Development Centre (TEZ).
FREE FOR USE FROM 2010:
THE TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

KNITTING I WEAVING I FELTING I TUFTING I SEWING
www.groz-beckert.com
EN | 06.2011