Our History
For over 170 years, WMF has stood for for metal craftsmanship, outstanding quality, sophisticated design and decades of experience with professional tools. From pure metal processing at the beginning, a comprehensive portfolio has developed in the three business areas of consumer products, coffee machines for the professional sector and equipment for hotels and restaurants.
The foundation: Metallwarenfabrik Straub & Schweizer
In 1853, mill owner Daniel Straub, together with the Schweizer brothers, established the Straub & Schweizer metal works in Geislingen with a workforce of 16 people. Only a few years later in 1862, Straub & Schweizer silver-plated tableware and serving dishes were awarded medals of distinction at the Great London Exposition. In order to strengthen sales in Northern Germany as well, the first store was founded in Berlin in 1868 – the start of the Group’s present-day network of stores. In 1880, the company merged with Metallwarenfabrik Ritter & Co. from Esslingen to form the public limited company Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF), with its headquarters in Geislingen.
The founder: Daniel Straub
Shortly before the foundation of WMF, Daniel Straub had founded his first manufacturing company, Maschinenfabrik Geislingen, in connection with his participation in the construction of the Geislinger Steige, the steepest railway line in Europe at the time. As experienced metal spinners, the brothers Friedrich and Louis Schweizer were able to contribute their technical expertise.
“Even as a child I loved to build things and made models of the water wheels and mills of my father.”
Our logo
From 1880 onwards, the company logo featured a walking ostrich, presumably Daniel Straub’s family crest. Today’s logo, with its special letter arrangement, first appeared on a brochure in 1907. It was used until 1925 and was subsequently given a makeover in 1965 and 2007 to reflect contemporary styles.
1880
1925
1927
1935
1965
2007
Our image
WMF’s advertising posters have always captured the trends of the times. This means we have always been able to stand out from the competitive environment without losing sight of the company’s DNA. No matter what the era, WMF advertising has always reflected the company’s principles: the design, production and sale of modern, quality products with a high practical value.
The WMF timeline
1853
Founding of Metallwarenfabrik Straub & Schweizer in Geislingen an der Steige with 16 employees.
1863 – Hepp
Foundation by brothers Carl and Otto Hepp.
1868
First WMF retail outlet established in Berlin.
1880
Fusion von Straub & Sohn und A. Ritter & Co. zur Württembergischen Metallwarenfabrik AG.
1883
Gründung eigener Glashütte mit Glasschneide- und Gravierwerkstatt.
1892 – Schaerer
Founding of the medical company M. Schaerer AG in Bern.
1893
Start of serial production for galvanised silver-plated cutlery.
1894
After purchasing the Galvanoplasty Art Institute and developing the technology further, WMF began making large-scale sculptures starting in 1894, including gravestones, memorials and garden ornaments.
1919 – KAISER
Founding of the company in Beierfeld in the Erzgebirge mountains by Wilhelm Ferdinand Kaiser, as a wholesaler of metal goods with 30 employees.
1920
Ikora metal and glass: By developing Ikora crystal, which makes it possible to create colorful glass objects, WMF becomes the market leader for decorative glass.
1927
Sicomatic: The first WMF pressure cooker is launched. The first series of large coffee machines goes into production.
1930
Cromargan® – a new material: stainless steel, known at WMF as “Cromargan”. Expansion of the store network up to 1935. Today, products are sold in more than 150 shops in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
1932
The production of WMF coffee machines is relocated from Göppingen to Geislingen.
1953
First major breakthrough in the coffee machine market with model 1000: A robust and user-friendly, large coffee machine.
1955
Customer service network set up for professional coffee machines. Today this comprises 350 service employees.
1956 – Silit
Founding of the Riedlingen site.
1984
WMF Perfect pressure cooker – revolution: The first detachable handle in the world enclosing the entire technology.
1986 – PCM
The first coffee speciality machine – the Etamat – is launched: a single-cup machine that can prepare café crème and speciality (decaffeinated) coffee using a special manual insert.
1988
Acquisition of HEPP.
1989
Acquisition of Silit.
2002
Acquisition of Kaiser.
2006
Acquisition of Schaerer.
2008
Entry into the market for consumer electric appliances.
2009
Cromargan protect®: Further development of Cromargan to ensure maximum scratch resistance.
2018
WMF continues to evolve from a pure product manufacturer to a digital solution provider with WMF CoffeeConnect and Schaerer Coffee Link: for the comprehensive collection, analysis and graphical processing of performance and service data from coffee machines.
2019
Acquisition of Wilbur Curtis.
2021
Change of name from WMF Group GmbH to WMF GmbH – WMF is a premium hub within Groupe SEB.
2022
Launch of the fully automatic coffee machine series WMF Perfection for private households. Face of the campaign: Hollywood actress Diane Kruger.
2023
WMF celebrates its 170th anniversary on June 10th.
The history’s future: the WMF product archive
Together with the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments, we have preserved an archive of products in our company building in Geislingen (Steige), which includes approx. 11,000 individual pieces from all areas of production – from purely functional goods to high-quality design objects based on the designs of well-known artists. It contains pieces from more than 150 years of artisan and industrial production as well as numerous unique items in the form of test pieces, hand samples or prototypes. All objects are recorded in a database with materials, techniques, dimensions, dates, designers and states of preservation, thus ensuring their long-term preservation and future accessibility.
The first WMF coffee machine for domestic use, around 1880
Art Nouveau centrepiece, 1904
Gates of Paradise, replica of the east gate of the Baptistery in Florence, 1913
The first Sicomatic pressure cooker, 1927
Tableware from Wagenfeld's design studio, 1950s
“Max and Moritz” salt and pepper shaker based on designs by Bauhaus student Wilhelm Wagenfeld, 1954
