Wintersteiger

Wintersteiger Holdig AG is an Austrian company based in Ried im Innkreis. The company is active in the development, production and distribution of machinery and equipment for seed cultivation, ski service, wood and metal industries.

History
In 1953, Fritz Walter and Johann Wintersteiger founded the Walter & Wintersteiger locksmith's shop in the old smithy in Obernberg am Inn, Austria. The first products were a seed drill and a laboratory thresher for a seed breeding company. In 1958, the business was relocated to Ried, Austria, where the group's headquarters are still located today.

Product expansion 1960s
In the 1960s, Wintersteiger introduced the first serial-produced plot harvesters. Further, Wintersteiger began producing ski production machines and ski service machines, including a stone grinding machine for Fischer – the microplan grinder.

Reorientation 1970s
In the 1970s, Wintersteiger developed a frame saw for ski production and other grinding machines for base service. At the same time Wintersteiger shifted its focus from ski production machines to ski service machines. In 1976, the company building was extended for the first time.

Business expansion 1990s
At the ISPO 1996 in Munich Wintersteiger presented two new product lines for ski service machines. The group had also taken over the distribution of the French SKI2 products in Austria, the US and Canada. When the wood processing industry switched from solid wood to multi-layer boards at the end of the 1990s, Wintersteiger's frame saw was now repurposed for slicing precious woods. Since 1998, Wintersteiger has been the exclusive machinery supplier to the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV).

Acquisitions and production expansion 2000s
After Germany, France, the USA and Canada, Wintersteiger established branches in Italy (2000), Switzerland (2002) and Singapore (2004). Furthermore, several companies were acquired around the turn of the millennium: Hege in Germany (1999) and SKID in France (1999), Grindrite in the USA (1999), SKI2 in France (2002) and Banholzer GmbH in Germany (2004). With the acquisition of Hege, Wintersteiger had taken over its largest competitor in the production of sowing and harvesting machines for seed research. This was followed by the establishment of subsidiaries in China (2006), Brazil (2008), and Russia (2008). In 2011, Wintersteiger took over the majority of Kohler Maschinenbau GmbH and thus entered the field of levelling technology. In the same year, Wintersteiger bought the company Bootdoc and took over the majority of VAP Automation GmbH in 2012.

In 2002, Wintersteiger completed its exhibition hall and started the construction of a new production hall. In 2006, new operating buildings followed for the sales and service branches in St. Hélène du Lac, France, and in Salt Lake City, USA. In 2004, Wintersteiger invested in additional production sites for their subsidiary Banholzer, and in 2006, a new saw production plant was built in Arnstadt, Thuringia. In 2014, Kohler changed its location to Lahr, Germany. The newly constructed company building was the largest single investment in the company's history at around EUR 14 million.

In 2004, Wintersteiger was converted from a GmbH (limited liability company) to an AG (public limited company).

Business and product expansion 2010s
In January 2017, further developments of existing product series and the new Scout ski service machine were presented at ISPO Munich – a ski service station for skis and snowboards that is used in ski service workshops of various sizes. In 2019, Wintersteiger took over Serra Maschinenbau GmbH. Serra developed machines and saw bands for mobile and stationary sawmills.

Business transformation 2020s
At the beginning of 2022, the Group acquired a majority stake in the German machine manufacturer Hema, based in Frickenhausen near Stuttgart. In the same year, the decision was made to transform the four business segments into independent companies and combine them into a holding by the end of the year.

On 1 July, Wintersteiger AG became Wintersteiger Holding AG and the Rieder divisions Sports, Seedmech, Woodtech and Production became independent GmbHs.

Corporate structure
The group has its headquarters in Ried im Innkreis, Austria. The executive board is overseen by Florestan von Boxberg and Harold Kostka. As of 2021, the company is divided into four business segments. The Sports division, among other things, plans and installs service workshops, rental stations and ski depots. The Seedmech division develops products for seed breeding, including machines, software programmes, equipment for assessment, as well as laboratory technology. The Woodtech division manufactures products for the woodworking industry, especially wood thin-cutting products and saw blades, as well as industrial automation solutions. The Metals division produces levelling machines for the sheet metal processing industry.

Source: Bundesanzeiger

Patents
Wintersteiger holds a variety of patents, among others: in the area of agricultural machinery technology a patented precision precision air seeder, as well as in the area of ski processing, the Trimjet device. It is used for bridge-free grinding for all ski lengths as well as for snowboards and the semi-automatic operating mode.

Awards
2003: Fritz Freyschlag Main Award

2010: 1st place at the Best Business Award in the category of 100 or more employees

2013: 1st prize at the Upper Austria Regionality Award in the industry category

Since 2013: ineo certification by WKO Upper Austria for exemplary commitment to apprentice training

2015: winner at the INN AWARD of the regional broadcaster BTV in the category innovation large-scale enterprises

2017: ISPO Award – Product of the Year in the category Ski for the 3D foot scanner Vandra by Bootdoc

2018: Award for commitment to climate protection from the klima:aktiv climate protection initiative

2018–2023: Top employer award from trend, kununu and Statista

2020: Family-friendly company award, berufundfamilie audit

2021: Award for the Kurier as a popular employer in the industry sector

2021: Award for Kurier as a sustainable company in the Industry Division

2021: 3rd place in the Innovation Award of the Province of Upper Austria in the category of large companies