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1919
Richard Walter founded »Metallurgische Gesellschaft Richard Walter und Co.« in Düsseldorf. He concentrated primarily on researching sintered carbide alloys and new metallurgical processes.
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1927
After the local factory premises was purchased in 1925, the »Montanwerke Walter Tübingen« was founded, focussed on producing brazed carbide milling tools. The next year, Richard Walter applied for his first patent for tungsten carbide-based carbide; this would be followed by over 200 more patents..
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1945
Richard Walter passed away. His son-in-law, Dr Giovanni Mambretti, took over the management of the company. He prevented the factory in Tübingen from being completely decommissioned, thus securing Walter‘s future.
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1953
Walter developed the first fully automatic milling head grinding machines that revolutionised the metals sector.
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1960
After the death of Giovanni Mambretti, his widow, Vera Walter-Mambretti, led the company, which by then employed 790 staff members at sites in Tübingen, Starnberg and Düsseldorf.
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1965
Franco Mambretti took over the leadership of the company. With a strategic vision, Richard Walter‘s grandson transformed the family business, step-by-step, into a global player.
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1967
The first international subsidiary in Vienna heralded Walter‘s internationalisation. Its expansion strategy allowed Walter to establish a presence in 80 countries across every continent over the coming decades.
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1968
The Wendelnovex was a pioneering innovation introduced to the market by Walter. It was not only a huge commercial success – it also revolutionised milling technology.
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1974
Walter released the first porcupine milling cutter with perforated, easily replaceable indexable inserts. One year later, Walter presented the Novex 2000 system, the first of a brand new generation of tools.
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1976
The Helitronic grinding machine signalled the start of a new era. The world‘s first numerically controlled machine paved the way for future CNC technology.
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1977
As »Walter Hartmetall GmbH«, Walter re-entered the world of in-house carbide production and constructed a modern production site in Münsingen.
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1989
Walter presented Tool Data Management (TDM), a software solution that enabled users to efficiently manage their tools using a modular building block system for the first time; an important step on the path to becoming a service-oriented systems supplier.
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1994
Internationalisation reached its peak. In the next 10 years, Walter opened an additional twelve sales companies.
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2001
The two-colour Tiger·tec® indexable inserts set new standards at the beginning of the new millennium, generating significant sales increases from the moment they were launched.
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2002
In 2001, the Walter family sold their shares of the company to Swedish competitor Sandvik. Franco Mambretti resigned as CEO in the summer of 2002.
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2004
Walter redesigned its strategy – the grinding machine division, which had been an important part of the company, was sold. The acquisition of »Werner Schmitt PKD-Werkzeug AG« made Walter the world‘s leading complete provider for machining solutions.
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2006
In 2006, a major fire broke out in the Tübingen plant; fortunately, no one was harmed. Indexable insert production was entirely relocated to Münsingen, now one of the most modern production sites in the world.
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2008
The Walter Titex and Walter Prototyp brands for high-performance drilling, milling and threading became part of the Walter Group. Two years later, Walter achieved another pioneering success: Founding the Walter Multiply brand, which specialises in services and process optimisation.
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2016
The newly built Technology Center was opened at the Tübingen plant. As an impressive core for Walter, it showed off the possibilities of digital transformation and thus pointed to the future of innovative metalworking.
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2019
Stories of Innovation. Our rich history is the foundation for our success in the future.
