Company history | Witte Technology GmbH

More than 100 years of Witte!

1908	Hugo Witte company established in Solingen, trading with grinding and polishing agents.
1926	Son Friedrich Witte joins the company and production of grinding and polishing agents starts.
1949	The Albert Gerecke individual proprietorship, which was originally established as a sign-making factory in 1921 in Münster/Westphalia, becomes a general partnership after the 2nd World War and continues to operate as Gerecke + Lauer GmbH from 1973 onwards.
1963	Establishment of Friedrich Witte GmbH in Solingen by daughter and son-in-law Marga and Andreas Schmitz-Heinen. Trading with and production of grinding agents and work safety products, and subsequently adhesive tapes and self adhesive film.
1973	Gerecke + Lauer GmbH starts production and marketing of screen-printed self-adhesive film for the outdoor advertising and product marking area under the brand name of plusprint^®.
1980	Friedrich Witte GmbH starts production of printed adhesive tape as well as type plates and power rating plates made from high-quality film.
1994	Initial certification according to ISO 9001.
1997	Acquisition of subsidiary Plusprint Druckmedien GmbH from the Gerecke + Lauer GmbH by the shareholders of Friedrich Witte GmbH and also the vehicle safety product business area, registered under the name Witte plusguide GmbH. The company headquarters are in Münster.
1998	Merger of Friedrich Witte GmbH with Plusprint Druckmedien GmbH to form Witte plusprint Druckmedien GmbH based in Solingen, where the central administration and a manufacturing facility are located. Münster becomes the second production location.
2002	Spin-off of the safemark^® business area, which had previously been managed as a profit centre and has been involved in the manufacture of security related printed products for decades, to form Witte safemark GmbH. This step was intended to take the importance and the special challenges of this field of business are into account. The company headquarters is in Münster.
2003	Initial certification of Witte safemark® GmbH as a value printing house according to TÜV Cert TU 4 and the entire company group according to ISO 9001.
2004	Administration department moves from Solingen to Wermelskirchen.
2005	Formation of DSD Staatliche Dokumente GmbH with company headquarters in Münster; certification of Witte safemark GmbH as a “High Security Printer” by means of VPGI certification in accordance with the Intergraf CWA Standard; Certification of Witte safemark GmbH and DSD by the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Motor Vehicle Transport Authority).
2006	Initial certification of Witte plusprint GmbH according to ISO/TS 16949.
2008
2009	Re-certification of the Witte company group according to ISO 9001.
2010	Initial certification of the Witte company group according to ISO 14001.
2012	Completion of two large projects as part of our environmental protection certification ISO 14001: Installation of photovoltaic modules on the roof of our production plant (approx. 4,850 m² in total) and replacement of the entire lighting with LED fluorescent tubes in our manufacturing premises.
2014	Witte company group: Re-certification according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: Witte plusprint GmbH: Re-certification according to ISO/TS 16949: Witte safemark GmbH: Re-certification according to the Intergraft CWA Standard as a High Security Printer and by the Federal Motor Vehicle Transport Authority; DSD Staatliche Dokumente GmbH: Re-certification by the Federal Motor Vehicle Transport Authority.
2016	Start of the first trials in the field of functional printing/printed electronics to realize innovative applications such as displays, smart labels and sensors. State-of-the-art printing technologies are used to print extremely thin and flexible materials precisely and efficiently, opening up new possibilities in the production of electronic components.
2017	First presence as a manufacturer of printed electronics at “LOPEC”, the world’s leading trade fair and most important congress for flexible, organic and printed electronics.
2018	Effective 1 January 2018, Witte Group acquired a majority stake in the Mexican Maquiladora Gráfica Mexicana S.A. de C.V. (MGM) headquartered in Guadalajara. The acquisition of MGM in the strategically important Mexican growth market is part of the overall international growth strategy ”Witte 2022”.
2020	Witte Group and the Düsseldorf-based company IOX GmbH have concluded an investment agreement in November 2020. IOX is a development partner for solutions and products in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) and supports customers in the fast, individual and scalable realization of IoT projects.
2021	The main shareholder and software investor DRS Investment from Munich and the Witte Group have concluded a strategic investment agreement for EvaSys Holding. evasys GmbH, as an operating subsidiary of EvaSys Holding – with locations in Germany, Great Britain and Hungary – is a leading provider of software solutions for conducting surveys and examinations that are automatically created, completed and evaluated.
2022	The previous companies of the Witte Group are merged into one company, Witte Technology GmbH, from which all contractual relationships with all rights and obligations are taken over within the framework of universal succession. The product range comprises the three business units plusprint^®, safemark^® and plusguide^®. Construction of a state-of-the-art clean room and commissioning of a fully automated screen printing system installed in it for the production of high-precision printed electronic components as a strategic corporate decision to establish a new corporate pillar “Printed Electronics”.
2023	On the way to greater climate neutrality: Successful participation and award for Witte Technology GmbH in the City of Münster’s ÖKOPROFIT project. By reducing energy and resources, the environmental and climate footprint was sustainably improved and operating costs lowered.
2024	The renewed re-certification of Witte Technology GmbH for the important standards ISO 9001, IATF 16949 and ISO 14298 confirms the continuous commitment to the highest quality standards. This ensures the reliability of our products and processes at all times.
2025	Witte Technology GmbH was honoured as a TOP 100 Innovator. This honour highlights particularly innovative medium-sized companies in Germany and underlines the innovative strength as an essential part of the corporate culture.