Location and Product Range Expanded

New potential — The 2000s

The start of the new millennium was very much an era of innovative machines and cutting-edge process technologies. WIRTGEN focused on consolidating its leading position in milling, cold recycling and mining and on acquiring new shares in the concrete paving market.

In this way, WIRTGEN extended its range of cold milling machines, launching an entirely new generation of small milling machines. At the same time, the state-of-the-art machine technology and innovative features of the company's small and large milling machines raised cold milling to a whole new level.

During this phase of great innovation, WIRTGEN also continually extended the recycler and soil stabilizer product division for in-situ or in-plant cold recycling applications. Thanks to these new developments, WIRTGEN was perfectly positioned to extend its market-leading position in this segment in the years up to 2005 – from the mobile cold recycling mixing plant to the wheeled and tracked recyclers and the wheeled soil stabilizers. Similarly, WIRTGEN also rounded off the range of slipform pavers for concrete paving.

WIRTGEN then went on to develop the most powerful machine in the surface mining product division – the new 4200 SM – testifying to its decades of mining competence. Starting out as a niche technology, surface mining developed into the main mining method for pay minerals in many different locations.

Meanwhile, WIRTGEN GmbH made further investments in its brand headquarters in Windhagen. It gained a new assembly plant, a plant for special-purpose machinery, a new administrative building and other infrastructural facilities.

Between 2006 and 2010, Jürgen Wirtgen and Stefan Wirtgen proceeded with their growth strategy. Aiming to harness potential in the future, too – beyond the domain of road construction – the WIRTGEN GROUP entered the material processing market. It set up two business sectors: "Road Technologies" and "Mineral Technologies".

The establishment of the second business sector began in 2006 with the integration of KLEEMANN GmbH, a long-standing German manufacturer of mobile processing plants. Having successively integrated KLEEMANN into the WIRTGEN GROUP's worldwide sales and service network and erected new brand headquarters for KLEEMANN in Göppingen, the WIRTGEN GROUP was able to consolidate its "Mineral Technologies" business sector in the period up to 2010, placing it on a firm footing for the future.

Milestones
  • Transition to systematic series design with the small milling machines
  • Expansion of the product range in all four product divisions and implementation of innovative machine features
  • Expansion of the Windhagen location
  • Integration of KLEEMANN in the WIRTGEN GROUP and creation of the "Road Technologies" and "Mineral Technologies" business sectors
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History of the WIRTGEN GROUP

If you’re interested in the history of the WIRTGEN GROUP, allow this success story to inspire you.

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