Würth

{{Short description|Multinational hardware wholesaler}} {{for|people named Würth|Würth (surname)}} {{Infobox company | name = The Würth Group (Würth) | logo = Würth logo.svg | logo_size = 220px | type = [[Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung|GmbH]] ([[Private company]]) | foundation = 1945 | location = [[Künzelsau]], [[Baden-Württemberg]], Germany | key_people = Robert Friedmann (Chairman of the Central Managing Board), Dr. Jan Allmann, Thomas J. O'Neill, Rainer Bürkert, Bernd Herrmann, Joachim Kaltmaier (Members of the Central Managing Board) | revenue = {{Increase}} [[Euro|€]] 20.396 billion (2023)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wuerth.com/annual-report-2023/operating-numbers/group-sales.php#/umsatz | title=Operating numbers &#124; Würth Group }}</ref> | operating_income = {{Increase}} [[Euro|€]] 1.5 billion (2023)<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://www.wuerth.com/annual-report-2023/operating-numbers/group-sales.php#/umsatz | title=Operating numbers &#124; W'ürth Group }}</ref> | num_employees = 87,047 (2023)<ref name="auto"/> | industry = Fasteners, chemicals, safety products, tools, inventory management | homepage = [http://www.wuerth.com/ wuerth.com] }} The '''Würth Group''' ({{langx|de|Würth-Gruppe}}, {{IPA|de|ˈvʏʁtɡʁʊpə|pron}}) is a worldwide wholesaler of [[fastener]]s, [[screws]] and screw accessories. Würth expanded its range and today offers a full range of business equipment for craft businesses in a kind of supermarket of its own. Würth offers [[dowel]]s, [[Chemical industry|chemicals]], [[Electronic component|electronic]] and [[Electromechanics|electromechanical]] components, [[furniture]] and [[construction]] fittings, [[tool]]s, machines, installation material, [[automotive]] hardware, [[Field inventory management|inventory management]], storage and retrieval systems. The group of over 400 companies across 80+ countries has been servicing the automotive, woodworking, metalworking, industrial and construction industries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Handelsblatt |url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/mittelstand/schraubenkonzern-wir-harmonieren-gut-zusammen-wie-der-unternehmer-reinhold-wuerth-und-seine-tochter-die-konzernfuehrung-regeln/27378384.html |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.handelsblatt.com}}</ref>

Würth was founded in 1945 by [[Adolf Würth]] in [[Künzelsau]], Germany. The company is family owned and has been run by his son [[Reinhold Würth]] since 1954.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zulauf |first1=Silvia |title=Sense what's right |date=2015 |publisher=Swiridoff |isbn=978-3-89929-307-4 |page=23}}</ref>

==History== Würth was founded by Adolf Würth (1909–1954),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Schwäbisches Tagblatt|url=https://www.tagblatt.de/|access-date=2021-12-30|website=Schwäbisches Tagblatt|language=de}}</ref> for the purpose of selling screws in 1945 in Künzelsau (hence the company logo, which consists of the family name and a W of two screw heads with cylindrical and round heads). After the death of Adolf Würth, his son Reinhold Würth took over in 1954 at the age of 19 with his mother Alma Würth, making it a two-person company.

Since then, the company has been active in the distribution of fasteners and tools with over 100,000 different products in these lines.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-10-27 |title=Würth Service Supply Building New $11.5 Million Indiana HQ |url=https://www.inddist.com/awards/news/13773025/wrth-service-supply-building-new-115-million-indiana-hq |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=Industrial Distribution |language=en-us}}</ref> Its more than 3.9 million customers include companies from the construction industry, wood and metal crafting, automotive companies, and, increasingly, industrial customers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wurth Group |date=2015 |title=Insight 2015 |url=https://www.wurthindustry.ca/media/pictures/wic/Wurth_Insight_2015_Magazine.pdf}}</ref>

Today{{when|date=February 2024}} the Würth Group operates worldwide and employs over 81,000 people, making it one of the largest non-listed companies in Germany. The German newspaper ''[[Die Welt]]'' listed it as 91 on its list of top 500 companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=TBD Media Group |date=2023-05-04 |title=The Würth Group, world market leader in the manufacturing of fastening materials |website=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/plus/tbd-media-group/vision2045-1st-edition/the-wurth-group-world-market-leader-in-the-manufacturing-of-fastening-materials}}</ref>

On 1 January 1994, Reinhold Würth withdrew from management and took over as Chairman of the Würth Advisory Board. On March 1, 2006, he passed on this office to his daughter Bettina Würth and became Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Group.

On 27 October 2006, after five years of research, the group opened a production plant in [[Schwäbisch Hall]] for new types of [[solar cells]] using [[copper]], [[indium]], and [[selenium]] instead of [[silicon]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ein Platz an der Sonne|url=https://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/news/solarzellen-ein-platz-an-der-sonne-3327656.html|access-date=2021-12-30|website=stern.de|date=2 December 2006 |language=de}}</ref>

Reinhold Würth advised his approximately 25,000 employees in Germany not to vote for the right-wing extremist AfD in 2024. In a five-page letter, the then 88-year-old noted that not everything was going well in the current Scholz government, but that the AfD wanted to abolish the party state.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Familienunternehmer Würth rät Mitarbeitern von AfD ab |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/wuerth-afd-100.html |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=tagesschau.de |language=de}}</ref>

Unlike other trading companies, Würth spends much on research and development. It set a record in 2007 with more than 60 patents.<ref>[http://www.germanchampions.de/wurth-montage-und-befestigungsmaterial-fur-profis/''German Champions - Innovationsmotor Mittelstand''], Study of the Technische Universität München and the Munich Innovation Group</ref>

==Corporate structure== Besides the German parent company Adolf Würth GmbH & Co, Würth includes more than 400 companies in 86 countries, which are divided into two lines:

*The Würth Line (die ''Würth-Linie''), whose companies carry the Würth name; *206 allied companies, which are usually purchased companies that operate under their original name or have been integrated into another allied company.

The Würth Group specializes in sales through its representatives. It operates globally, with continuous expansions due to sales. In Germany, the number of employees amounts to 24,971. Around the world, the Würth Group employs more than 33,000 sales representatives in the field.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Cultural ties==

=== Würth Foundation === The Würth Group supports the Würth Foundation ({{Langx|de|Stiftung Würth}}), established by Carmen and Reinhold Würth in 1987 to promote art and culture, science and research, education and integration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Die Stiftung|url=http://www.stiftung-wuerth.de/web/de/stiftung_wuerth/stiftung/stiftung_wuerth.php|website=Stiftung Würth|access-date=22 February 2015|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=Jürgen |title=Johannes Schmalzl wechselt zur Stiftung Würth (in German) |url=https://www.stimme.de/hohenlohe/wirtschaft/wirtschaft/johannes-schmalzl-wechselt-zur-stiftung-wuerth;art139930,4552486 |access-date=30 December 2021 |publisher=Heilbronner Stimme}}</ref> The organization gives many types of awards, including the [[Würth Prize for European Literature]] and the [[Würth Prize of Jeunesses Musicales Germany]]. Since 1993, Würth has awarded the Robert Jacobsen Prize to contemporary visual artists.<ref>{{cite news |last1=dpa |title=Robert-Jacobsen-Preis für Elmgreen & Dragset (in German) |url=https://www.monopol-magazin.de/robert-jacobsen-preis-fuer-elmgreen-dragset |access-date=30 December 2021 |date=5 May 2021}}</ref> In addition, the Würth Foundation engages in school and university funding. In 2005, the Künzelsau College of Applied Sciences of the University of Heilbronn was renamed Reinhold Würth University.

=== {{Anchor|Museums|Würth Collection}}Museums and Würth Collection === [[File:Museum Würth 2023-07 a.jpg|thumb|Outdoor view of the {{Ill|Museum Würth Künzelsau|de}} in 2023]]

The Würth Collection comprises over 18,000 works from the 15th century to modern and contemporary art, primarily paintings and sculptures.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weber |first1=Sylvia |title=Würth and the arts |date=2020 |publisher=Swiridoff |isbn=978-3-89929-280-0 |pages=33, 82 |edition=2}}</ref> It ranks among the greatest European private art collections.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Forbes |title=#115 Reinhold Wuerth & family |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/reinhold-wuerth/?sh=2f16473e20e9 |access-date=30 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=ARTnews |title=Top 200 collectors 2021 |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-collectors/top-200-profiles/reinhold-wurth/ |website=www.artnews.com |date=11 December 2019 |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=30 December 2021}}</ref> The works of art are regularly displayed to the public in five museums in Germany and ten associated galleries of the Würth Group across Europe, including Kunsthalle Würth and Johanniterkirche in [[Schwäbisch Hall]] in Germany, Museum Würth and Museum Würth 2 in [[Künzelsau]] in Germany, the Art Forum Würth Capena in Italy, the Musée Würth France Erstein in France and the Museo Würth La Rioja in Spain.<ref>{{Cite web|last=KG|first=Adolf Würth GmbH & Co|title=Kunst bei Würth - Kunst bei Würth|url=https://kunst.wuerth.com/de/portal/startseite.php|access-date=2021-12-30|website=kunst.wuerth.com|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sense what's right [a book on Reinhold Würth's 65th employment jubilee]|date=2015|publisher=Silvia Zulauf, Reinhold Würth|isbn=978-3-89929-307-4|location=Künzelsau|oclc=906178223}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Weber|first=Sylvia C.|title=Würth and the arts. A company's commitment to culture|publisher=Swiridoff|year=2020|isbn=978-3-89929-280-0}}</ref> In Switzerland, Würth maintains Forum Würth [[Arlesheim]], Forum Würth [[Chur]] and Würth Haus [[Rorschach, Switzerland|Rorschach]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Forum Würth {{!}} Kunst und Kultur in der Schweiz|url=https://forum-wuerth.ch/en/|access-date=2022-01-03|website=Forum Würth|language=en-GB}}</ref> Admission is free in all of the museums.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Würth Group Annual Report |year=2020 |title=Commitment |url=https://gb2020.wuerth.com/en/geschaeftsbericht/inhalte/engagement/engagement.php |website=gb2020.wuerth.com/en |access-date=30 December 2021}}</ref>

=== Other === Würth is the organizer of the Würth Open-Air Festival, an annual music festival in [[Künzelsau]]. The Würth Philharmoniker orchestra was founded in Künzelsau in 2017 by Reinhold Würth Musikstiftung.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maestro Frantz und das liebe Geld - STIMME.de|url=https://www.stimme.de/heilbronn/kultur/artikel/Maestro-Frantz-und-das-liebe-Geld;art140956,4196799|access-date=2022-01-03|website=www.stimme.de|date=18 May 2019 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Würth Philharmonic Orchestra {{!}} Cadogan Hall|url=https://cadoganhall.com/whats-on/zioswurth-philharmonic-orchestra/|access-date=2022-01-03|website=cadoganhall.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Würth and sports==

===NASCAR===

Beginning in the 2012 season, Würth became a primary sponsor in seven [[NASCAR Nationwide Series|Nationwide Series]] races on the #12 [[Team Penske]] [[Dodge]]/[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]. From the 2014 season to the 2022 season, Würth was a primary sponsor in four [[NASCAR Cup Series]] races of [[Brad Keselowski]] of Team Penske's #2 [[Ford Fusion (Americas)|Ford Fusion]]. As of the 2025 season, Würth currently is a primary sponsor for Penske's #12 and #22 in the [[NASCAR Cup Series]] for [[Ryan Blaney]] and [[Joey Logano]]'s [[Ford Mustang]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wurthracing.com/ |title=Who is Würth?|access-date=2023-09-15}}</ref>

In 2023, Würth became the title sponsor of the [[NASCAR Cup Series]] race at [[Dover Motor Speedway]] under the Würth 400.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jayski.com/2023/02/22/wurth-sponsoring-dover-motor-speedway-cup-race/ |title=Würth sponsoring Dover Motor Speedway Cup race |website=[[Jayski's Silly Season Site]] |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC |date=February 22, 2023 |access-date=February 23, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wurthracing.com/post/w%C3%BCrth-partners-with-dover-motor-speedway-to-headline-the-sunday-april-30-nascar-cup-series-race | title=Würth Partners with Dover Motor Speedway to Headline the Sunday, April 30 NASCAR Cup Series Race | date=22 February 2023 }}</ref>

On January 23, 2025, it was announced that the Würth 400 name would move over to [[Texas Motor Speedway]] under the Würth 400 Presented by LIQUI MOLY.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jayski.com/2025/01/23/wurth-group-sponsoring-texas-cup-race/ |title=Würth Group sponsoring Texas Cup race |date=January 23, 2025 |access-date=January 23, 2025}}</ref> The company also sponsored the No. 21 [[Wood Brothers Racing]] Mustang of [[Josh Berry]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-30|title=Würth sponsoring Josh Berry at Texas|url=https://www.jayski.com/2025/04/30/wurth-sponsoring-josh-berry-at-texas/|access-date=2025-05-01|website=[[Jayski's Silly Season Site]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Football=== ====Bundesliga==== Würth is an official partner of the [[German Football Association]] (DFB). Since 2022, the Würth brand has been featured at the international matches of the [[Germany national football team|German men's national team]], the women's national team, and the U21 team. In addition, Würth cooperates with ten clubs in the German [[Bundesliga]]: [[FC Bayern Munich]], [[Borussia Dortmund]], [[VfB Stuttgart]], [[Bayer Leverkusen]], [[Hertha BSC Berlin]], [[RB Leipzig]], [[Werder Bremen]], [[SC Freiburg]], [[Mainz 05]], and [[Hamburger SV]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wuerth.com/wuerth-group/responsibility/Sportsponsoring/Sportsponsoring.php | title=Sports sponsoring &#124; Würth Group }}</ref>

====International==== Würth has been sponsor on the uniforms of referees and their assistants in [[La Liga]], Spain's premier football league for the last several years. Würth has also been sponsor on the uniform for icelandic top division club [[Fylkir]] since 2017 and French top division club [[RC Strasbourg Alsace]].

===Formula E=== For the inaugural [[2014–15 Formula E season|Formula E 2014 season]], a new FIA championship for electrically powered cars, [[:de:Würth Elektronik Unternehmensgruppe|Wurth Electronik]] became technology partner to the only German racing team, [[Abt Sportsline|ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Formula E technology partnership between Würth Elektronik eiSos and ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport|url=http://new-techeurope.com/2016/06/09/formula-e-technology-partnership-between-wurth-elektronik-eisos-and-abt-schaeffler-audi-sport|website=New-TechEurope|date=9 June 2016 |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Formula E, perfect test bench for electric mobility|url=http://www.energynews.es/english/formula-e-perfect-test-bench-for-electric-mobility|website=EnergyNews|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108064224/https://www.energynews.es/english/formula-e-perfect-test-bench-for-electric-mobility/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The company's logo features on the nose of the team cars, in the pit garage, on team trucks and on all official communication. After the successful start of the racing season, Würth Elektronik extended its sponsorship agreement with ABT for a further three years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Würth Elektronik eiSos intensifies its Formula E sponsoring activities: Engagement for the future e-mobility market|url=http://www.we-online.de/web/en/wuerth_elektronik/news_weg/news_archiv_2015_weg/news-detail-we-gruppe_79294.php|website=Würth Elektronik|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>

===V8 Supercars=== Since the start of the 2015 season, Würth have been in a long term, strategic arrangement with V8 Supercars team, Dick Johnson Racing/Team Penske. The new livery was launched at the support race to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix with [[Marcos Ambrose]] as driver and [[Scott Pye]] forthwith racing in the colours in select races for the rest of the season.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wurth launches DJR Team Penske partnership|url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/wurth-launches-djr-team-penske-partnership/|access-date=2021-12-30|website=Supercars|language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurth}} [[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1945]] [[Category:German companies established in 1945]] [[Category:Companies based in Baden-Württemberg]] [[Category:German brands]] [[Category:Manufacturing companies of Germany]]