125 years of Alpine
This year, Hosokawa Alpine is celebrating its 125th anniversary
With events and promotions on site and on social media, we look back on our history and into the world of state-of-the-art mechanical processing technology and film extrusion throughout the year.
Otto Holzhäuer laid the foundation stone in 1898 with the establishment of a mechanical workshop in Augsburg's old town. Only two years later, he was already selling his products to customers throughout Europe. In 2023, Hosokawa Alpine is a globally active company and provides future-oriented solutions in powder technology and film extrusion. Now that's a reason to celebrate!
Today, around 840 employees make up the company and decisively advance new developments with their expertise. For 125 years, we have been standing for innovation, customer proximity and quality "Made in Germany". For this reason, the anniversary is all about our way of thinking. Together with our employees, customers and partners, we want to look back on our past and take a look into the exciting future of our markets.
Top performance - from Augsburg to the whole world
Alpine. With this part of the name, the founder, Otto Holzhäuer, not only referred to the nearby Alps, but also embodied in the company's name the demands for maximum performance. 125 years later, we still follow this claim. From a workforce of 30 in 1902, an impressive company emerged that stands for innovation and technological leadership. At the beginning of the 20th century, Otto Holzhäuer patented the first universal shredding machine, the "Triumph". In the decades that followed, Alpine continued to set new standards in the manufacture of size reduction equipment from the field of mechanical process engineering, such as in 1922 with the construction of the first screenless pin mill with a horizontal shaft that exceeded 10,000 revolutions per minute. In 1967, Alpine engineers achieved something like a world record in the field of air classifying: with the laboratory classifier 100 MZR, a separation precision of 1 micron, i.e. 1/1000 mm, was achieved. But the company also ventured into other areas, and continues to transform itself over time: in the 1955s, for example, Alpine became a manufacturer of plastics processing machines. Today, the Alpine blown film extrusion machines are world market leaders.
Have a look at our history!
- 1898: Mr Otto Holzhäuer’s mechanical workshop founded in Augsburg’s old town
- 1900: Sale of products to customers throughout Europe begins
- 1902: Conversion of the workshop into a limited liability company named ‘O. Holzhäuer’sche Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Augsburg-Göggingen’; relocation of the company from Augsburg’s old town to its current headquarters in the district of Göggingen
- 1903: First patent for the universal shredder with the brand name ‘Triumph’. Expansion of the product range to include further mills and crushing machines, for which the company also received several patents
- 1909: Company renamed ‘Alpine Maschinenfabrik-Gesellschaft m.b.H.’. Alpine is a fanciful name derived from the Alps, echoing the company’s aspirations for excellence and peak performance.
- 1921: Conversion into a public limited company
- 1938: As part of the Aryanization process, the company changed hands to Mathias Fränkl. The purchase was made at a price of 137.5% of the share package.
- 1939: Takeover of the mill construction department of MAG Maschinenfabrik Geislingen and integration of the products into the company's own manufacturing program.
- 1944: Alpine's share of armaments production rose to 25 percent for the first time since the beginning of the war; 75 percent of production remained in mill manufacturing.
- 1945: Engineers and technicians hired from Messerschmitt AG in Augsburg, which had been wound up. This brought expertise on aerodynamics and the development of jet engines to the process engineering sector, which was used specifically in the design of new air classifiers.
- 1950: Start of focused research and development work in plastics processing. The KSE 45 screw extruder for processing thermoplastics was the first product.
- 1960: Foundation of a new business unit for production of film blowing systems.
- 1987: 100% takeover of Alpine AG by Hosokawa Micron Corporation, Osaka, Japan. The company name was subsequently changed to Hosokawa Alpine Aktiengesellschaft. Opening of the application centres for mechanical process engineering and plastics process engineering.
- 1995: Certification of Hosokawa Alpine AG according to ISO 9001
- 1997: New, customer division-based structure in the Mechanical Process Engineering business unit. Each division focuses on the specific requirements and needs of individual industries.
- 2007: Hosokawa Micron India PVT LTD is founded in Chennai, India. The wholly owned subsidiary of Hosokawa Alpine AG is dedicated to technical sales and service for mechanical processing technology and film extrusion. It also manufactures and supplies machine parts and keeps spare parts in stock.
- 2008: Construction of a new assembly hall in Augsburg
- 2012: Hosokawa Micron Saint-Petersburg is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The subsidiary of Hosokawa Alpine specialises in the sale and service of machines in Russia and the CIS countries in the powder processing and blown film lines segment.
- 2013: Acquisition of the compacting business unit of Hosokawa Bepex GmbH in Leingarten and integration into the mechanical process engineering business unit. The new branch operates as Hosokawa Alpine Compaction.
- 2015: Acquisition of ANKO (Anton Kolb) Maschinenbau GmbH in Niederkassel. As a wholly owned subsidiary, the manufacturer of film winders and oscillating take-off systems now trades under the name Hosokawa Kolb.
- 2019: Launch of SAPS Ltda. in São Paulo (Brazil): a joint venture of Hosokawa Alpine AG with Dynamic Air Ltda. in the contract processing business segment
- 2020: Opening of the new logistics centre (storage capacity: 8,000 m2) for Hosokawa Alpine AG at the Augsburg freight centre
- 2020: Hosokawa Alpine Poland is founded in Warsaw. The subsidiary offers Polish customers sales and service in the areas of mechanical processing technology and film extrusion.
- 2020: Acquisition of the Solids Solutions Group with locations in Landsberg (Germany), Zarautz (Spain) and Aizarnazabal (Spain). The company focuses on the development and manufacture of equipment and components for bulk materials handling, with core strengths in storage, conveying, metering and weighing technology.
- 2021: Opening of the Application Center Food in Augsburg, a test center designed specifically for applications in the food industry
- 2021: The expert network in Latin America was expanded with the locations Hosokawa Solids Mexico,Hosokawa Solids Chile and Hosokawa Solids Colombia.
- 2022: Hosokawa Alpine Switzerland is founded in the canton of St. Gallen. The subsidiary offers customers sales in the area of mechanical processsing technology.
Happy Birthday!
125 years of Alpine. An anniversary that shows that our company has grown in an impressive way over the years, even in challenging times, and has developed into a true hidden champion over the years. 125 years that a company can be proud of. I am proud to be part of this impressive history.
All the best for 125 years of Alpine!
For me, 125 years of Alpine means countless successfully completed projects and satisfied customers. 125 years of Alpine stand for the energetic commitment of each and every one of us. I would like to say thank you for the daily trust in my work and I am happy to be a "cog" in this big gear. Thank you, Alpine!
Happy birthday, Alpine!
We are celebrating our 125th anniversary this year. Looking back on this impressive history, we know that it was and is the people who made this anniversary possible: Dedicated and motivated employees who have shown commitment and performance, as well as customers who have placed their trust in Alpine. I am proud to be part of this company.
Congratulations to 125 years of Alpine!
Hosokawa Alpine is a company that has acted with an eye to the future and has thus been able to establish itself on the market for over a century. The good cooperation among each other in the team - over generations - makes the work special. For 125 years, we have strived to meet the needs of our customers. That is exactly what has made this anniversary possible! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this history.
