180 years of textile passion

company history video

180 years of textile passion:
The company history

It all began with the dyer Eberhard Renz in 1843, when he bought a workshop, a residential house and a building with a textile mangle for bleaching and dyeing cotton fabrics in Reutlingen, Germany. His son-in-law Gottlob Wendler continues to run the business until his sons Eberhard and Gottlob Wendler take it over and incorporate it into the newly founded "Wendler Brothers" in 1886. 

The company grows rapidly and by 1907, within just 11 years, it becomes a fully integrated company at 3 locations, with a spinning mill, two weaving mills, and a finishing department. In a difficult market with many political and economic challenges, Wendler maintains its position as a supplier of cotton fabrics through two world wars and hyperinflation. 

In the 50s and 60s, another growth phase takes place with the production of shirting fabrics. In the 1970s, as the markets become more global and the company can no longer keep up with wage developments in the Asian region, textile production is discontinued and the company concentrates on marketing its existing properties.

The successful interlinings division for shirts and blouses is continued as an independent company and founded as today's "Wendler Interlining" by Hugo Wendler and Gerhard Lohrer in 1974. Since the mid-1980s, Hugo's son Gerhart Wendler has taken over the company and has been running it ever since together with Frank Sailer, who took over the management from Gerhard Lohrer in 2015.

With an eye to the future, a location in Hong Kong was founded as early as 1977. Wendler has since developed into a globally active company with production and sales companies in Germany, China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Italy and has earned an excellent reputation in the industry worldwide.

Since the 2020s, further future-oriented steps have been taken with the expansion of the product range to include sustainable alternatives and the associated certifications. The headquarters in Reutlingen has been certified as climate-neutral since 2021. 

The "Green Factory" in Vietnam, which is also climate neutral, was built under ecological aspects according to the LEED Gold standard and could still be put into operation in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In the "Green Factory", all production steps (bleaching-dyeing-finishing-coating) are based on ecological sustainability concepts, such as energy generation through biomass (from rice husks), energy recovery (from exhaust air and wastewater), minimized chemical consumption (through dosing control), recycling of wastewater (until it is ready for drinking).

For Wendler interlinings, these are important steps towards a sustainable future, so that even after 180 years of textile passion, we are well positioned for the further challenges of the global textile industry.
 

Impressions summer party 180 years

On the occasion of this special anniversary, we hosted a party at our headquarters in Reutlingen, Germany for former and current employees to celebrate the past 180 years and to look forward together to a sustainable and successful future.