The pioneer: Reinhard Wirtgen lays the foundation

Reinhard Wirtgen's name is inextricably tied to a success story that is beyond compare. Just turned 18, he founds a haulage company in 1961 for transporting construction materials. The young man is a passionate entrepreneur. He pursues his vision with a tremendous amount of pioneering spirit and much daring. The one-man business of that time has become a renowned global player of the Wirtgen Group today, employing a total staff of 5,000.



  • 1961 – A pioneering spirit
    The beginning of a success story: Reinhard Wirtgen founds his business.

  • 1965 – The first concrete breaker
    With a self-built concrete breaking machine, Reinhard Wirtgen works as subcontractor for road building companies.



  • 1970 – Birth of the hot milling machine
    Development of the first hot milling machine for removing distressed asphalt pavements.

  • 1975 – The road to success of hot recycling
    Introduction of hot recycling, also known as the “Remix” method, for the in-situ reshaping of deformed surface courses.

  • 1976 – Passing the mark of 100 machines
    100 machines built by Wirtgen, most of them hot milling machines, are in operation in Europe in the mid seventies.

  • 1979 – Quantum leap to cold milling
    Wirtgen succeeds in making the technological leap from hot milling to cold milling.



  • 1980 – Surface mining: taking the road into the mine
    A surface miner is developed for mining materials in opencast deposits.

  • 1980 – Impressive milling width
    Wirtgen introduces the 2600 C, the first track-mounted large cold milling machine with a milling width of up to 2.60 m.

  • 1981 – A new business organization takes shape
    Reorganization of the business from contractor to machine manufacturer, and continued expansion of the subsidiary and dealer network.

  • 1985 – Presenting a clever loading option
    Launch of Wirtgen cold milling machines with front-loading conveyor system.

  • 1986 – Heralding the era of cold recycling
    The environmentally gentle cold recycling technology ushers in a new era of road rehabilitation.

  • 1989 – Slipform pavers complement the product portfolio
    Wirtgen’s slipform paver product division is created following the acquisition of a Belgian manufacturer.



  • 1990 – Quick-change toolholder system: increased flexibility
    Introduction of quick-change toolholder systems for milling drums: worn upper toolholder parts can be replaced right on the construction site.

  • 1991 – The next generation of slipform pavers
    A new slipform paver model lays down two layers of concrete at once.

  • 1994 – More power in cold recycling
    Wirtgen develops a high-performance cold recycler on crawler tracks and with integrated paving screed for use in large-scale projects.

  • 1994 – Multi-purpose machine for recycling and stabilization
    The WR 2500 is developed – an innovative, wheel-mounted combination machine for soil stabilization and cold recycling.

  • 1995 – A step to dust-free cold recycling
    Wirtgen presents the first water-cement slurry mixer for the dust-free addition of cement to the cold recycling process.

  • 1996 – Development of a laboratory-scale plant for cold recycling
    The new WLB 10 laboratory-scale plant is used for carrying out mix designs in cold recycling projects that involve the use of foamed bitumen.

  • 1997 – Mobile mixing plant for increased economic efficiency
    The mobile cold recycling mixing plant for processing road construction materials offers customers an innovative, cost-efficient concept for cold recycling.

  • 1997 – Expanding a field of core expertise: cutting technology
    The new generation of Wirtgen cold milling machines on crawler tracks is capable of milling asphalt pavements at depths of up to 30 cm.



  • 2001 – Flexible system for optimum machine utilization
    The Flexible Cutter System enables customers to change different types of milling drums more quickly, thus increasing the utilization of their machines.

  • 2003 – Biggest recycler ever: more power, maximum width
    The WR 4200 high-performance recycler sets new standards in cold recycling: a maximum working width of 4.20 m enables the large machine to recycle entire carriageway lanes in just one machine pass.

  • 2005 – Launching new tractor-towed stabilizers
    Wirtgen launches two tractor-towed soil stabilizer models.

  • 2005 – Expanding the Windhagen location
    Wirtgen GmbH begins expanding the company location, investing 60 million euros in a new assembly plant and additional infrastructure facilities.

  • 2006 – Product range meets all requirements
    The W 60 and W 100 rear loaders, and the W 100 F, W 120 F and W 130 F front loaders complete Wirtgen’s new generation of innovative small milling machines: customers can choose from a range of 9 small milling machines in finely tiered performance classes.

  • 2007 – Innovation as a hallmark
    Innovative machine technology, intuitive operation, ergonomic design: Wirtgen sets the bar high in milling technology with the newly developed W 150 large milling machine and the revolutionary WIDRIVE machine control system.

  • 2007 – Top quality right to the finishing touches
    The new powder coating facility is put into operation at Wirtgen GmbH’s main plant in Windhagen.

  • 2007 – Move to the new administration building
    One central location for all: Wirtgen GmbH’s employees move into the newly built administration building.

  • 2007 – A look behind the scenes
    More than 13,000 visitors attend the Open Day at the main plant of Wirtgen GmbH.

  • 2008 – Cold recycling mixing plant with more output
    Mobility is a valuable asset: the new KMA 220 mobile cold recycling mixing plant impresses with an even higher mixing capacity of up to 220 t/h in the production of high-quality cold mixes.

  • 2009 – Production begins in the special-purpose machinery plant
    Start of production in the new plant for special-purpose machinery: the company site of Wirtgen GmbH now covers a total area of 320,000 square metres.

  • 2009 – Impressive demonstration of mining expertise
    Wirtgen presents the high-performance 4200 SM surface miner, setting new trends in the range of tried-and-tested machines for opencast mining and underscoring its mining expertise of many decades.



  • 2010 – The new generation of Wirtgen large milling machines
    With the W 200 and W 210, Wirtgen launches two truly efficient models in the large milling machine range. They broaden the portfolio to a total of 17 cold milling machines.

  • 2010 – SP 15 and SP 25 for offset and inset applications
    The SP 15 and SP 25 models represent an innovative generation of special-purpose machines for concrete paving which are distinctive not only for their high levels of economic efficiency and productivity but for numerous practical features as well.

  • 2011 – Wirtgen's new flagship product W 250
    The launch of the W 250 marks the advent of an absolutely high-performance cold milling machine with a maximum power rating of 731 kW/994 PS and a maximum flexibility in this respect.

  • 2012 – The new generation of Wirtgen cold recyclers and soil stabilizers WR 240 / WR 240i
    The ultimate in milling and stabilizing: The WR 240i stands out through higher performance, high efficiency and easy handling.

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