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Reich was founded in 1919 by the brothers Karl and Franz Reich in Zella-Mehlis / Thuringia in Germany. What started off as a small family business with the production of bicycle parts has since evolved into a leading manufacturer of turned parts such as transmission and steering system components, ball bearings and components for fuel injection systems.

Today Reich and Reich USA with its subsidiary Reich LLC have grown into an internationally operating enterprise.

Reich, however, is still deeply rooted in its hometown Mellrichstadt. With more than 1,000 employees and production facilities covering more than 48,000 sqm, Reich is one among the large medium-sized German companies that until today is still completely family-owned and -run.

1919 - 1928

	1919: Company founded in Zella-Mehlis, Germany The two brothers Franz and Karl Reich open a bicycle parts factory in their parents' house in the German region of Thuringia. For the first two years, manufacturing takes place in the cellar. After completing construction of a new two-story building in the garden, they move the workshop there.
	1923: Growth in difficult times The young company weathers the hyperinflation of German currency, which peaks in autumn of 1923, without trouble. Reich reaches 100 employees and constructs a generously proportioned new machine room and workshop in order to expand its production of bottom brackets, sprockets, brakes and small parts.

1929 - 1938

1939 - 1948

1949 - 1958

1959 - 1968

1969 - 1978

1979 - 1988

1989 - 1998

1999 - 2008

2009 - 2018

2019

History

Technology & progress

1919: Company founded in Zella-Mehlis, Germany

1923: Growth in difficult times

1932/33: Production of bicycle bells commences

1934: Portfolio expands

1941: Backup operation in nearby Mellrichstadt

1946: A new beginning in the West

1947: Branch in Fladungen founded

1949: First staff association committee elected

1952/1953: Upswing in the border zone

1954: Reich becomes a limited partnership

1962: Social responsibility toward employees

1964: A visit from the Federal President

1969: Fiftieth anniversary

1972: "REICH Glocke" employee magazine

1977: The third generation of company management

1979: Company renamed to Reich GmbH & Co. KG

1980: Reorientation toward the automotive industry

1989: The fall of the wall

1990: Karl-Hermann Reich assumes the company directorship

1997: Production of components for direct diesel injection motors

2000: Millennium heralded with a new CNC hall

2002: Farewell to the bicycle bell

2005: 100 million inlet connectors

2010: Reich LLC founded in the USA

2014: Generation change

2016: Reich MIM GmbH in Schwarzenberg, Germany

2019: Hundredth anniversary

CURRENT EVENTS AND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT REICH GmbH!

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	1932/33: Production of bicycle bells commences A new product arrives in the sales catalog that will shape the company's fortunes: Reich begins producing bicycle bells "of all types and designs". The bells' good reputation draws customers from abroad and even from across the Atlantic.
	1934: Portfolio expands The company supplements its product catalog with turned, milled and stamped parts for various industries as well as ball bearings for conveyors. The ball bearings instantly become a mainstay of the company's turnover, with 90 percent of production being devoted to them after only a year in the company's portfolio.

	1941: Backup operation in nearby Mellrichstadt At the beginning of the war, Reich employs 250 employees and is converted into an armaments factory. In 1941, to mitigate the threat of bombing attacks, the aviation ministry constructs a backup production line fifty kilometers away in Mellrichstadt.
	1946: A new beginning in the West At the end of the war, the ball bearing factory in Zella-Mehlis falls into the hands of the Soviet occupying forces. The brothers Hans and Heinrich Reich flee to Mellrichstadt, where they restart the company with production of bicycle bells.
	1947: Branch in Fladungen founded After American troops stationed there are pulled out, Reich purchases part of a facility that formerly belonged to Nazi Germany's labor service. Located about 20 kilometers northwest of Mellrichstadt, the new plant employs up to 90 workers producing first bicycle pedals and then also carrier rollers and ball bearings.

	1949: First staff association committee elected The first staff association committee at Reich is elected only four years after the end of the war. Five men and two women become responsible for bringing the interests of Reich's employees, who now number about 400, to the company management's attention.
	1952/1953: Upswing in the border zone Germany's "economic miracle" reaches Mellrichstadt, where Reich invests in a new machine hall, annexes, remodeling and new machinery. Just a few years later, a new cafeteria is constructed to replace the previous mobile solution.
	1954: Reich becomes a limited partnership Reich changes its legal structure from that of a general partnership (Reich OHG) to that of a limited partnership, Reich & Co. KG, in order to prepare for the future. The company serves customers in Europe (both the EEC and the EFTA) and overseas, especially the USA.

	1962: Social responsibility toward employees Vacation should be affordable for everyone. So Reich purchases a vacation home in Kelchsau, Austria, for discounted use by its employees and their families. Four years before, the company had already opened a support fund to provide its staff with company retirement provisions.
	1964: A visit from the Federal President During his tour of the border regions, Federal President Heinrich Lübke visits Reich, then the largest employer in Mellrichstadt. Over a glass of champagne with Hans and Heinrich Reich, Germany's head of state bears witness to the possibility of economic success even within the zone border regions.

History

Technology & progress

1919: Company founded in Zella-Mehlis, Germany

1923: Growth in difficult times

1932/33: Production of bicycle bells commences

1934: Portfolio expands

1941: Backup operation in nearby Mellrichstadt

1946: A new beginning in the West

1947: Branch in Fladungen founded

1949: First staff association committee elected

1952/1953: Upswing in the border zone

1954: Reich becomes a limited partnership

1962: Social responsibility toward employees

1964: A visit from the Federal President

1969: Fiftieth anniversary

1972: "REICH Glocke" employee magazine

1977: The third generation of company management

1979: Company renamed to Reich GmbH & Co. KG

1980: Reorientation toward the automotive industry

1989: The fall of the wall

1990: Karl-Hermann Reich assumes the company directorship

1997: Production of components for direct diesel injection motors

2000: Millennium heralded with a new CNC hall

2002: Farewell to the bicycle bell

2005: 100 million inlet connectors

2010: Reich LLC founded in the USA

2014: Generation change

2016: Reich MIM GmbH in Schwarzenberg, Germany

2019: Hundredth anniversary

CURRENT EVENTS AND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT REICH GmbH! MORE >

Show locations

Contact

CURRENT EVENTS AND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT REICH GmbH!