History

Technology & progress

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: 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

1969: Fiftieth anniversary

Reich looks back on a successful half century, having grown to employ over 400 staff and operate more than 600 machines in production halls totaling 11,000 square meters (nearly 120,000 square feet).

1972: "REICH Glocke" employee magazine

The first edition of REICH Glocke ("REICH Bell") contains reports from the company management and staff association on anniversaries, the order situation, and training questions. Even today, this publication is still issued twice per year to keep the staff informed on current company affairs.

1977: The third generation of company management

Karl-Hermann Reich, son of Hans Reich, joins the company management. The oil crisis of 1973 and the accompanying drop in business makes for a tense time, but the situation improves again soon after, with Reich's sales topping 20 million Deutschmarks for the first time ever in 1978.

1979: Company renamed to Reich GmbH & Co. KG

Reich changes its legal structure again from a limited partnership to a limited partnership with a limited liability company as general partner (GmbH & Co. KG).

1980: Reorientation toward the automotive industry

Reich reorients toward a new industry by producing components for gasoline systems. In the years that follow, automotive manufacturers and their suppliers become the most important group of customers for the company. The Reich portfolio of automotive products is continually expanded.

1989: The fall of the wall

Within a month of the GDR opening the inner German border on November 9, 1989, a total of 330,000 visitors from the east pour into Mellrichstadt. This year, Reich's orders grow by 12 percent to a record total of 51 million Deutschmarks, of which 15 percent is invested in new machines.

1990: Karl-Hermann Reich assumes the company directorship

After 14 years at the company, Karl-Hermann Reich becomes the sole director of the company, whose employees total 700. Shortly afterward, production of transmission components commences in Mellrichstadt.

1997: Production of components for direct diesel injection motors

The Reich portfolio grows by another important branch of products: inlet connectors for injection nozzles with press-fitted filter cartridges for common rail diesel injection systems.

2000: Millennium heralded with a new CNC hall

The company's continual growth is obvious to see, with a new hall for CNC machines being constructed in Mellrichstadt. The direct diesel injection components are joined in Reich's product line by the corresponding parts for gasoline motors.

2002: Farewell to the bicycle bell

After 70 years of manufacturing bicycle bells, Reich breaks with a long tradition and discontinues production. Two years later, Gottstein + Libischer GmbH + Co. KG, a company in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany that was founded by the son of a Reich employee, introduces a line of "Reich Cycle-Bells".

2005: 100 million inlet connectors

Once a manufacturer of bicycle components, Reich has become a large-scale supplier of the automotive industry: Eight years after the start of production of inlet connectors, the 100-millionth unit is produced in Mellrichstadt. This is compelling proof that mass production of complex parts can be successful and cost-effective in Germany, too.

2010: Reich LLC founded in the USA

In order to better serve demand in North America, Reich founds a subsidiary in Asheville, North Carolina. One year later, the subsidiary Reich LLC begins producing precision parts. Investments are made in the headquarters in Mellrichstadt, too, including a new hardening plant.

2014: Generation change

The company directorship is handed over to the siblings Nina and André, who become the fourth generation of Reichs to lead the successful family firm. At this point, the company employs over 1,000 staff worldwide and makes annual sales totaling 130.6 million euros.

2016: Reich MIM GmbH in Schwarzenberg, Germany

Reich extends its range of expertise when Reich MIM GmbH in Schwarzenberg, Germany, becomes part of the group. This plant is specialized in metal injection molding, a technology particularly well suited to manufacturing components with very complex shapes.

2019: Hundredth anniversary

Happy birthday! Reich celebrates its hundredth anniversary as a leading manufacturer of precision rotating parts, ball bearings, and vehicle components. In this anniversary year, the company comes full circle back to its roots by commencing production of e-bike components.