History of WKT

In a one-time coach-building works in Hammertal, Horst Zimmermann founded in co-operation with the family-owned Rudolf Hausherr & Söhne GmbH & Co. KG the plastic pipe production. Using an extruder from the company Koch in Siegen (HKS 45), PVC pipes and hoses were manufactured for coal and salt mining.

On 22nd March 1955, the “Kunststofffabrik” became the present company Westfälische Kunststofftechnik GmbH. Already at the plastic exhibition in Düsseldorf - the later “K” Fair- the diverse products of the WKT were introduced to an interested audience.

In 1959, the excellent order-book situation made it possible to purchase a former hosiery factory in Sprockhövel. By means of this object and the building of new halls, space was created for further expansion of production. The first twin-screw extruder guaranteed even more high-quality pipes made of PVC - an additional extruder made it possible to produce larger pipe diameters.

In 1962, WKT made further investments. The production hall was extended in order to create space for new extruder lines.

The office building which had become too small is further extended in order to be able to hire new sales staff.

WKT continues to invest further. So the production hall is again extended in order to be able to integrate new extruder lines with longer cooling lines. The first PVC silo and a new mixing plant were set up.

In the 70s, the German economy experienced one of its most difficult phases. Due to its product diversity and its high quality standards, the WKT could also survive these times unscathed.

The first PVC pressure pipes NW 400 and single-use filters NW 350 were manufactured with the support of the application technology of the Deutsche Solvay plants.

During production of floor-heating pipes made of PPH, an automatic wall-thickness gauge was used for the first time.

In order to meet the increased demand for pipes, investments are made in the further expansion of production between 1981 and 1988. New products, such as PE cable conduits on drums as well as PVC-C pipes, supplement the production programme. In order to further improve the quality of the WKT PVC products, investments were made in a high-performance PVC mixing plant.

The German reunification brings about increased sales of WKT products too. Five new sales agencies ensure good service in the new federal states. At the trade fairs TGA in Leipzig and Achema in Frankfurt, the WKT presented its new developments in the plastic pipe sector to an audience of experts.

In the 1990s, comprehensive investments are made. The extension of the PVC pipe production is in the foreground just as the set-up of a complete PE fabrication using the most modern generation of extruders. Following the completion of the additional production hall, the new building of an administration building which has become necessary takes place.

The WKT becomes 40 years of age. This event and the inauguration of the administration building were appropriately celebrated with customers, suppliers, employees and friends of WKT.

In the following years, further investments were made in products, in their manufacturing possibilities as well as in further training of WKT employees. These are all preconditions for ensuring that customer wishes were met and the continuity of the company is ensured. Parallel to that, the QM system according to DIN EN ISO 9001, which was implemented in 1994, is further extended and improved.

50 years of WKT and still full of ideas - the positive development of the company is essentially characterised by customers who have been satisfied over many years, by good suppliers and by the unrestricted motivation of employees.

A new annealing furnace is put into operation. This enables the extension of the range of products to particularly stress-relieved PE pipes for roof drainage. In the following years, focussing on customer-specific special solutions belongs to the main targets of the company policy.

WKT focuses on the further development of pipe systems for the renewable energy sector. These systems are manufactured on highly efficient production facilities which in the course of implementing an energy management system according to DIN EN ISO 50001 are continuously monitored energetically.

The year is marked by a continuous extension of the range of products. Extensive investments in the PE fabrication make it possible to manufacture multilayer pipes in various designs for different applications.

From 2014, under the product name of “RCperfekt”, pipes made of PE 100 RC and certified according to the PAS 1075 are produced for alternative installation procedures. The sale of professionally manufactured special pipes, which are partly submitted to additional processing, is carried out in concentrated form under the product programme “WKTindividuell”.

WKT becomes 60 years and is still as fresh as in the early years. Always in search of new ideas and creating good solutions for our customers. By means of modern, digital organisational procedures, the production processes and manufacturing plants are structured and thus the efficiency of production and the quality of the products further increased. From now on, special hoses made of PVC also belong to the product portfolio.

To us, ROHRIGINAL as a wordmark stands for the steady striving for the better. With a fresh online appearance in 2016, we want to make this clear to our partners and win them over for our ideas.

The year 2017 marks the start of a new dimension for us. Following the successful installation of a state-of-the-art extrusion line, we have been manufacturing large-diameter pipes made of PE for a wide range of applications using the coextrusion process up to a diameter of 630 mm.

Due to the activities in the Europe-wide creation of the digital infrastructure, since 2018 the demand for plastic pipes requires a fully continuous production on 7 days and 24 hours. For this purpose, the internal processes will also be digitalized - from the customer inquiry to the feedback of production quantities to logistics planning.

The consistent focus on expanding the product portfolio to include the customized manufacture of high-quality special products, which began back in 2014, is picking up particular steam with the installation of computer-controlled processing machines. The WKT KUNSTSTOFFWERKSTATT is created.

Nils Zimmermann is the third generation to join our almost 70-year-old family business. Since the beginning of the year, he has been responsible for strategy and organisation as managing director. Together with his father Rudolf Zimmermann, who joins the advisory board, he will continue the stable and successful development of the company!