History
Founding and Early Growth
In April 1889, the Hörder Bergwerks- und Hütten-Verein founded the Rheinische Metallwaaren- und Maschinenfabrik Actiengesellschaft under General Director Josef Massenez in order to produce ammunition for the German Empire. The Thuringian engineer Heinrich Ehrhardt (1840-1928) oversaw the construction of the Rheinmetall plant in Düsseldorf and managed it until 1920. He also made many of his patents and inventions available to the company and thus contributed significantly to the technical development of many Rheinmetall products. The newly founded factory in Düsseldorf-Derendorf on Ulmenstraße began production in December 1889.
The company expanded very quickly in the following years, partly due to government orders and partly because patents were obtained for two processes for manufacturing seamless tubes in 1891 and 1892. In order to meet the increased demand for steel resulting from the expansion of the main plant, Metallwerk Ehrhardt & Heye AG in Düsseldorf-Rath was acquired in 1892 and incorporated into the company in 1896. In 1896, Rheinmetall presented the world's first rapid-fire gun suitable for field service with variable recoil and combined barrel recoil and forward feed device. It was based on patents by the engineer Konrad Haußner. The Prussian artillery testing commission rejected it (either misjudging or not realising the possibilities). After the successful introduction of recoil-operated guns by France (Canon de 75 mle 1897), this attitude changed and the development became a great economic success for the company. On the initiative of Heinrich Ehrhardt, Rheinmetall took over the bankrupt Munitions- und Waffenfabrik AG in Sömmerda in 1901, thus expanding its product range.
World War I and the interwar period
In the following years, Rheinmetall also grew due to orders from abroad. The factory in Düsseldorf was expanded in 1906. At the beginning of the First World War in 1914, Rheinmetall was one of the largest armaments manufacturers in the German Empire and employed almost 8,000 people. By the end of the war, the workforce had increased to almost 48,000 workers and employees, including around 9,000 women.The built-up area at the main plant quadrupled during this time.
After the war, the armaments production came to a standstill and Rheinmetall had to lay off employees. The provisions of the Treaty of Versailles made it necessary to switch to civilian products. Rheinmetall therefore produced locomotives, railway carriages, agricultural machinery and steam ploughs in the Rhineland. The factory in Sömmerda produced precision mechanical devices such as typewriters and calculating machines. Steel production in Rath was increased to ensure the production of civilian goods. From 1921, Allied regulations once again permitted the production of weapons systems in small quantities. However, the plant in Düsseldorf-Derendorf was occupied by Belgian and French troops in 1921 (Allied occupation of the Rhineland) and from 1923 to 1925 (occupation of the Ruhr), and was partially devastated. Due to a lack of orders, civilian production had to be discontinued except for the manufacture of steam ploughs. The state holding company VIAG of the German Reich bought a majority stake in Rheinmetall in 1925 as part of a capital increase. In April 1933, Rheinmetall bought the locomotive manufacturer Borsig, which was about to be liquidated, and thus came into possession of a large factory in Berlin-Tegel. This led to the company being renamed Rheinmetall-Borsig AG in 1936. As part of the rearmament of the Wehrmacht, the company increasingly developed and produced weapons and ammunition on behalf of the Reich Ministry of War from the mid-1930s onwards. The products ranged from machine guns and cannons, anti-tank guns, mine launchers and field guns to anti-aircraft guns and railway guns. The subsidiary Alkett (Altmärkische Kettenwerke) was founded in Berlin in 1937 for the development and construction of armoured tracked vehicles. From 1937 onwards, it was the second largest German armaments company. In 1938, the company moved its headquarters from Düsseldorf to Berlin.
Second World War
During the Second World War, armaments production was increased to the maximum and the development of new weapons systems was demanded. State influence through Wehrmacht institutions and the integration of Rheinmetall-Borsig into the state-owned company Reichswerke Hermann Göring increased to such an extent that the company came under complete state control and was integrated into the planned war preparations. In the last two years of the war, the production facilities were severely damaged or destroyed by Allied air raids.
After a heavy air raid on the factories in Düsseldorf, numerous production areas were relocated to areas of the later GDR such as Apolda and present-day Poland such as Guben and Breslau. During the war, the number of employees grew to up to 85,000. By the end of the war, most of the Rheinmetall-Borsig plants had been destroyed. The plants in Düsseldorf, West Berlin and Unterlüß came under the control of the Western Allies and under trusteeship. All properties in the territories occupied by the Red Army were expropriated. Some factories were completely dismantled by the victorious powers.
During the Second World War, numerous forced labourers worked in the Rheinmetall factories. In the Unterlüß plant alone, around 5000 foreign forced labourers and prisoners of war (approx. 2500 Poles, 1000 from the USSR, 500 Yugoslavs, 1000 from other countries) were liberated by British troops at the end of the war. Between 1944 and 1945, Rheinmetall-Borsig took over the sponsorship of the nursery for foreign children in Unterlüß, which was also a maternity home for forced labourers and a killing centre for their children. At times, Hungarian Jewish women from a subcamp of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp were also deployed in Unterlüß.
The period of German division
The Düsseldorf plant wasn't fully destroyed after the Second World War. Nevertheless, almost the entire workforce was made redundant on 30 June 1945. A small number of employees and workers apparently remained in service, carrying out clean-up work and small-scale civilian production. The Rheinmetall sites were hardly affected by dismantling.
German Democratic Republic ("East Germany")
In the GDR, state-owned spinoffs of Rheinmetall manufactured office machines, moped engines, cameras and later printers and personal computers.
Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany")
Production was completely banned until 1950. Rheinmetall-Borsig was then transformed into a pure holding company owned by the Federal Republic of Germany and two independent subsidiaries were founded. Borsig in Berlin produced steam boilers and refrigeration systems, while Rheinmetall in Düsseldorf built typewriters, shock absorbers, lifts, tanning machines and transport and loading equipment. At the same time, preparations were made for the resumption of armaments production as early as 1950. In 1954, the first enquiries from German and Swiss (former) armaments manufacturers to the federal government, who wanted to buy the company, can be documented.
The upturn came in 1956, when the 56 per cent majority share in Rheinmetall-Borsig, which was owned by the Federal Republic of Germany, was taken over by Röchlingsche Eisen- und Stahlwerke GmbH. In August, Borsig was sold to Salzgitter AG. The holding company was renamed Rheinmetall Berlin AG in November and the subsidiary in Düsseldorf was renamed Rheinmetall GmbH in 1957. A new defence technology production programme was launched as early as 1956 with the establishment of the Bundeswehr. Rheinmetall produced machine guns, automatic cannons and ammunition. The first product was the MG1. By 1960, the workforce had grown to 3080 employees. The production of heavy weapons, such as gun barrels and mounts, was resumed in 1964. The company began equipping tanks and artillery pieces. Rheinmetall developed a tank destroyer cannon, a standard armoured turret and a tank howitzer. One year later, the development of 120-millimetre smoothbore technology began under the leadership of Raimund Germershausen.
Parallel to the increasing sales success and organic growth, Rheinmetall acquired around a dozen smaller mechanical engineering companies between 1958 and 1973, primarily those active in the fields of packaging and forming technology and electronics. 1974/75 saw the first acquisitions of foreign companies in Portugal, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Series production of the FH 70 field howitzer (155 mm) began in 1978. The first Leopard 2 main battle tank was delivered to the Bundeswehr on 24 October 1979. It was equipped with the 120-millimetre smoothbore gun developed by Rheinmetall.
In the following years, the company's civilian division was reorganised and strengthened in 1981 with the purchasing of multiple companies. In 1999, Rheinmetall sold off its packaging technology division to IWKA AG. In 1986, the Automotive Technology division was established through the acquisition of carburettor manufacturer Pierburg GmbH. Together with Diehl Munitionssysteme, Rheinmetall founded the Gesellschaft für Intelligente Wirksysteme (GIWS). GIWS specialised in intelligent ammunition, projectiles and other defence technology systems. Due to the changed global political situation, Rheinmetall adapted its corporate strategy in 1989 by diversifying into civilian industrial products.
1990s
By acquiring a 100 per cent stake in MaK System Gesellschaft, part of Friedrich Krupp AG, between 1990 and 1992, Rheinmetall expanded its expertise in the field of new systems for land forces and special vehicles, for example for use in environmental protection. In the same year, Rheinmetall delivered the first Wiesel armoured weapon carrier to the German armed forces. The company strengthened its involvement in the field of ammunition production by acquiring a stake in WNC-Nitrochemie GmbH in Aschau am Inn. In 1993, Rheinmetall expanded its civilian product range by acquiring Mauser Waldeck AG to build up the Office Systems division, taking over Heimann Systems GmbH to strengthen the Security Technology division and acquiring a majority stake in Preh-Werke to expand the Automotive Technology division. In 1995, the Group expanded its expertise in medium-calibre automatic cannon systems by acquiring a majority stake in Mauser-Werke Oberndorf Waffensysteme GmbH and increasing Pierburg's involvement in the USA. In the same year, Rheinmetall acquired a stake in STN Atlas Elektronik in order to strengthen its expertise in defence electronics.
In 1997, the company underwent a fundamental reorganisation in the form of mergers and new acquisitons.
One year later, the first unit of the new gun artillery system Panzerhaubitze 2000, developed by Rheinmetall and MaK Systemgesellschaft, was handed over to the Bundeswehr, and the Rhino minesweeper from MaK Systemgesellschaft was deployed in the former Yugoslavia. Rheinmetall took over the defence technology of BUCK System GmbH and formed BUCK Neue Technologien. In 1999, Rheinmetall acquired a majority stake in Oerlikon Contraves, a supplier of combined cannon and guided missile systems for air defence, and Eurometaal Holding N.V., a manufacturer of medium calibre artillery. At the end of the year, Rheinmetall took over the companies KUKA Wehrtechnik and Henschel Wehrtechnik and later combined the two with MaK Systemgesellschaft to form the new company Rheinmetall Landsysteme.
2000 and onwards
In 2000, Rheinmetall's Executive Board decided to concentrate on defence technology, automotive technology and electronics. Subsequently, it sold off multiple subsidiaries. The focus on the defence technology divisions was largely completed in 2004.
Rheinmetall Landsysteme delivered the first new Marder 1A5 mine-protected infantry fighting vehicle in 2003. To develop the new Puma infantry fighting vehicle for the Bundeswehr, Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann set up the joint venture PSM GmbH, in which both companies hold a 50 per cent stake.
In the Defence Technology division, Rheinmetall W&M GmbH was merged with Mauser-Werke Oberndorf Waffensysteme GmbH, Buck Neue Technologien GmbH and Pyrotechnik Silberhütte GmbH to form the new Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH. Further, Rheinmetall cooperated with Rafael Ltd. and Diehl Munitionssysteme GmbH for missile manufacturing contracts. In 2005, Rheinmetall Landsysteme became a co-partner in the newly founded Heeresinstandsetzungslogistik (HIL). The company is responsible for the maintenance of selected vehicles and weapon systems of the German Army. The Public Security business unit was established in response to the changing threat situation and to offer system solutions for defence against threats to internal security and civil protection.
In March 2008, Rheinmetall acquired the armour manufacturer Stork PWV from the Dutch conglomerate Stork, thereby taking over a share of the production of Boxer tanks, which were developed for the Bundeswehr and the Dutch army. Rheinmetall and MAN founded the joint company Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) in May 2010. This created a full-range supplier in the market for wheeled military vehicles, covering the complete range of protected and unprotected transport, command and functional vehicles for international armed forces. Rheinmetall holds a 51 per cent stake in the company and MAN 49 per cent. Between 2010 and 2011, Rheinmetall acquired the German activities of Verseidag Ballistic Protection. In February 2011, Rheinmetall increased its stake in ADS Gesellschaft für aktive Schutzsysteme.
In July 2011, Rheinmetall reviewed the sustainability of the company's two-pillar strategy with the two divisions Automotive Technology and Defence. Both divisions were to be enabled to further develop their competitive positions with greater flexibility. In this context, Rheinmetall examined in particular the possibility of an IPO of Kolbenschmidt Pierburg (KSPG), which represents the Automotive sector in the Rheinmetall Group; however, the IPO was put on ice in 2012. In the same year, KSPG took over the plain bearing activities of Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL) in Pune (India). KOEL is, among other things, the largest plain bearing manufacturer in India and is primarily focussed on the domestic market there.
In January 2012, Rheinmetall and Cassidian combined their activities in the field of unmanned aerial systems and cargo loading systems in a joint venture. Cassidian holds 51 percent and Rheinmetall 49 percent of the shares in the newly founded Rheinmetall Airborne Systems GmbH.
The Automotive sector also streamlined its organizational structure in May 2012. KSPG's previous six business units were bundled into three divisions: Hardparts, Mechatronics and Motorservice.
Russian invasion of Ukraine and the turn of an era
In the wake of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz coined the term "turning point" during a special session of the German Bundestag in February 2022. The associated change in German foreign and security policy also included a special fund for the Bundeswehr amounting to 100 billion euros. Rheinmetall Group CEO Armin Papperger expressed the expectation that the company would benefit from this on a large scale by placing orders. In June 2022, Rheinmetall presented its latest KF51 Panther main battle tank at the Eurosatory arms fair. In November 2022, Rheinmetall announced the purchase of Spanish ammunition manufacturer Expal, which was completed in August 2023 for 1.2 billion euros. Rheinmetall expects an increase in demand for ammunition following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and, in this context, an improvement in the supply capability of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft gun tank. In December 2022, Rheinmetall announced increased production of ammunition in Germany in connection with the war in Ukraine and a Swiss veto on ammunition deliveries.
The company announced that it was building a new production facility for the 20-35 millimeter calibre. The plant started production in July 2023. In September 2023, it was announced that Hungary would be the first country to complete development of its version of the KF 51 tank and subsequently produce it in the country. In October 2023, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal presented Chancellor Scholz with the certificate of registration of the joint venture Rheinmetall Ukrainien Defence Industry LLC, based in Kiev, which began operations in the same month. It was announced in December 2023 that the company planned to produce the Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the TPz Fuchs Armored Personnel Carrier in Ukraine. Rheinmetall intends to have the first units come off the production line sometime within 2024.[3]
An additional 200,000 artillery shells are to be manufactured at a new plant in Unterlüß from 2025.[4]
€6.410 billion (2022)[1]
€535 million (2022)[1]
