60 years of welding machines and equipment for the construction and concrete industries
In 1961, Georg Pfender, who was employed as factory mechanic at Rinninger, a local concrete producer, took the decision to start his own business establishing a small mechanical turning shop –in the garage at home initially. Hence, the hardworking craftsman from the German Allgäu region began to turn components for companies in the surrounding area exactly 60 years ago. What started small, got around quickly and ever more companies began to trust in the quality and inventiveness of Pfender. He bought a plot of land from a farmer and erected his factory hall there. At this site, he was primarily manufacturing welded structures, machines and other equipment. At the end of the 1960s, the company changed its name to Georg Pfender Maschinenbau.
Trailblazer for decades to come
A development taking place in parallel marked a milestone for the company: In the 1960s, the reinforced concrete pipe was introduced onto the market. Machines for the production of the reinforcement were already available, but they were usually quite complex and expensive in those days. For that reason, the Rinninger concrete producer assigned Georg Pfender Maschinenbau to manufacture such a machine. As a result, the first reinforcement welding machine of Pfender was built, becoming a trailblazer for decades to come.
From an Allgäu-based craft business to an internationally operating company
The name Pfender became more and more well-known, even beyond the German borders. The small Allgäu-based craft business had suddenly turned into an internationally operating company. After the first welding machines had been sold across Europe in the early 1970s, another important step was taken in the company history in 1981. The first machine left the Allgäu region for the USA, thus paving the way for a successful overseas‘ future. In wise foresight that the name Pfender might cause some trouble in pronunciation, the company‘s name was changed once again. Georg Pfender Maschinenbau became today‘s mbk Maschinenbau. Georg Pfender would never have imagined that this abbreviation would become synonymous with cage welding machines in the USA.
Courage, hard work and inventiveness
As the product range grew, so did the space required for the production. Hence, the company relocated and brought mbk to the location of its current headquarters. Courage, hard work and inventiveness - three characteristics being essential in order to build up such a company. And Albert Pfender, who followed in his father‘s great footsteps in 1985, also had these three characteristics. The master mechanical engineer managed mbk in the second generation for a quarter of a century. He invested all of his time, all of his energy and all his heart and soul in the continuous expansion of the company, in the constant further development of the equipment and machinery and in the optimization of the product and service quality.
In 2011, his son, Mario Pfender, joined the business management and as a trained mechatronics technician and graduate industrial engineer, he brought in something that would once again raise mbk to a higher level: the right mix of technical and business management understanding, respect for the past and the passion for not standing still in the future, but looking ahead. It is necessary to reinvent oneself again and again and to optimize processes ever further in order to be successful in the market, which is becoming more and more complex.
Quality „Made in Germany“
Today, 10 years after the third generation took the helm, mbk can look back on 60 years of company history. The company has meanwhile subsidiaries in the USA as well as Russia and has a workforce of about 100 people. More than 1,200 machines have been installed in more than 60 countries.
Mbk provides its customers with quality „Made in Germany“, ensured by qualified personnel, by a state-of-the-art engineering and development department, working according to current standards, by a machine pool of the latest generation and, last but not least, by the ISO 9001 certification.
Whereas Georg Pfender initially used chalk to draw the designs for his constructions on the work bench, strategically well-conceived processes and management control are the order of the day. Hence, by means of technical sophistication, know-how, many years of experience and very high quality standards, mbk has evolved from a small craft business in the Allgäu region into a structured industrial enterprise and, above all, into one of the leading manufacturers of welding machines and equipment for the construction and concrete industries.
Currently on the agenda: automation
Apart from the welding machines for the production of concrete pipe reinforcements, in the course of time, the product portfolio has been continuously supplemented by a wide range of cage welding machines for the production of driven and drilled piles, lattice girder and mesh welding machines as well as wire straightening and cutting systems, together with a wide selection of matching accessories. And most recently: individually customizable automation solutions, characterized by very high performance at low staff requirements – from simple automation accessories to fully automated production lines.
Optimization is a maxim, that determines everyday production of many industrial companies. And it is precisely this requirement that mbk is aiming at with its latest solutions, equipped with modern machine control systems along with remote maintenance and latest software solutions. Another step on the road to a successful future.
