Marquardt Group

Early years

In 1925, businessman Johannes Marquardt (1885–1963) and technician Johannes Marquardt (1889–1942), who share the same name but are only distantly related, established a factory for electrical supplies and precision mechanics in Rietheim.

In the mid-1930s, the company increased its workforce from 60 to 160 employees. During the Second World War, nearly all male employees were drafted into the Wehrmacht; its production was primarily maintained by women in the final years of the war. After the war, all Marquardt offices were initially occupied by the staff of a French commander and were only released after six months. Nearly all machines were dismantled and taken to France. War damage to electrical installations caused supply shortages for plaster-mounted light switches in the French occupation zone and in France.

Marquardt later began producing toggle switches. In 1953, Marquardt began producing snap-action switches. Two years later, in 1955, a new branch plant was constructed in Böttingen, and by 1959, the existing plant at the Rietheim headquarters was expanded.

1965–present

In 1968, Marquardt established an electronic laboratory. That same year, the first assemblies were produced in Rietheim. The following year, they built a training workshop in Rietheim. In 1981, Marquardt founded its first foreign subsidiary, Marquardt Switches Inc., in Cazenovia, New York, United States, and constructed a factory there in 1985.

In 1991, Marquardt acquired the device switch manufacturer Russenberger and added subsidiaries in France, Spain, and Tunisia. In 1996, Marquardt founded the subsidiary Marquardt Switches Shanghai in China, forming a joint venture with the Indian switch manufacturer RG Keswani.

In 2012, the company founded the subsidiary E&C Testlab GmbH in Trossingen, which specializes in measuring electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).

The Marquardt Group operates at a total of 20 locations in 14 countries on four continents: Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa.