Company History

1895 Paul Dürr founds a metal shop for roof flashing in Cannstatt. In 1917 he begins with sheet metal processing. 1932 Otto Dürr takes over his father’s operations. With the establishment of a construction office, the development of the engineering company begins to take on its current form.

Inspired by a trip to the US, Otto Dürr ventures into plant construction. 1950 marks the first system for chemical surface treating; additional orders from the automotive industry follow. In 1963 Dürr achieves a breakthrough in the automotive industry: the first equipment for electrophoretic dip-painting is installed in the Ford factory in Genk, Belgium. By the mid 1960s Dürr has already followed customers abroad: in 1964 and 1966 subsidiaries are founded in Brazil and Mexico.

From 1968 Dürr is engaged in environmental systems. From 1969 on Heinz Dürr manages the company alone after more than 10 years of collaboration with his father.

In 1970 Dürr founds his first subsidiary in the US. The internationalization continues with the establishment of additional foreign subsidiaries. In 1978 Dürr enters into the field of automation and conveyor systems. With this Dürr offers not just painting equipment technology alone, but rather solutions for the transport of car bodies in paint shops as well – an important step towards becoming a systems supplier.

1989 Dürr celebrates its IPO. The product and services are rounded off further with smaller acquisitions. In 1999 Dürr introduces the Ecopaint painting robot, which sets new standards in terms of flexibility, quality and environmental compatibility. In the same year Dürr takes over the French competitor Alstom Automation.

In 2000 the Dürr group taken over the measuring systems group Schenck. With Schenck, Dürr has established itself as a full-range supplier of equipment for final vehicle assembly and also holds the top position in the world market for balancing and diagnostics equipment. In 2003 Dürr acquires the largest order in the company’s history: General Motors orders three paint shops at once in North America. In the course of the readjustment of the Group structure, Dürr pools its activities into two business units in March 2005. Dürr profits more and more from its international network in the course of globalization. In 2007 new companies are established in Russia and Turkey and Dürr extends its capacities in other growth markets.