Würth Group

History & Founding

Würth was founded by Adolf Würth as a wholesale company for screws and nuts in Künzelsau, Germany, entered in the commercial register on 16 July 1945. When Adolf Würth died in 1954 at the age of 45, his 19-year-old son Reinhold Würth took over the business. Under his leadership the company grew from a two-person screw wholesaler into the world's largest trader of assembly and fastening materials, surpassing the five-billion-euro sales mark on its way to becoming a global group. The company remains family-owned to this day.

What They Do

The Würth Group is the global market leader in the development, manufacture and sale of assembly and fastening materials — screws, screw accessories, anchors, chemical products, tools, and related products for trade and industry. Its core wholesale business is complemented by more than 400 Group companies covering allied trades, and an increasingly important digital/multichannel operation: in 2025, e-business generated about €5.2 billion of sales, roughly a quarter of the Group total.

Size & Financials

• 2024: Sales of €20.2 billion (down 0.9% from €20.4 billion in 2023), with 88,393 employees at year-end — about 44,900 of them in the sales force.
• 2025: Record sales of approximately €20.7 billion (+2.3%, or +3.2% adjusted for currency), an operating result of around €970 million, and roughly 86,000 employees.
• Structure: more than 400 Group companies operating in over 80 countries.

Leadership & Governance

The Central Management Board is the Group's highest decision-making body, with seven members chaired by Robert Friedmann (chairman since June 2005). Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Reinhold Würth serves as Honorary Chairman of the supervisory bodies, while his grandson Benjamin Würth became Chairman of the Supervisory Board in January 2025.

Market Position

Würth is consistently described as the global market leader in its core assembly- and fastening-materials segment. Its diversified, decentralised business model — spanning trades, industry, and a growing digital channel — has let it outperform the broader market during industrial downturns, delivering record sales in 2025 despite weak industrial demand.