Heidelberg Celebrates 60 Years of Stahlfolder Production in Ludwigsburg
60 Years of Stahlfolder - Milestones at a Glance
1949—Kurt Stahl and Adolf I. Döpfert found Stahl & Co. Maschinenfabrik Ludwigsburg.
1950—Kurt Stahl builds the first folding machine himself, while Adolf I. Döpfert expands the company’s sales activities. During the nascent years of the company, sales operations are limited to Germany, before then expanding through the worldwide sales and service network of Heidelberg.
1954—The folding machine range is presented at drupa.
1960—The company moves to the current site at Ludwigsburg-Neckarweihingen. The models that enjoy major success are the "Stahl Variabel" machines with working widths of 58, 72, 86, and 100 centimeters, and the combination folding machines with working widths of 58, 72, and 86 centimeters.
1968—10,000th folding machine is delivered.
1978—Customer information center opens in Ludwigsburg.
1980—20,000th folding machine is delivered.
1984—For the first time, the KC "Compact" combination folding machine is presented with an electronic folding knife. To this day, it remains the most successful combination folding machine.
1986—The first fully-automatic buckle plate folder CFC 66 featuring 25 servomotors is introduced at drupa. With the Computer Instruction Center CIS, it was possible to create and evaluate the folding programs on a PC. This was used to preset the folding machines.
1988—The TC "Top Cat" buckle plate folding machine series achieves folding speeds of 200 meters per minute for the first time.
1991—Stahl takes over U.S. companies Macey and the Baumfolder Corporation. Baumfolder manufactures folding machines for the American market. Macey produces saddlestitchers.
1994—Stahl acquires McCain-Brehmer Buchbindereimaschinen GmbH in Leipzig. Saddlestitcher production is clustered here, and the new FS 100 thread-sealing machine is developed.
1995—The TD/KD series featuring the DCT 2000 control system developed in-house is presented at drupa.
1999—Heidelberg acquires the Stahl Group along with the sites in Ludwigsburg, Leipzig, and Sidney, Ohio.
2000—Folding machines bearing the Stahlfolder name are introduced for the first time at drupa.
2004—Market launch of the new generation of folding machines, Stahlfolder TH/KH. These receive the Red Dot Design Award and the PIA/GATF InterTech Award. To date, more than 3,500 machines have been delivered.
2006—Production of the KHC 78 and KHC 66 folding machines starts in the Qingpu plant near Shanghai.
2008—The Stahlfolder KH 82 with automated cross-fold unit is unveiled at drupa. This is the first machine to achieve a speed of 230 meters per minute even in cross-folding jobs, and cuts makeready times in the cross-fold unit by 80 percent.
