Sought after for a wide range of applications, Künne wires are used by all the world's leading rope manufacturers. And although the Sauerland region has seen its share of crises in the recent past, Künne continues to grow.

The company's history dates back to the early 18th century, when nails were produced on the banks of the Westiger Brook. Already at the end of the 19th century, the nail production was extended by an own wire drawing plant for the production of the required wires. Today, Künne is an industrial company with state-of-the-art plant technology and testing facilities. It produces high quality wires from high carbon steels according to all current international standards and specific customer specifications. In addition to the usual tensile strength classes (1,180N/mm² – 2,160N/mm²), Künne is also able to produce tensile strengths up to 2,900N/mm² in bright, phosphated and galvanised finishes. In addition to cardboard core spools (Z2/Z3), sheet metal or plastic spools are also used for packaging. Alternatively, customers are offered direct spooling of their customised machine spools.

In addition to their use as rope wires in the alpine sector as gondola ropes and as safety ropes for snowcats, Künne wires are also widely used in elevators, mining, cranes, fishing, architecture, forestry and lifting technology. The company's product range is completed by wires for applications as spring steel wire or steel wire, which are mainly used in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors. The company also produces iron wires used in the manufacture of screws and bent parts.

H. Künne GmbH+Co.KG has been owned by the Lüling family since 1907. In the course of these more than 100 years, the company has managed to overcome all challenges caused by wars, various crises and two pandemics. In addition to the further development of H. Künne GmbH+Co. KG, the Lüling family has expanded the company horizontally and vertically into a group of companies over the last three decades. In addition to the Wagener Drahtwerk as a manufacturer of spring steel wire, the Künne Group today also includes downstream processing steps. These include Drahtseilwerk Hemer, a manufacturer of wire ropes, and three regionally active trading companies (located in Duisburg, Hilden and Cologne), which deal with the assembly and sale of lifting equipment of all kinds. The group is completed by Künne Qualitätsstahl. This is an independent trading company for rolled and bright steel products for the supply of forging and turning shops.

The last generation change took place in the summer of 2022. Due to the growth of the Künne Group in recent years, it was time for two managers to share the management responsibilities. And so, after more than 30 years, Eckart Lüling handed over his responsibility as managing partner to his nephews Sebastian Krüger and Arne Berheide. Both had previously worked in the various companies of the group for more than 10 years. Since then, Sebastian Krüger has been responsible for the commercial aspects and Arne Berheide for all technical matters. At the same time, a new sales manager had to be found. André Minichshofer has been in this position since August 2022. He has more than 25 years of experience in the steel business, both long and flat products.

Participation in “wire Düsseldorf 2024”
Künne cultivates trusting relationships with its customers. Some have been supplied for decades. The company aims to strengthen and expand these relationships in the future. At the same time, the company is open to innovations, new applications and further developments. Participation in “wire Düsseldorf 2024” (April 15-19) is therefore a matter of course; after all, this is the leading international trade fair for the wire processing industry.

In view of the major issues of the day, such as the conservation of energy resources or the goal of CO2 neutrality, Künne is continuously making considerable investments throughout the Group. Investments are also made in plant technology, automation and digitalization. Künne stands for 300 years of experience, innovation, efficiency and productivity.

Author of this article is André Minichshofer, Head of Sales of H. Künne GmbH+Co. KG Stahldrahtwerk.

H. Künne GmbH+Co. KG Stahldrahtwerk
Hauptstrasse 101, 58675 Hemer/Germany
Contact person is André Minichshofer
Tel.: +49 2372 9092-22
andre.minichshofer@kuenne-draht.de
www.kuenne-draht.de