Speech of Daniel Walk at 150 years anniversary ECH WILL

150 years Will: BW Papersystems Hamburg celebrates its roots as E.C.H. Will


Oct 9, 2016

The founding of E.C.H. Will in Hamburg, Germany, in 1866 was the cornerstone of 150 years of passion for engineering and paper of all kinds.

It all began with ruling machines for accounting sheets, later the company started manufacturing machines for the production of exercise books and machines for cutting copy paper and larger paper sizes. First headquarters were located at Ludolfstraße in Hamburg, from 1966 until 2011 at Nedderfeld in Hamburg and in 2011 the company relocated to Wedel, a community on the western outskirts of Hamburg.

Having been part of the Körber group since 1970, E.C.H. Will and its sister companies Kugler-Womako GmbH (Germany) and Pemco, Inc. (WI, USA) were acquired by the US-based Barry-Wehmiller group in 2014. Today, in 2016, the company is called BW Papersystems Hamburg GmbH and is part of the paper division BW Papersystems – however, the brand “Will” lives on in the product brand WillPemcoBielomatik. And of course with all those who made these impressive 150 years possible: current and former associates, long-standing customers worldwide as well as suppliers and business partners.

That’s why on September 24, 2016, BW Papersystems Hamburg officially said “thank you” for the past 150 years with a big party. At the historical location Alte Hagenbeck’sche Dressurhalle in Hamburg about 450 guests enjoyed a festive dinner, a stunning sand paint show and some great live music until 2.00 am in the morning.

“We are very proud of 150 years Will but especially thankful for commitment, ideas and loyalty of all our current and former team members, having shaped and developed this company over so many decades. It was nice to see that also a lot of our retirees joined for the anniversary,” Daniel Walk, Managing Director of BW Papersystems Hamburg, commented. “We were particularly pleased with the fact that representatives from our long-standing, important customers as well as from the senior leadership of the BW Papersystems group were among our guests.“

150 years of history are also a solid foundation for the years to come. Today as the Hamburg location of BW Papersystems and as part of the Barry-Wehmiller group, BW Papersystems Hamburg is looking forward to a successful future: as a dedicated manufacturer for the paper industry but also as an employer and provider of vocational training in the Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein region.  
   
View this video for some more impressions:

Our Company Culture


As part of the Barry-Wehmiller organization, we’re proud that the solutions we provide help bring many of life’s daily necessities to people across the globe. But that’s just what we do. What truly defines us as a business is how we do it, and that’s by fostering a caring, trusting, nurturing organizational culture through which people feel safe to express their ideas and share their gifts and talents.

Our People
With the acquisition of the ServoPro we have notably reduced the set up time and also increased the productivity of the machine both in quality and quantity.
Luca Lazzaroni, CEO of Icierre Pack, Italy