The managing partner, Helmut Walter, started out in Dornhan making special carbide tools and sharpening carbide circular saw blades and carbide mills as a part-time undertaking at the beginning of 1962.

As from 1st July 1976, Mr Walter made this undertaking his main occupation and has been in business with woodworking tools ever since. However, his main activity consisted of resharpening and, if necessary, retipping, woodworking tools for carpentry shops as well as large-scale furniture factories.

On 1st August 1980, the operation moved from Dornhan to Vöhringen. In Vöhringen, a residential house with an adjacent production hall was built at Lehrwiesenstraße 24 and 26 in 1978.
The catalyst for the change of location was primarily Vöhringen’s excellent infrastructural conditions, with its connection to the BAB 81 motorway from Stuttgart to Singen.

The Walter company has been making its own carbide circular saw blades for processing wood, plastic, nonferrous metal and steel since 1985, in diameters ranging from 100 mm to 550 mm.

The carbide circular saw blade production was expanded in 1989, resulting in the discontinuation of the sharpening service.

The saw blades are distributed by dealers and are also sold directly to large furniture factories.

In 1993, plans were made to manufacture the saw bodies themselves in the future, in order to achieve even better saw blade quality and become even more flexible in terms of delivery time.

Realising this large-scale project required a radical change:
On 1st July 1993, the previous sole proprietorship, Helmut Walter, was transformed into Walter GmbH.

Since the previous production facility was much too small for this endeavour, the construction of a larger production hall was commenced at Dieselstraße 1, across the street from the previous plant building, in the summer of 1994.

At the end of 1994, the optimum machines for saw body production were tested and finally ordered concurrently to the construction of the 1,200 m² facility. The machines required for saw body production were delivered punctually, just as the new building was being finished in early summer 1995.

The new production branch comprises the production of saw bodies for carbide and diamond-tipped circular saw blades as well as cutting wheel base bodies for the construction industry. 300 tonnes of cold rolled strip are processed annually.

Major staff increases were also necessary on account of the expansion. On 1st December 1994, one of the two sons, Thomas Walter, master of business administration specialising in international marketing, entered into the business and took charge of purchasing, sales and marketing issues.

Additional staff members were also needed in production. Which is why the second son, Michael Walter, foreman, joined the production in 1 July 1995. Which makes Walter a typical family enterprise.

Today, Walter primarily supplies big-name original equipment manufacturers as well as national and international wholesalers with precision circular saw blades.

A large number of the precision-lasered saw bodies are supplied to “competitors” who make carbide tipped circular saw blades themselves. Walter’s entrepreneurial philosophy: Don’t work against the competition, work with it!

Production hall – Outside view

Production hall - Inside view