75 years of MAPAL

In a history now spanning 75 years, the family business MAPAL has gone from humble beginnings to an international group with a global reputation. From the very beginning, the tool manufacturer’s company history has been characterised by continuity and an innovative spirit that was nourished by Swabian ingenuity and creativity, as well as by the entrepreneurial courage of the owner family Kress. Close contact with customers and a reliable sense for what will matter in future continue to shape the company’s culture to this day.

The foundation of the company in 1950 was quite unusual. Dr Georg Kress held a doctorate in economics and was working as a tax advisor when the opportunity came up to take over one of his clients’ companies, which had got into difficulty. Although he knew nothing about technology, threading tools and dies, he bought “OBA Präzisionswerkzeugbau” from Otto Betzler. He sold his successful tax advisory firm in Aalen and became an entrepreneur.
The new name for the business, MAPAL, stood for “Maschinen- und Präzisionswerkzeugfabrik Aalen” and is testament to the fact that woodworking machines were also manufactured in the company’s early days. As cost-effective and efficient production of the profile milling machines was not possible in the long haul in the cramped, simple premises on Obere Bahnstraße in Aalen, MAPAL quickly moved away from this area of business. The focus switched to tap drills, thread dies and thread rollers, which marked the beginning of the product range as we know it today.

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