THIES, A FAMILY BUSINESS: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH AN EYE ON TRADITION

The name Thies has stood for visionary power and innovation since the very beginning of the company: company founder Bernhard Thies, a chemist who worked for various dye houses at the end of the 19th century, was already well ahead of his time. He spent much of his time looking for mechanical ideas that would support the complex and exhausting textile dyeing process and developed some of the very first dyeing machines. Just two years after setting up the company in his hometown of Coesfeld, Germany, in 1892, he obtained his first machinery patent from the German Imperial Patent Office.

After the death of Bernhard Thies in 1922, his four sons took over the business.
Initially, they sold yarn dyeing machines on the domestic market, but the foundation stone was laid for expansion into the export business as early as in 1926. Success was not long in coming: today, over 90 percent of the company’s products are exported. Construction of the first pressure vessel in 1929 made high temperature dyeing possible and set new standards for the entire industry.

Following the end of the Second World War, Alfred Thies returned from captivity as a prisoner of war and quickly revived the business. The number of employees grew from 159 in 1950 to 380 in 1957 and the product portfolio was steadily expanded. One significant milestone was the development of the pressure dryer, which is integral to yarn dyeing to this day. From 1968, Thies also began to manufacture fabric dyeing machines. In the years that followed, the company set up a network of international sales and service stations, making it possible to provide optimum support for customers on site. Today, the company has support units in China, France, India, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand and the USA.

At the end of the 1980s, Erich and Klaus Thies consolidated their business links with the Polish supplier Dofama and the Slovenian mechanical engineering company Alchrom. Both partners were fully incorporated into the group in 2007. They work hand in hand with the Coesfeld headquarters as well-equipped and specialized suppliers of stainless steel components.

In 2015, Erich and Klaus Thies transferred their shareholdings to the fifth generation of the family, who were already managing the business by that time. Profoundly committed to the company’s heritage, this new generation is endeavoring to preserve the long-standing corporate philosophy and to carry it into the future.