From Thuringia to the global market
After the Second World War, Arthur Wilke and his son Freimuth fled from the region of Thuringia in East Germany. The last stop on this arduous journey was the ‘velvet and silk city’ of Krefeld in the Lower Rhine region. It was a city famous for its first-class woven products. With their profound knowledge of conveyor belt manufacturing, Mr. Wilke and his son established the “Thuringia Treibriemen- und Seilfabrik” in 1949.
It was the beginning of a great success story. Traditional weaving was combined with modern coating technology. The production range was continuously expanded from flat drive belts to complex haul-off belts – then as now, individual and tailor-made. In 1973, Heinz Wilke took over the company from his father Freimuth at the age of 20 and changed the name to “Thuringia Transportbandfabrik”. From then on, the plant in Krefeld was continuously modernised and the sales processes at home and abroad optimised. As part of the modernisation, the extensive product portfolio was presented at trade fairs for the first time, and the sales network was expanded.
At the initiative of Heinz Wilke, AFH Antriebstechnik GmbH was founded in 1993. Since then, AFH has been marketing its own as well as third-party products on the domestic and international market as a specialised sales company.
In 2014, Mona Tenberken, née Wilke, became managing partner in the family business, continuing the success story. Highly motivated and equipped with the necessary expertise, AFH are a regular guest and exhibitor at major trade fairs such Wire&Tube in Düsseldorf as well as Interwire and Wire Expo in the USA. This is where tradition meets innovation, and it is clearly the right ‘recipe’ for a high-quality, individual product.
Around 30 employees are working with great success to satisfy customers in Germany and around the world. After Heinz Wilke left the operative business in 2021, the company’s name and its legal form were adjusted to meet today’s requirements: AFH Production GmbH & Co. KG was established. With a focus on tradition and modern solutions for production and sales, we have successfully put customer satisfaction first for over 70 years – now in the 4th generation!