In 1893 Wippermann was founded by Wilhelm Wippermann for the manufacture of bicycle parts and subsequently for motor cycle components. The company was a success right from the outset and expanded through the founding of several production workshops at home and abroad right up to the beginning of the First World War. Moreover, Wippermann quickly established an international sales system that was quite unique at its time. However, the company soon suffered setbacks: The Second World War resulted in the almost complete destruction of the works and in the loss of all foreign production centres.

In 1929, after the death of his father, Wilhelm Wippermann jr. took over the management of the company. The immediate post-war period was dedicated to the reconstruction of the company and placing it on a sound foundation. The production of precision steel-link chains and bicycle chains rapidly gained increasing importance, eventually forming the core of the company’s product range.

In the course of the 1990’s the tradition-backed company in Hagen was transformed into an internationally operating company with a high-tech status. Today, the Wippermann family company is being successfully directed by the fifth generation.