In 1920, Wendt was founded as a trading company for grinding wheels. Today, exactly 95 years later, Wendt has become part of the global 3M Group. Wendt has always stood for high precision and efficient grinding of hard materials such as PCD/CBN, ceramics and hard metals.

In the 95 years since the company’s inception, Wendt has evolved from being a pure consumable sales to a leading supplier of total grinding solutions. These include high-precision grinding machines, together with a grinding wheels and dressing tools tailored to the machines.

In the 45th year after the company’s foundation the first fully-automated grinding machine for indexable inserts, the WAE 100, was introduced to the market.

Continuous new developments

The cornerstone of sustainable success in indexable insert grinding technology was founded with the production of the WAE 100. In 1965, Wendt introduced the WAE 100 – the first peripheral grinding machine for indexable inserts.

Wendt had already begun developing grinding machines in 1953. In 1954, the first small grinding machine program under the Wendt brand was introduced to the market, followed by the innovation of electrolytic grinding. By 1959, Wendt was the first German company that manufactured electrolytic grinding machines.

Today the machine program consists of 4- to 5-axis CNC grinding automates, which can be individually adjusted to customer specific needs.

Not only Indexable Inserts…..

In 1967, Wendt introduced the Wendt Diatos, the world’s first groove grinding machine used for the production and finishing of wire rod rings.

Global Expansion – To a Complete System Supplier

The economic success in the following years led to Wendt’s global expansion. In 1983 Wendt began the production of synthetic resin grinding wheels, metal-bonded grinding wheels and electroplating, which are today distributed under 3M brand.

Currently the product portfolio also includes vitrified bonded precision grinding wheels and custom solutions are available for all dressing and profiling operations. With that,
3M is the only supplier in the market who can offer solutions for the complete grinding process of indexable inserts.

Winning with Synergies

The company history of Wendt is a result of successful mergers and acquisitions. Today, under the umbrella of the 3M Group, Wendt is one of the leading manufacturers of precision grinding solutions and provides complete solutions from one source: all the way from grinding machines to 3M abrasives.

Source: 3M Deutschland GmbH