1971 to 1979: Foreign expansion

From Vilsbiburg
throughout the world

DRÄXLMAIER grew – in Vilsbiburg and abroad. More and more employees and production areas were required in order fulfill the orders in hand. A new production and administration building was therefore built at the headquarters location on Brückenstrasse.

In 1974, 46 trainees began their vocational training at DRÄXLMAIER in Vilsbiburg. This is a record that was honored by the president of the Federal Republic of Germany, Karl Carstens. He thanked DRÄXLMAIER for "exemplary services in vocational training."

Although DRÄXLMAIER is growing strongly, the atmosphere in the company remains familiar. This is how Maria Hofer describes it, who at this time switched from electrical engineering to interior design production.

The first production site in a foreign country was set up in 1974 in Sousse, Tunisia. The site is now more than 45 years old. One of the first workers was Salha Jellib. Along with nine other female colleagues, she began wiring harness production abroad.

A short time later, the company followed its customer Volkswagen to North America and built production sites there. The first site in the Americas was not in the USA, but in Canada near the banks of the Niagara River.

A new production building was set up in Braunau, Austria. In addition, four new foreign companies were established.

Although Linz and Steyr were considered for the Austrian DRÄXLMAIER site, Braunau was chosen in the end. Hermann Peterlechner has worked in the plant since 1988 and seen how the site has changed in 40 years.

1980 to 1989: More growth

From 10 to 2,000