How it all began: The 1970s

Helmut Rudel founded Rutronik in 1973 in Ispringen near Pforzheim, Germany, where the headquarters of the family-owned company are still located today. In line with the increasing demand for passive components, for example due to color television, the focus was on the sale of these electronic components. As a result of this focus, the workforce had already grown to five employees by the end of 1976, generating sales of six million German marks (DM).

On the road to digitization: The 1980s

Demand for semiconductors grew dynamically in the 1980s, primarily as a result of the development and market launch of the first personal computers. In the course of this market development, Rutronik also expanded at the beginning of the decade by acquiring the company Silec/RSC Semiconductors and extended its product portfolio to include active components. Eight years later, Rutronik received an order worth DM 1 million, thus sealing its expansion in the active components segment.

From displays to mobile communication solutions: The 1990s

The last decade before the turn of the millennium saw the breakthrough of the cell phone industry thanks to numerous technologies in the fields of cell phone networks and displays. For Rutronik, the 1990s were a decade of growth through company acquisitions of BIT-Electronic AG, Discomp GmbH, Alcatel subsidiary Dimacel Composants, CED Ditronic, and IEC Distribution S.A.. These acquisitions paved the way to the company‘s entry into the display and systems market. By the end of the decade, the company had thus developed into one of the leading broadline distributors in Europe.

Reliable, wireless communication: The 2000s

The use of PC devices and Internet services increased steadily as modem bandwidth improved. ISDN was already speeding up dial-up times, but it was DSL technology and flat rates that brought the breakthrough of the mobile Internet in the 2000s. Rutronik entered into partnerships with leading manufacturers of wireless communication and information technologies in the 2000s and established a wireless division. There was also a change in management. In 2008, Helmut Rudel handed over the position of Managing Director to his son Thomas Rudel and has since been President of Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH.

Mobility goes digital: The 2010s

The 2010s saw the beginning of the upheaval in the automotive industry. This was reflected above all in innovations around connectivity and internet-based vehicle networking, as well as the development of alternative drive systems. In response, Rutronik founded the Automotive Business Unit in 2014 to position itself along the value chain and structures of the automotive industry with components and solutions tailored specifically to the automotive sector. The company has since been investing in research and development and delivering its first innovative reference designs.

To today and beyond: The 2020s

Big data processing has arrived in private and industrial environments thanks to machine learning methods and algorithms. In the process, the interface between humans and machines is becoming increasingly important. Ease of use, safety, robustness, energy efficiency, and interoperability are the keywords for the future. Again, the family-owned company provides the appropriate answer and has founded Rutronik System Solutions. Under „Rutronik System Solutions“, Rutronik has been combining its expertise and competence since the beginning of the 2020s and continues to invest in Research and Development activities. In interdisciplinary research projects, also in cooperation with universities and research institutes, the experts are working on highly innovative technologies with the aim of developing them into groundbreaking system solutions, some of which are patented.

Rutronik continues to write the success story

For 50 years, Rutronik has been proving that the family-owned company sees the key to success in not just reacting, but actively shaping change. Change is understood as a continuous process without an end date in order to continue to grow sustainably. With its regionalization strategy, Rutronik has therefore initiated projects and activities to better meet the characteristics of each local market.

Find more information about the 50th anniversary at rutronik.com/50-years