PERFECTLY SHAPED
Our family business was founded in 1948. Quality, innovation and customer-oriented work have been decisive success factors right from the start. On this basis - combined with courage and vision - our globally active company has developed from a small workshop. We have been successful on the market for over 75 years. Today, we employ more than 220 people in folding machine construction and turning technology.
More than 70,000 folding machines sold bear the GUK name as a seal of quality.
VALUES
As an owner-managed company, honesty, loyalty and consistency are our top priorities, along with working together as a family.
Susanne and Friedrich Faulhaber
CEO
FAMILY BUSINESS
The fourth generation, Stefanie Glunk and Sebastian Faulhaber, have already been taking on responsibility in the family business for several years.
FAMILIAR. ACCESSIBLE. CONSISTENT.
After years of working as an engineer at Bosch, Anton Kunzman returned to his home town of Wellendingen, a small village at the foot of the Swabian Alb, after the war.
He founded the company Griesser & Kunzmann together with his partner Karl Griesser. He found the company abbreviation "Bosch" so memorable that he added "GUK" to the company name and entered it in the commercial register.
The workshop of company founder Griesser quickly became too small, so the first company building was constructed on the outskirts of the village. The founders had to procure the building materials themselves. They quarried stones in the local quarry, and Kunzmann worked at the Schwenningen brickworks for six weeks to pay for the bricks. Construction timber was sourced from the family's own forest. This laid the foundation.
Thanks to Anton Kunzmann's good connections with Bosch and his hard work, various products were manufactured for the Stuttgart-based company. This activity was also the reason why Anton Kunzmann became the sole shareholder and Karl Grießer left the company. Later, the company boss sold a legendary Mercedes 200 SL to buy new production machinery.
The company quickly expanded from 15 to 25 employees at the new location. Working with lathes made it clear that manufacturing shafts and producing the first folding machine were the next logical steps. Participating in numerous industrial trade fairs quickly generated orders.
The folding machine division is growing rapidly, making a further construction phase necessary to accommodate advanced series production and a department for apprentices. By that time, more than 10,000 folding machines bearing the GUK seal of quality had already been sold. For this purpose, a new two-story building was erected and named the Olympic Hall, as the 1972 Olympic Games were held in Munich when it was completed. Today, the building houses the electrical assembly department and the entire administrative staff on the second floor.
As requirements for modern, efficient production grew, further construction measures became necessary. The hall, which is now used as an exhibition and training center, was acquired to increase production capacity. Production of turned parts was moved to the new "train station hall," which has around 6,000 m² of production space.
With over 25,000 folding machines sold, GUK has secured a strong position in the print finishing industry. Its specialization in thin papers and custom machine construction has also generated international interest in its products. The death of company founder Anton Kunzmann in 1997 marked the end of an era. However, the second and third generations of entrepreneurs have been involved with the company for many years to secure the continuance.
Bernd Kunzmann and Ilse Reger, the two children, took over management of the company. GUK now employs around 180 people. By the end of the 2000s, the company remained in the family. After more than 50 years at GUK, managing partner Bernd Kunzmann retired from his professional career at nearly 70 years old and sold his shares to his sister, Ilse Reger. Her husband Dieter Reger is responsible for the precision turning technology.
The shareholders of GUK confirmed their trust in Susanne Faulhaber, the owner's daughter, and her husband, Dipl.-Ing. Friedrich Faulhaber, for their many years of work in the company. They transferred responsibility to the couple and appointed them as managing directors. With the motto "TOGETHER STRONG," the third generation of the family has joined the company to strengthen its position as a leader in high-performance folding machines and precision turning technology.
We employ over 200 people and impress our customers with individual solutions. We achieve this through our well-trained and experienced staff, solution-oriented thinking, and a high vertical range of manufacture of almost 80%. The continuous development of the company is now also being shaped by the fourth generation. Stefanie Glunk, maiden name Faulhaber, is head of commercial sales. Her brother Sebastian Faulhaber is responsible for corporate development.
We build nearly 900 systems each year, supply spare parts to nearly every country worldwide, produce approximately two million precision turned parts, and generate an annual turnover of about 40 million euros. GUK is known as a reliable employer, a strong regional partner, and a proven work tool in the form of a folding machine. We do our best to ensure that this remains the case for decades to come.
Family cooperation WITH honesty, loyalty, and consistency
The GUK team draws on well-founded performance potential, which is combined with other factors to form a professional whole. Teamwork, listening and the willingness to take on new tasks are of central importance to us. The close cooperation between the various functional areas in our company, supported by high-quality training and continuous professional development measures, enables us to offer products and services of the highest standard and to exceed our customers' expectations time and time again.
GUK will continue to focus on top quality, creative employees, innovative products and customer proximity in the future. As a future-oriented company, we see the challenges of the global market as opportunities that we successfully implement for our customers.
Highest quality - creative employees - innovative products - proximity to customers