Vorwerk SE & Co. KG

About Vorwerk

Vorwerk is a family-owned company founded in 1883 in Wuppertal, focused on the development and manufacture of premium household appliances. The Culinary (Thermomix®/Bimby®) and Cleaning (Kobold/Folletto) divisions form the core portfolio; at the largest site in Wuppertal-Laaken, Kobold products are developed, designed, tested and assembled. Production includes assembly technology for plastic and metal components; materials include ABS and polypropylene plastics as well as PA11. The Group is complemented by Vorwerk Elektrowerke GmbH & Co. KG as a production and development center in Wuppertal, akf-Bank, the robotics company Nexaro and Vorwerk Ventures. The Vorwerk Group is active in around 60 countries and generated Group revenue of 3.2 billion euros with 7,900 employees in 2024. Products are sold via direct sales as well as digital platforms such as Cookidoo®.

Site

Wuppertal

Processes

Assembly of Kobold products (development, design, testing, assembly at the Wuppertal-Laaken site), Manufacture of household appliances (development and production, certified to ISO 50001/ISO, Direct sales / personal product advice and demonstrations at home, Repair, upgrade and refurbishment services (Thermomix® ReNewed), Recipe platform Cookidoo® with Guided Cooking, Financing, leasing and mobility solutions (akf Group), Venture capital (Vorwerk Ventures), Autonomous cleaning robots including digital control software Nexaro HUB for commercial applications

Materials

ABS plastic with 70% recycled content (housing shell Thermomix TM7), PA11 (plastic based on castor oil, Thermomix TM7 lid), Polypropylene with 30% recycled carbon fibers (grip/structural elements Kobold VK7), ABS plastic with 95% recycled material (Kobold RB7 base carrier), ABS plastic (recycled), Polypropylene with recycled carbon fibers, PA11 based on castor oil, Plastics and metals

Certificates

ISO 50001:2018 (Energy management system), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental management system), TÜV NORD test mark "Vacuum cleaner – Suitable for allergy sufferers" (Kobold, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, TÜV test mark for allergy sufferers

Founded

1883

Employees

7.900 (Mitarbeiterin

Industries

Household appliances / consumer goods (direct sales), Financial services (akf Group), Commercial building cleaning / robotics (Nexaro), Venture capital

1. 01

   Product development and design

2. 02

   Prototyping and testing

3. 03

   Injection molding/component manufacturing

4. 04

   Assembly

5. 05

   Quality inspection

6. 06

   Direct sales and after-sales services

Materials

Sites

Wuppertal (Laaken, Blombacher Bach 3)

DE

Production and development center (Vorwerk Elektwerke), development, design, testing and assembly of Kobold

Materials

Plastics (ABS, PP, PA11), metals

• Assembly lines
• Test and inspection equipment

Cloyes-sur-le-Loir

FR

Manufacture of household appliances (Vorwerk Semco S.A.S.)

Shanghai

CN

Development and manufacture of household appliances (Vorwerk Manufacturing Co., Ltd.)

Products and Components

Inside the production

Processes & technical limits

Quality and Certification

Production and sites are certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 (DQS GmbH). The Kobold VK7 carries the TÜV NORD test mark "Suitable for allergy sufferers".

History

1. 1883

   Foundation of the Barmer Teppichfabrik Vorwerk & Co. by Carl and Adolf Vorwerk in Wuppertal

2. 1930

   Launch of direct sales and sales start of the first Kobold vacuum cleaner (Model 30)

3. 1936

   Start of internationalization with a sales organization in Italy

4. 1961

   Sales launch of the universal kitchen machine VKM5

5. 1968

   Foundation of akf-Bank in Wuppertal

6. 1971

   Introduction of the first Thermomix® (VM2000), the first heating mixer

7. 2004

   Sales launch of the Thermomix® TM31

8. 2007

   Launch of Vorwerk Ventures

9. 2014

   Launch of the Thermomix® TM5 and the recipe platform Cookidoo®

10. 2025

    Launch of the Thermomix® TM7 – the most successful product launch in Vorwerk history (1.4 million units sold in 2025)