Westfalia-Automotive GmbH

About Westfalia-Automotive

Westfalia-Automotive GmbH, headquartered in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, develops and manufactures towbars, wiring kits, vehicle coding solutions, bicycle carriers and auxiliary springs for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. As the inventor of the ball-head towbar (1932/1934), the company offers more than 1700 vehicle-specific towbars that are developed in close collaboration with the automotive industry and precisely matched to their mounting points. The portfolio includes fixed, detachable and electrically swivelling couplings as well as vehicle-specific and universal wiring kits ranging from relay technology to CAN bus. The products are made from high-quality steel, are EC type-approved and are tested in in-house laboratories to automotive standards. Westfalia-Automotive supplies almost all vehicle manufacturers for production-line fitment (OE) as well as the retrofit market, workshops and the trade. Production takes place at sites in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Hartha (Germany), Luneray (France), Brașov (Romania) and Sonipat (India); with an annual capacity of around 1.3 million towbars, the company generates revenue of around 190 million euros with approximately 850 employees.

Site

Rheda-Wiedenbrück

Processes

Development and manufacture of towbars (fixed, detachable, swivelling), Wiring kits (vehicle-specific, universal, CAN bus), Vehicle coding (Autocode), Bicycle carrier systems, Auxiliary springs, Roof load carriers for commercial use, OE production-line fitment with vehicle manufacturers, In-house testing and test laboratories

Materials

High-quality steel, Aluminium

Founded

1844

Employees

850

Industries

Automotive industry (OE supplier), Automotive accessories/retrofit market, Workshops, Wholesale and retail, Automotive accessories/retrofit market (AM)

1. 01

   Development in the company's own technology centre

2. 02

   Testing in in-house laboratories

3. 03

   Manufacture of the towbars

4. 04

   Assembly of the wiring kits

5. 05

   OE production-line fitment and distribution via a global sales network

Materials and Processes

Production Sites

History

1. 1844

   Johann Bernard Knöbel opens a forge in Wiedenbrück

2. 1887

   Franz Knöbel founds a new company for harnesses, coaches, hunting carriages and sleighs

3. 1922

   The name Westfalia appears for the first time in the commercial register

4. 1932

   Franz Knöbel develops the ball-head towing coupling

5. 1934

   Patent application for the ball-head towbar (14 March 1934)

6. 1952

   Production of camping fittings for the VW Transporter (motorhome)

7. 1966

   Market launch of the first detachable towbar (nut system)

8. 1970

   The 1 millionth towbar rolls off the production line

9. 1987

   Market launch of the first fully automatic detachable towbar (A40V)

10. 1995

    World's first aluminium towbar delivered

11. 1999

    Founding of Westfalia-Automotive GmbH through the split of Westfalia-Werke

12. 2002

    First electrically swivelling towing coupling (Nessy) in series production

13. 2006

    Acquisition of the coupling manufacturer SIARR (France)

14. 2007

    Acquisition of the coupling manufacturer Monoflex (Sweden)

15. 2008

    Market launch of the foldable bicycle carrier Portilo

16. 2016

    Westfalia-Automotive becomes part of the Horizon Global Corporation (USA)

17. 2023

    Westfalia-Automotive becomes part of the First Brands Group

18. 2026

    On 16 February 2026, founding of the Westfalia-Automotive Group headquartered in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, separation from the First Brands Group and return to independent ownership