In 1922 Eduard Benteler founded the Benteler-Werke Aktiengesellschaft, which in 1923 started production of seamless and welded tubes in Paderborn and Schloß Neuhaus.
In 1935 the company won its first major order from the automotive industry: Benteler produced exhaust pipes for the Ford Eifel.
[5] Following the Second World War Eduard Benteler's sons Erich and Helmut built up the works again and greatly expanded the product range.
Benteler was now supplying to the bicycle and car industries, it was producing seamless and hot rolled tubes and machinery for textile fishing, plastics and glass processing.
In the buildings of the former military airfield Paderborn-Mönkeloh Benteler worked with the racing driver and car-maker Hermann Holbein:[6] Between 1950 and 1952 about 2,000 "Champion" cars were produced.
The three small triangles stood for Eduard Benteler's children - Ilse, Erich and Helmut - who became owners of the company, in equal parts, after the death of their father.
[8] In 2007 Benteler took over the Swiss company Rothrist Rohr AG, which makes precision welded tubes, mainly for the automotive industry.
[9] In 2011 there was a major fire in the hot rolling mill of Benteler Steel Tube GmbH in Dinslaken and production had to be stopped for several months.
[17] In 2018, the plant in Chongquing was opened as a further production facility in China, as part of a joint venture with the Chinese company Changan Automobile Group.
[23] Also in 2009 Benteler acquired the Automotive Structures division of the Norwegian company Norsk Hydro, an international aluminum producer based in Oslo.
Completed in 2015 this location, which has Europe's biggest high-bay facility, has over 35,000 square meters of storage space for 27,000 tons of tubes.
[30] In 2010 the newly founded Benteler International AG, headquartered in Salzburg, took over the strategic management function of the Group.
According to a survey by the trade publication "Die deutsche Wirtschaft", Benteler was ranked 27th in 2017 in the list of the largest family-owned businesses in Germany.
[36] With approximately 22,000 employees (counted in full-time equivalents), more than 70 plants in 26 countries and revenue (2022) of around €7.14 billion, Benteler Automotive is the biggest Division.
Benteler plants are located in the German cities of Paderborn-Talle, Bielefeld, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Saarlouis, Siegen-Weidenau, Kleinenberg, Warburg, Eisenach and Schwandorf (Automotive and Glass Processing)[53] and in Schloß Neuhaus, Paderborn, Lingen, Dinslaken and Bottrop (Steel/Tube).
[56][57] Benteler is also the main sponsor of the “UPBracing Team” of the University of Paderborn, which takes part each year in the competition to build a racing car in the “Formula-Student-Events”.
[65] The Distribution division has been sold to Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group on November 29, 2019 (please see paragraph "Consolidation and development of the main business areas" in this article).