It was founded by Emil Kessler on 11 March 1846 in Stuttgart, as a result of an initiative of the Kingdom of Württemberg to create a railway industry that was not dependent on foreign manufacturers.

Emil Kessler brought vital experience from his time with the engineering works in Karlsruhe, where he had been a member of the board since 1837 and the sole director since 1842.

Decker & Co. in 1881, Maschinen- & Kesselfabrik G. Kuhn in 1902), the formation of Costruzioni Meccaniche Saronno (Italy) in 1887 and in 1913 the construction of a new factory at Mettingen demonstrated its success.

One phase was the construction of ships for inland waters at Ulm and Friedrichshafen, begun in 1852 and stopped by 1858, that saw it through the time of economic crisis after 1848.

By the 1960s Maschinenfabrik Esslingen had delivered several thousand steam and diesel locomotives worldwide, including numerous special designs.

In 1965 Daimler-Benz AG bought the company in order to use it factory facilities for its production and the construction of railway vehicles ceased.

The last rack locomotive built in Germany for Indonesian State Railways, E10 60 is now used for excursion trains between Sawahlunto and Muarakalaban in West Sumatera.