Quality since 1778

In the meantime, industrialisation had also reached Germany and Paul Friedrich Dick, later a counsellor of commerce, took over the company. He did not master the transition from a craft to an industrial business and the challenges of this time by chance. This achievement was mainly due to the character of Paul Friedrich Dick, who, like many Swabian business leaders, possessed an irrepressible will to create, demonstrated courage and was absolutely gifted in organisation. He also excelled with his enormous expertise and craftsmanship. Shortly after taking over the workshop, he bought a new, larger property in which the Friedr. Dick file and tool factory soon grew into a small, but distinguished company. Under his guidance, the first file-making machine in Germany was constructed. Paul Friedrich Dick was a man of great courage, ambition and above all economic vision. He included other products in his production at an early stage. Sharpening steels appealed to him in particular.

In the spring of 1893, Paul Friedrich Dick set off on a journey across the Atlantic to the USA. At the World's Fair in Chicago he presented his files, sharpening steels, tools and knives, but was also able to establish important business contacts for the distribution of his products. While Paul Friedrich Dick was learning many new things and gaining experience in the USA, his factory in Esslingen was honoured by a visit from King Wilhelm II of Württemberg. Together with his wife, he marvelled at the production facilities and also showed an interest in the employees of the growing factory. For Paul Friedrich Dick and his employees, the visit was an incredibly great honour that quickly got around. He developed special steels for his products together with steelworks, secured patents and created new products and the world-famous brand name F. DICK.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Friedr. Dick also faced hard times. Almost a third of the workforce was conscripted into the war and yet the existing supply contracts had to be fulfilled. Files were needed and material was scarce. Paul Friedrich Dick, the son of our counsellor of commerce, joined the company full-time in 1914, having already worked in the business for a few years. He took over the commercial management of the company a mere five years later. The end of the war and the political and economic collapse of Germany also created new challenges for Friedr. Dick. The introduction of the eight-hour day and the onset of inflation required far-sighted planning and budgeting. In the meantime, the workforce had grown to 1,200 employees.  With the New York stock market crash and the ensuing world economic crisis, Friedr. Dick was also forced to reduce working hours and lay off employees.

Another dark chapter in history did not leave Friedr. Dick unscathed. While production continued normally at the beginning of the war, more and more employees were called up during the war years and fell victim to the war. In April 1945, the factory premises were badly damaged during bombing raids and production had to stop due to a shortage of coal. It was not until the early part of 1946 that work could be resumed. With the coming upswing in the economy, things also started to look up again for Friedr. Dick.

After almost 15 years, another direct descendant of counsellor of commerce Paul Dick has taken over the management of the company: Mr Wilhelm Leuze, great-grandson of Paul Dick, is now pulling the strings and steering the traditional company.  Wilhelm Leuze, who had initially worked in a completely different business sector, first joined the company for a few days each month. It quickly became clear to him that one thing above all was important to keep the company on a growth course: strategically sound investments.  “Paul Dick was a brilliant businessman, but the entire family also lived very frugally,” Wilhelm Leuze remembers. “Paul Dick usually walked to the company and hardly used his company car. That meant that major investments were also rather rare.” Wilhelm Leuze had a different philosophy here and expanded the company, especially in the area of chef's knives, as well as upgrading production.  Today, these investments have proven to be a wise move: the “chef's knives” product group is now one of the most important in the company.

With the acquisition of the von den Steinen company in Remscheid, Friedr. Dick further secured its leading position in the circular blade sector. At the time, von den Steinen and Wilh. Meeh were the most important manufacturers of circular tools. Since no successor could be found at von den Steinen either, Friedr. Dick decided to take over the company.

Italy has always been an exciting and successful market for Friedr. Dick. This was due not least to an excellent representative who sold Friedr. Dick's products in Italy. However, after this representative had retired, a decision had to be made as to how sales in Italy should be handled in the future. Wilhelm Leuze and his team saw great potential for their products in the Italian market and decided to set up their own sales office to continue the successful sales.

The production of chef's and butcher's knives continues to grow. F. DICK products have made a name for themselves worldwide, not least because of their absolutely professional quality. For this reason, knife production has been further modernised and manufacturing upgraded to the latest state of the art. In addition to traditional manual work, highly automated production robots are now increasingly being used. In this way, Friedr. Dick relies on a combination of experienced employees and innovative robot technology.

After almost 30 years at the head of the traditional company, Wilhelm Leuze handed over the management to Steffen Uebele in the course of 2017. Mr. Uebele was already responsible for the international sales of the operating division "Knives and Machines" for several years and now takes over the management of the entire company. Friedr. Dick will still remain in family ownership.