Kjellberg Finsterwalde

Kjellberg Finsterwalde is a German group of companies in the metalworking and electrical-engineering industries. Based in Finsterwalde, Brandenburg, the group develops and manufactures equipment and consumables for thermal processing of metals, with particular emphasis on industrial welding and plasma cutting. Its customers include companies in shipbuilding, automotive manufacturing, steel construction, plant engineering and other heavy-industry applications. The group's origins lie in the work of Swedish engineer Oscar Kjellberg, who received German Imperial Patent No. 231733 in 1908 for a coated welding electrode and its associated electrical-welding process. In 1921, Kjellberg Elektroden GmbH was established in Berlin to manufacture and market the patented electrodes. A shortage of suitable electrical power sources led to the creation of Kjellberg Elektro-Maschinen GmbH in Finsterwalde in 1922. The Finsterwalde operation soon developed into an integrated producer of welding power sources, machines and electrodes. Its first welding generator, the Ke 200/1450, was presented at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1923, the same year that electrode production began at the site. During the interwar period, the company expanded from consumables into mechanised and automated welding. Welding converters introduced in 1930 integrated the power and control components in a single housing. Research into automatic arc welding began in 1934, and the S I and S II machines entered the market in 1937, enabling industrial mechanised welding using interchangeable electrode heads, bare-wire welding heads or carbon electrodes for thin sheet. The company also advanced electrode manufacturing through pressed coatings, which improved coating strength and welding quality. Its technology was used in major steel structures, including Berlin Tempelhof Airport and the Schlachthofbrücke in Dresden. After the Second World War, Kjellberg remained a significant developer of arc-welding and metal-cutting technology. The Kaell-Kjellberg-Lundin process, introduced in 1941, used a double-wire electrode and three arcs to improve metal-processing productivity. In the 1950s and 1960s, cooperation with the Professor Manfred von Ardenne Institute in Dresden helped establish industrial plasma-arc cutting. Kjellberg began selling the WSH III-M system in 1962 and subsequently developed the FineFocus plasma technology. The business underwent major institutional changes during the period of the German Democratic Republic. In 1970 it became the state-owned VEB Schweißtechnik Finsterwalde and was incorporated into the Mansfeld Combine. Plasma-cutting systems were exported, including machines sold to Japan, while the company continued to develop oxygen cutting, underwater cutting and inverter-based power sources. By 1986, the organization employed 1,064 people. Following German reunification in 1991, the company was restructured and its product portfolio was substantially revised. Later developments included plasma gouging, HiFocus precision plasma cutting, HiFinox technology for clean cuts in thin chromium-nickel steel, and automatic flow-controlled plasma-gas supply. The group also contributed to specialized applications such as remote underwater cutting of thick stainless-steel structures during the dismantling of a decommissioned nuclear reactor. The Kjellberg Foundation became the group's sole shareholder in 1997. In 2008, the former Kjellberg Finsterwalde Elektroden und Maschinen GmbH was divided into three manufacturing companies: Kjellberg Finsterwalde Plasma und Maschinen GmbH, Kjellberg Finsterwalde Schweißtechnik und Verschleißschutzsysteme GmbH, and Kjellberg Finsterwalde Elektroden und Zusatzwerkstoffe GmbH. Kjellberg Finsterwalde Dienstleistungsgesellschaft mbH performs group-wide administrative and service functions. Manufacturing and operating locations include Finsterwalde, Massen and Witten, while international business is supported by partners and equity p…

Kjellberg Finsterwalde traces its industrial history to Oscar Kjellberg's invention of the coated welding electrode. The invention was protected by a German patent granted on 27 June 1908. In 1921, Kjellberg Elektroden GmbH was founded in Berlin with German and Swedish partners to commercialize the electrode. Because appropriate electrical power sources were not readily available, Kjellberg Elektro-Maschinen GmbH was established in Finsterwalde in 1922. The first Finsterwalde-developed welding generator, the Ke 200/1450, was exhibited at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1923, when local electrode production also began. The company broadened its product range during the 1920s and 1930s. It adopted the name Kjellberg Elektroden und Maschinen GmbH in 1926, reflecting the combination of electrode manufacturing and machine production. Welding converters introduced in 1930 placed the principal components under one housing. Research into automatic arc welding began in 1934, followed by the S I and S II automatic welding machines in 1937. These systems supported mechanised industrial welding with different electrode and welding-head configurations. Pressed electrode coatings, developed from 1935, strengthened the coating and improved process quality. The company's industrial references included the welded steel-frame Kjellberg Hochbau in Finsterwalde, Berlin Tempelhof Airport and the Schlachthofbrücke in Dresden. Further process innovation followed during the 1940s. The Kaell-Kjellberg-Lundin method used a double-wire electrode and three arcs to increase productivity, while the Maulwurf system, developed in 1943, provided an early industrial approach to automated submerged-arc welding. In the postwar period, the company remained active in both welding and plasma technology. Cooperation with the Professor Manfred von Ardenne Institute in Dresden produced early plasma-cutting studies in 1959. In 1962, Kjellberg commercialized the WSH III-M, described in the reference material as the first industry-ready plasma-cutting system, and developed the FineFocus process during the same period. In 1970, the enterprise was reorganized as the state-owned VEB Schweißtechnik Finsterwalde and became part of the Mansfeld Combine. During the following decades it expanded plasma-cutting applications, including parallel operation, oxygen cutting and underwater cutting. Japanese demand led to a 1984 production and sales licence for O-A-Mach Corporation in Tokyo. In 1986, inverter power sources were introduced for welding and plasma cutting. The company also received recognition for research into plasma melt cutting when a collective from Kjellberg and the von Ardenne Institute received the GDR National Prize for Science and Technology in 1979. German reunification brought a major restructuring in 1991. The product range was overhauled, and the company pursued new applications in shipbuilding and industrial cutting. In the Shipbuilding 2000 project, carried out with Leibniz University Hannover and HDW Kiel, multi-torch bevel aggregates were used in 1993. Plasma gouging was introduced in 1996 as an alternative to carbon-electrode gouging. The Kjellberg Foundation was established in 1997 and became the group's sole shareholder. New assembly and shipping facilities opened at Finsterwalde in 1999. The group's modern technology portfolio developed through the HiFocus plasma system, launched in 2000, HiFinox technology for clean, dross-free cutting of thin chromium-nickel steel in 2001, and flow-controlled automatic plasma-gas supply in 2003. In 2004, three FineFocus 800 systems were connected in parallel for remote underwater cutting of 130-millimetre stainless-steel walls during the dismantling of a decommissioned nuclear reactor. In 2008, the former Kjellberg Finsterwalde Elektroden und Maschinen GmbH was separated into three manufacturing companies covering plasma and machinery, welding and wear protection, and electrodes and filler materials. A fourth service company provides group-wide functions. The reorganization also placed the welding and wear-protection company's headquarters in Witten and added a new electrode-manufacturing facility at Massen.

1. 2008Group divided into specialized companies

   The former integrated company was split into three manufacturing businesses and a group-wide services company.

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2. 2000HiFocus plasma technology launched

   The group introduced HiFocus technology, marketed for high-precision plasma cutting.

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3. 1997Kjellberg Foundation became sole shareholder

   The Kjellberg Foundation was established and assumed sole ownership of the group.

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4. 1991Post-reunification restructuring

   After German reunification, the company was reorganized and its product portfolio was substantially revised.

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5. 1970Reorganization as a GDR state enterprise

   The business became VEB Schweißtechnik Finsterwalde and joined the Mansfeld Combine.

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6. 1962Industrial plasma cutting commercialized

   The WSH III-M plasma-cutting system entered the market, and FineFocus development followed.

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7. 1937Automatic welding machines launched

   The S I and S II systems enabled mechanised welding for industrial users.

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8. 1923First Finsterwalde welding generator presented

   The Ke 200/1450 generator was shown at the Leipzig Spring Fair, and electrode production began in Finsterwalde.

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9. 1922Finsterwalde machinery company founded

   Kjellberg Elektro-Maschinen GmbH was established in Finsterwalde to develop suitable welding power sources.

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10. 1921Kjellberg Elektroden GmbH established

    A Berlin-based company was formed to manufacture and market Kjellberg's patented welding electrodes.

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11. 1908Patent for the coated welding electrode

    Oscar Kjellberg received German Imperial Patent No. 231733 for a coated electrode and an electrical-welding process.

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A specialist industrial supplier combining plasma-cutting systems, welding machinery and welding consumables for demanding metal fabrication and heavy-industry applications.

• Plasma-cutting systemsThermal metal-processing equipment1962

  Kjellberg's plasma portfolio includes industrial cutting systems, power sources and torches for processing steel, stainless steel and other conductive metals. The technology evolved from the WSH III-M system and FineFocus process into later HiFocus and HiFinox solutions. Applications include plate cutting, bevel cutting, underwater cutting, plasma gouging and specialized remote operations. Systems can be configured for demanding industrial environments and, in some cases, integrated into multi-torch or automated production lines.

• Automatic welding machinesIndustrial welding equipment1937

  The company has developed mechanised and automatic welding equipment since the 1930s. Its systems have supported industrial welding with rod electrodes, bare-wire coils and other process configurations. Modern welding activities sit within the group's welding-technology and wear-protection business and are intended for sectors such as shipbuilding, steel construction, automotive production and plant engineering.

• Welding electrodes and filler materialsWelding consumables1923

  Electrodes are central to the company's history and remain part of its industrial offering. Production began in Finsterwalde in 1923, with the rod electrode OK G2/1 identified as an early repair-welding product. The later electrode business includes welding electrodes and additional filler materials for industrial joining and wear-protection applications, with products adapted to different metals and operating conditions.

• Wear-protection systemsIndustrial welding and surface-protection equipment

  Wear-protection activities are managed alongside welding technology within the group's specialized manufacturing structure. These solutions use welding-related processes and consumables to protect or restore industrial components exposed to abrasion, impact or other forms of service wear.

• 2008Legal and operational separation of the manufacturing businessesStrategy

  The group had developed a broad portfolio spanning plasma machinery, welding equipment, electrodes and filler materials. A more specialized structure was adopted after the Kjellberg Foundation became the sole shareholder.

  What changed. Kjellberg Finsterwalde Elektroden und Maschinen GmbH was divided into three manufacturing companies, while a separate service company took responsibility for group-wide functions. The welding and wear-protection headquarters moved to Witten, and the electrode business opened a new facility at Massen.

  Aftermath. The reorganization created clearer organizational divisions for plasma machinery, welding and wear protection, and electrodes and filler materials. No later financial outcome is provided in the reference material.

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1. Kjellberg Finsterwalde