History

Milestones
en route to becoming a market leader
Innovation Made in Germany – The 1960s
- 1961: Invention of the standard enclosure: AE is the very first model; foundation of Rittal
- 1964: First Rittal agency abroad, in the Netherlands
- 1969: Production of the large enclosure RS begins
Rapid internationalisation – the 1970s
- 1971: First Rittal subsidiary in Sweden
- 1974: Friedhelm Loh becomes CEO
- 1977: Company headquarters relocated to Herborn
- 1979: Further subsidiaries established in Europe
Expansion overseas – the 1980s
- 1982: Introduction of the power distribution division
- 1982: Establishment of a Rittal subsidiary with its own production site in the USA
- 1983: Introduction of the climate control division
- 1984: Own production site in England
- 1985: Market launch of the new PS 4000 enclosure – becomes a global standard in just three years
- 1988: Tapping into the future market of IT with a new product line
The big quality campaign – the 1990s
- 1991: Start of involvement in the new German states, delivery centre in Bad Köstritz
- 1993: Start of expansion to eastern Europe and Asia
- 1994: Certification to ISO 9001 and 1997: ISO 14001
- 1997: Modern forwarding warehouse in Haiger
- 1999: Introduction of the TS 8 enclosure platform
Global standards – the new millennium
- 2004: New RimatriX5 system solution for data centres
- 2007: Launch of Rittal Service International
- 2008: Consulting, products and services combined into "Rittal – The System." based on the TS 8 system platform
- 2011: The company's 50th birthday; TS 8 is a global standard, with over 7.7 million units in use