On June 13, 1931, banker Christian Pähr founds Süddeutsche Elektromotoren Werke, SEW, in Bruchsal in northern Baden. Various electric and geared motors, the "Millicut" electric band saws, the "Simplitt" planer, the "Circut" electric circular saws and the "Poliglitt" grinding motors form the start-up's production program. Pähr did not live to see the great successes of his company. Just four years after founding the company, he died at the age of 70. From then on, his widow Kunigunde Pähr managed the company, supported by their daughter Edeltraut. In 1945, Ernst Blickle, Edeltraut having married in the meantime, took over the management of the company and the following years saw the start of unparalleled growth.

Technological developments

It was only a short journey from the invention of the geared motor in 1928 to the geared motor of today. The basic principle of the efficient geared motor, once recognized, was further developed by SEW-Eurodrive. New manufacturing processes led to continuous performance optimization and maximum reliability and energy efficiency. In the mid-1960s, SEW-Eurodrive was the first company in the field of drive technology to develop a modular system for the manufacture of geared motors. On the basis of a manageable number of standardized individual parts and assemblies, it was now possible to implement drive solutions economically and in an unrivalled short time, which not only impressed with their versatility, but also with their consistently high quality.

Entrepreneurial developments

At the same time as the development of the modular system, SEW-Eurodrive pushed ahead with its entry into international markets. Due to the constantly increasing demand from abroad, it was already a foregone conclusion for Ernst Blickle in the early 1960s that the innovative drive solutions from SEW-Eurodrive would also have to be assembled directly on site in the customers' markets. This began in 1960 with the founding of the first SEW subsidiary in Hagenau, France. From 1968 onwards, things went from strength to strength. Today, SEW-Eurodrive has 17 production plants and 85 assembly plants as well as its own sales offices and representatives in 52 countries. At the beginning of the 1990s, under the leadership of Rainer and Jürgen Blickle - Ernst Blickle died in 1986 - the company decided to develop its own control and regulation solutions and set up a corresponding electronics production facility. After a short period of existence, this was immediately named "Factory of the Year". The electronics are also based on the modular system and today form one of the company's main pillars. The former factory has since become too small, so the company moved into the new electronics production facility in Bruchsal in 2019.