About us
The company's course through history
The early years – from dealership to manufacturing plant
After being founded as a dealership in 1901, the company was acquired by the Münzner-family in 1920, and was to be steered by Hermann Münzner for the next 35 years. From the beginning, Hermann Münzner had been striving to start his own production, and he reached his goal in only four years: Based on a workforce of three mechanics, the manufacturing of tachometers began in 1924 under the name of "Rheinische Tachometerbau-Anstalt Münzner & Co" (Rhinish Tachometer Manufacturing Institution Münzner & Company).
The Great Depression – perseverance is the word
A few years later, the company had grown to 25 employees and become one of the leading manufacturers of tachometers in Germany. Then, in 1929, the beginning of the world's major economic crisis brought the company into deep water: The scant incoming of orders had employees and management worry about the wages from week to week.
Between 1933 and 1945 – first upturn than war
In the years after 1933, the company recovered from the Great Depression and was able to strengthen its market position. With the onset of war in 1939, however, manufacturing had to succumb more and more to military objectives. To increase the production of goods of greater importance to warfare, like cannon igniters, the manufacturing of tachometers had been limited to a few types. Eddy-current tachometers, for instance, were now intended for heaters of aircraft engines and supplied to the Junkers company. As the war continued, the company's major concern turned to the individual fate of each of the dedicated employees; yet a great number of the original work force had to be replaced and for the first time was predominated by women and girls.
The postwar era – anything is better than doing nothing
Starting anew after the war had ended proved to be a challenge for everybody. For those company employees who were returning from the front, the company symbolized a safe harbor and signal of hope. Hermann Münzner and his plant manager tried to provide work for their people and had to take it wherever they could find it. Printing and typesetting machines from burned out production sites were repaired, cigarette lighters, for which the buyer yet had to organize flint stones, were produced, and finally, supplier-manufactured parts were delivered to Rhodiaseta, which had been selected as a priority company for the textile trade by the French military government. Adaptability, improvisational skills and, most of all, the strong standing together of management and employees, helped the company to survive these challenging times. Even the dismantlement of all modern machinery could not break their spirits.
Reconstruction and „wirtschaftswunder“ – full steam ahead
As a result of the monetary reform in 1948 and the taking effect of the Marshall plan the following year, Germany experienced a period of enthusiastic reconstruction. By 1952, the company again reached employment levels and productivity rates of 1936. Thanks to a favorable loan from the Reconstruction Loan Corporation, the company building could be raised to make room for the manufacturing of modern electrical tachometers. All through the sixties, Rheintacho Messtechnik GmbH contributed to the „wirtschaftswunder“ and continued to expand until it reached 120 employees in 1970.
The seventies – growth comes to a halt
In the early seventies, the economy was shrinking considerably. Yet Rheintacho had already made plans for expanding the business and moved manufacturing to a newly built production site in 1972. Only assembly and administration remained in the original company buildings. Due to the oil price shock in 1973/74, any further plans for expansion had to be put on ice. Instead, the two departments that had still kept their original address were also transferred to the recently constructed manufacturing facility. Thus, the former addition became the company's new headquarters and still serves Rheintacho as the company base of today.
The revolutionary eighties – changes are chances
The fast developing micro electronics technology had started a restructuring process that affected our company from the seventies until well into the nineties. At the same time, sensor technology was advancing likewise and lead to the displacement of the more expensive mechanical and electro-mechanical tachometers. This technological progress in times of a tough economy forced Rheintacho into rationalization. The new technologies had to be integrated into engineering processes, personnel expenditures had to be adjusted to the economic environment, and the organizational structure had to be re-defined. An accounting system was established that helped to identify non-contributing product lines; a new, proactive marketing strategy attained better access to the markets; a significant increase in funding for engineering and development resulted in more technologically advanced products.
Through the nineties and into the new millennium with new verve.
During the nineties, the re-engineering of operational processes continued. A quality management system in compliance with ISO 9001 was established. The development of new products and customized solutions now had to follow a defined product development process. Furthermore, a modern ienterprise resource planning system was introduced, controlling every business procedure, from the incoming of an order to ordering components to shipping. And most importantly for our internal and external business relationships, a company culture was established based on the principles of fair partnership. All these changes also found their expression in a new name: Since 1998, the company is operating as "Rheintacho Messtechnik GmbH" (Rhinetachometer Measurement Engineering Ltd.). Also at the end of the nineties, Rheintacho opened offices in the UK and the USA, one being a majority holding, the other a start-up. To strengthen our position in the North American market, the company Pioneer Electric & Research became a 100% subsidiary by the end of 2001.
100 years as PDF
