The Founding of WAGO

11 March 2024

2000-2009

• 2001: WAGO Denmark established
• 2001: WAGO WINSTA® Pluggable Connection System
• 2003: WAGO Rail-Mount Terminal Blocks TOPJOB® S
• 2004: WAGO Finland and WAGO Mexico established
• 2004: WAGO 222 Series – a splicing connector for all conductor types
• 2005: WAGO Brazil, WAGO Norway and WAGO Sweden established
• 2005: WAGO SPEEDWAY I/O System (for IP67 applications)
• 2006: WAGO Hungary established
• 2006: WAGO Signal Conditioners and Pluggable Relay Modules
• 2007: WAGO Russia and WAGO Turkey established
• 2009: WAGO Taiwan and WAGO UAE established

After 39 years of mutual benefit partnership with Bowthorpe Holdings Ltd (after renaming Spirent PLC), an opportunity to buy back all of Spirent's shares in WAGO arose at the end of 2002. Managing directors Wolfgang and Sven Hohorst were certain they had to seize this opportunity. And this is how WAGO became a 100% family-owned business again in March 2003. The reaction of the workforce: overwhelming and moving applause. A moment of appreciation and important support for the future.

WAGO was again a 100% family-owned business – independent and flexible. In addition to a sense of togetherness, the buyback also freed the company to champion internal values and fully implement in-house ideas fully. Formerly unrealizable investments were made, internationalization was pursued and the selection of production locations followed internal visions. New subsidiaries were established in Mexico, Norway and Sweden, and additional WAGO branches soon followed. The return to a family-owned business was successful.

After the 1977 CAGE CLAMP® technology, the second revolution in spring pressure connection technology followed in 2003: the Push-in CAGE CLAMP®. With Push-in CAGE CLAMP®, WAGO improved the existing spring pressure connection technology by focusing on actuation. Like CAGE CLAMP®, it is a universal connection for all conductor types, but with a large added value for the user: Solid conductors and fine-stranded conductors with ferrules can be terminated by simply pushing them in – no tools needed. This technology will eventually become a model for WAGO’s industry.

As the inventor of spring pressure connection technology, WAGO incorporated its own experiences into the national and, beginning in 1962, international test specifications. WAGO’s extensive collaboration with DIN, VDE and IEC commissions has led to the worldwide approval of products with spring pressure connections. In 2009, the German Association for Accreditation (DAkkS) granted accreditation according to ISO IEC EN 17025 for the company's own test lab. A special recognition for WAGO’s quality requirements. And the advantage is obvious: recognized laboratory results make it faster, test processes become more transparent and simpler through harmonization, and flexible responses to changes in the process become possible – a considerable time savings.

Based on experience with spring pressure connection technology gained since 1951, WAGO developed its own test standard that far exceeded the prescribed measured values. WAGO products were only released for sale when they satisfied the company’s requirements. Today, more than 50 employees in the lab actively collaborate with the developers until all demands on a product have been satisfied. WAGO’s laboratory manager also represents many IEC commissions (in number to come) and actively participates in the development of international testing requirements. This is how WAGO has guaranteed the maximum quality of its own products and the development of the sector for many years.