Altendorf GmbH & Co. was established in Berlin in 1906 by furniture designer Wilhelm Altendorf to manufacture office furniture. Altendorf designed and built his own sliding-carriage circular saw for use in his factory, and it seems that the company quickly began making the saws along with the office furniture. In post-war 1919 the conditions in Berlin were difficult and Altendorf relocated the business to Minden in Westphalia. Wilhelm died in 1948 and sons Willy Altendorf and Kurt Altendorf took over. In 1956 they ceased production of office furniture and focused exclusively on their circular sawing product, developing a healthy export market. The increasing popularity of sheet goods—plywood, particle board and MDF—played a major role in the company's success as they developed a series of sliding table saws that were well suited to processing sheets. The company became a leader in safety as they developed safety improvements for their saws.
The third generation, Siegfried Thiele and Wilfried Altendorf, eventually took over control of the business. By 2017 Wilfried and son Tom Altendorf were the owners, and in that year they sold the business to Avedon Capital Partners plus Jörg F. Mayer and Wolfgang Ruhnau. The business continues under the Altendorf name, with two factories in Germany plus a factory in China. In addition there are service centers in Brazil, India and Australia as well as a US subsidiary, Altendorf Group America.
In 2018 Altendorf extended their product lineup with the acquisition of Hebrock, makers of edge-banding machinery.
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