WAGO Kontakttechnik
WAGO Kontakttechnik GmbH & Co. KG is a German company that manufactures components for electrical connections and electronic components for decentralized automation. The company is especially well known for its cage clamp and push-wire connector products, particularly the 280 Series and the 273 Series (often referred to as "WAGO Cage Clamps"). Company. WAGO is headquartered in Minden, a town in Germany’s state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in Minden as a family company in 1951, WAGO has been under the long-time guidance of Wolfgang Hohorst, Managing Director with sole power of representation for the WAGO Group . In 2004, the company was certified according to ISO 14001 in recognition of environmental management standards. The company has approximately 4700 employees; of these, 2600 are employed in Germany at either the Minden or Sondershausen/Thuringia facility. In addition to the central location in Minden, the WAGO Group has manufacturing plants in Sondershausen (Thuringia), Domdidier (Switzerland), Noida (India), Tianjin (People's Republic of China), Wrocław (Poland) and Germantown (United States). WAGO is subdivided into 35 WAGO companies and free commercial agencies worldwide. In 2015, it achieved worldwide consolidated sales of EUR 720 million. History. WAGO was founded on April 27 , 1951 by Friedrich Hohorst and Heinrich Nagel as WAGO Klemmenwerk GmbH. Before this came the purchase of the first patent for a spring clamp. At the time, the quality of available raw materials prevented the clamps from adhering to this principle while being manufactured properly. This led to the creation of the screwless clamp, known today as the spring clamp. Spring clamps have become recognized worldwide as an industrial standard for wire connection. Community. Since 2000, there has been a cooperation agreement between WAGO Kontakttechnik and the Besselgymnasium (high school) in Minden. WAGO Foundation. The WAGO Foundation recognizes the best  achievements of trainees on the final examinations in both locations in Minden and Sondershausen, as well as in nearby towns and cities, by awarding them prizes. The chair of the WAGO Foundation Wolfgang Hohorst was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit on November 8, 2006 by the Thuringian Minister-President Dieter Althaus.