Where our roots lie.

Origin of the tube industry in Olpe
The history of the “tube engineers” began on 1 October 1901 on the grounds of the long-established “Olper Hütte”. It was then that Gustav Imhäuser bought the “Olper Metallwerke GmbH” in an auction and founded “Metallwerke Gustav Imhäuser”. The company developed rapidly and very successfully.

In 1906, Gustav Imhäuser expanded the production operations to include a tube drawing facility – thereby laying the foundations for the international renown of Olpe’s tube industry today. Metallwerke Gustav Imhäuser already had a staff of 100 by 1914 and succeeded in surviving the difficult times of two World Wars, inflation and the global economic crisis.

Economic miracle and export boom
“Metallwerke Gustav Imhäuser” experienced an enormous upswing following Germany’s currency reform. The company put its own pressing plant into service in 1952, the first production building for the new tube drawing facility following two years later. Thin-walled brass tubes became the biggest export – there was gigantic demand for ball-point pen refills and aerials. In the boom years, more than half of the brass ball-point pen tubes produced worldwide came from Olpe, a major portion of them from MGI.

Always topical: innovation and engineering
MGI went for the latest production equipment from the outset. Most of the processes and machines were devised, designed and built by the company itself – and still are today. One significant innovation was the development of the first machine for production in coils (1964). Between 1985 and 1990, MGI manufactured complete tube drawing systems of its own for export to China.

MGI began to draw tubes made of TUNGUM® (CW700R) in 1994. Today, the company has unique competence when it comes to processing this extraordinary alloy.

1998 – The birth of Tube Solutions
MGI has been offering tube finishing since 1998. The products and services available range from machined tube elements to complete assemblies. To this end, the company invested in NC bending equipment in 1998, a soldering machine in 1999, metal-cutting equipment in 2000 and a rotary soldering machine in 2002.

Again, the “tube engineers” developed many of their own machines and processes in this context. The company has been advising its customers on product development matters since 1998. The mass production of high-quality kitchen and bathroom fittings began in 2003. A polishing system was purchased in 2004, and a polishing robot in 2005.

2009 – The company realigns itself for the future
Since 2009, MGI has concentrated on the drawing and finishing of brass and copper tubes. The company has strategically realigned itself, put itself on a new financial basis and expanded its management team.

The production equipment is continuing to be extended, e.g. by investing a six-figure sum in a high-performance cutting system in 2010.

Georgios Milionis (since 2015) and Andreas Stumpf (since 2013) today run the company jointly as managing directors. By adopting this new strategy, MGI has paved the way for successful development in the future.