History
Overview

The history of Esteves Group dates back to 1913 when the multinational electronics company Philips founded their Drawing Die Factory to supply the ever increasing demand for drawing dies to draw tungsten wire for their light bulb manufacturing. During the early years of the 20th century, the later to be named Philips Diamond Tools, was rebuilt after the 2nd world-war bombardments and eventually grew from a small factory into a full-grown and self-sufficient operation. In 1991 Philips announced that they would be selling the Philips Drawing Die company.

In 1992, a group of investors saw this sale as an opportunity to create a world-leading company for supplying drawing dies all over the world and acquired the company, later changing the name to PDT Diamond Tools (PDT). PDT became a subsidiary of the holding company Diamond Tools Group B.V. which is still headquartered in The Netherlands.

In 1994, to strengthen its worldwide position, Diamond Tools Group acquired Esteves S.A., a Spanish die maker with facilities in Spain, Mexico and Brazil. The two companies, PDT Diamond Tools and Esteves were renamed into Esteves-PDT after the take-over was complete.

In 1998, with the acquisition of Decatur Wire Die LLC (DWD), Diamond Tools Group's market share was expanded in the USA and Canada. That same year UKD, with its main factory in Poland, was acquired to better position the company in Eastern Europe. In 2001, the group of companies were renamed Esteves-DWD to clearly represent the presence of the company in the European and American markets.

The combination of Philips Diamond Tools (PDT), Esteves, Decatur Wire Die and UKD brought together four drawing die companies that were recognized worldwide for the high quality and precision of their products.

In the early 21st century, Diamond Tools Group decided to expand their business in Asia and founded a new manufacturing and service plant in Shanghai, P.R. of China. This facility in Shanghai has been operational since 2005 and is supplying customers all over Asia.

To emphasize the company's unity and global character, the group name Esteves-DWD changed to Esteves Group. This name change and new corporate identity (Esteves Group, the global wire die company) was successfully introduced in the spring of 2008 at the Wire Trade Show in Düsseldorf, Germany (WIRE'08).

Due to the strength of its business model, the Esteves Group is stronger than ever. The group supplies and services customers all over the world with new and refurbished tools for the wire and cable industry. Along with the sales of its various products, Esteves Group takes great pride in providing professional services and effective consultation throughout the industry.


Esteves Group history at a glance

1913: Philips Diamond Tools founded
1964: Esteves S.A. founded
1979: Decatur Wire Die LLC established
1980: Manufacturing units Mexico founded
1980: Manufacturing units Brazil founded
1984: UKD Germany (Aachen) founded
1990: UKD Poland (Zagwiździe) founded
1991: Philips Diamond Tools acquired by Diamond Tools Group
1992: Name change to Professional Diamond Tools (PDT)
1996: Acquisition of Esteves, name change to Esteves-PDT
1998: Decatur Wire Die LLC acquired by Diamond Tools Group
1998: UKD acquired by Diamond Tools Group
2001: Name change to Esteves-DWD
2005: Esteves-DWD Shanghai founded
2008: Name change to Esteves Group

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