When the farmer's son Conrad Freytag was born in the Palatinate village of Laachen near Neustadt in 1846, nobody could have guessed that this clever boy would change the face of construction around the world.
With his entrepreneurial skills, visionary foresight and perseverance, he founded a company that heralded the triumphant advance of the new construction method around the world.
"Driven to maintain excellence."
- was Conrad Freytag's motto, which is still lived at Wayss & Freytag today. Pioneering spirit and entrepreneurship were the inspiration for the company's success story, which has had a lasting influence on the entire construction industry like no other in Germany.
1875
Foundation
Conrad Freytag and his brother-in-law Carl Heidschuch founded the general partnership Freytag & Heidschuch on 15 June 1875, with its headquarters in Neustadt an der Haardt (now on the Weinstraße).
1880
Early business segments
By 1880, the company Freytag & Heidschuch was already operating as a ‘cement pipe factory’ and ‘building materials supplier’.
1884
The birth of reinforced concrete
Conrad Freytag acquires the Monier patent. This marks the birth of reinforced concrete construction.
1885
Freytag meets Wayss
In 1885, Wayss met with Conrad Freytag and Carl Heidschuch at the ‘Pfälzer Hof’ in Ludwigshafen, where they granted him the Monier patent for northern Germany free of charge.
1887
The company health insurance fund
Freytag & Heidschuch oHG established a company health insurance fund, which continued to operate within the subsequent public limited company from 1900 onwards.
1888
Theorist, practitioner and visionary
Matthias Koenen (1848–1924) is regarded as the father of reinforced concrete construction in Germany.
1893
The Wayss & Freytag oHG
At the end of 1893, Conrad Freytag and G. A. Wayss, who had left Beton- und Monierbau AG, bought back the firm Freytag & Heidschuch with effect from 1 February 1893.
1898
Conrad Freytag and the German Concrete Association
On 5 December 1898, the German Concrete Association was founded in Berlin; Conrad Freytag was, of course, one of its founding members. In the same year, some remarkable bridges were built in Munich.
1899
First skyscrapers and a warehouse
From the boiler house in Pernau to the first skyscraper in Buenos Aires and a warehouse in Strasbourg.
1900
Wayss & Freytag becomes a public limited company
On 1 February 1900, the general partnership was converted into Wayss & Freytag AG with the assistance of the Pfälzische Bank.
1903
The "Neustadt clarifiers"
On 26 November 1903, a subsidiary called Wasser- und Abwasserreinigung GmbH was established in Neustadt an der Haardt.
1904
Bridge constructions and Stuttgart experiments
The Isar Bridge near Grünwald was the first bridge that Emil Mörsch designed and built whilst at W&F. At the same time, tests were being carried out in Stuttgart to assess the strength of concrete structures.
1905
First tests on strapped concrete columns
In March 1904, Wayss & Freytag AG had acquired the French patent for spiral-bound concrete (Béton fretté) from Armand Considère, the retired ‘Inspecteur Général des Ponts et Chaussées’ in Paris.
1906
Shear tests and driven piles
In 1906, the company carried out extensive tests on slab beams and continuous beams in Neustadt an der Haardt.
1907
Foundation of the "German Committee for Reinforced Concrete"
The “German Committee for Reinforced Concrete” was founded on 9 January 1907 and is still headquartered in Berlin today.
1909
Reduction in working hours
On the working hours of ‘civil servants’ and holiday entitlement after 40 weeks.
1911
Chimney construction and first "private-public partnership"
Wayss & Freytag’s long tradition of chimney construction dates back to 1911. In the same year, the Hotel IMPERIAL in Karlovy Vary became the first project under a ‘public-private partnership’.
1914
First reinforced concrete skeleton building in Dresden
In 1913 and 1914, Wayss & Freytag built the Erlweinspeicher on the banks of the Elbe, a large warehouse for tobacco and cotton in the old Packhof district.
1921
Conrad Freytag dies
He died on 2 July 1921 after a long illness. Following his cremation in Mainz, Conrad Freytag was laid to rest in the Freytag family mausoleum in Neustadt an der Haardt.
1925
Waldstadion Frankfurt and relocation of the head office
On 25 August 1921, the Frankfurt City Council had approved the construction of the Waldstadion on the site of the old military firing range. The relocation of the head office also took place in 1925.
1928
The Grossmarkthalle is Frankfurt's largest building
The Großmarkthalle in Frankfurt am Main, affectionately known locally as the Gemieskerch, was built between 1926 and 1928 by a consortium of architects and engineers and was inaugurated on 25 October 1928.
1929
Climbing formwork revolutionises chimney construction
In 1929, the construction of chimneys was revolutionised by the introduction of climbing formwork, which had now become commercially viable.
1934
Prof. Mautner acquires the general licence for W&F
Professor Karl Walter Mautner acquired the general licence for the Freyssinet tensioning system on behalf of Wayss & Freytag in 1934; this marked the birth of prestressed concrete in Germany.
1938
Natural draught cooling tower and first prestressed concrete bridge
Wayss & Freytag introduced the hyperbolic natural draught cooling tower in Germany in 1938. In the same year, Wayss & Freytag built the Hesseler Weg bridge near Oelde in Westphalia.
1940
During National Socialism
The company's history spans the years of National Socialism, which lasted from 1933 to 1945.
1950
A new foothold in Langen near Frankfurt
In 1950, Wayss & Freytag established a factory in Langen for the manufacture of prestressed concrete sleepers.
1956
On the "Hohe Bopser" in Degerloch
The world’s first television tower was built in Stuttgart by Wayss & Freytag in just 20 months.
1957
The "atomic egg" in Garching
The topping-out ceremony for the research reactor in Garching, the construction of which was begun by Wayss & Freytag AG in 1956, was held on 12 January 1957.
1962
Thyssen skyscraper and longest prestressed concrete bridge
The world’s longest prestressed concrete bridge was built across the Gulf of Maracaibo between 1958 and 1962. The Thyssen Tower was constructed between 1957 and 1960 by a consortium.
1963
Quality, safety and cost reduction
From 1963 onwards, Wayss & Freytag used a newly developed slipform system alongside climbing formwork in chimney construction.
1966
First fully mechanical shield machine
In 1966 and 1967, the North-South line (Line 6) of the Munich Underground was built by a consortium under the technical leadership of Wayss & Freytag.
1970
The Olivetti building in Frankfurt am Main
One of the most striking buildings constructed by Wayss & Freytag AG using its own sliding formwork department is the administrative building of Olivetti GmbH in Frankfurt am Main.
1976
An immersed tunnel in Amsterdam
For the construction of the Amsterdam Metro, Wayss & Freytag had developed a caisson solution as a special proposal, which was commissioned in 1970.
1979
Ginnheimer Spargel, Kochertalbrücke and Metro Lille
An exciting year for Wayss & Freytag: a 331-metre-high telecommunications tower in Frankfurt am Main, the Kochertal Bridge near Geislingen and a mixing sign for the Lille Metro.
1987
On the Königsallee in Düsseldorf
Between 1985 and 1987, the City-Center Kö-Galerie – built by a consortium – was constructed on Düsseldorf’s most expensive shopping street, comprising four basement levels, three shopping floors and five office floors.
1993
The Rhine bank tunnel in Düsseldorf
The Rhine Embankment Tunnel was built between 1990 and 1993 to provide the people of Düsseldorf with traffic-free access to the banks of the Rhine and to reduce traffic in the neighbouring residential areas.
1996
Business in Malaysia and W&F becomes Dutch
The telecommunications tower in Kuala Lumpur stands at 421 metres tall and is now the seventh-tallest television tower in the world. In the same year, Hollandsche Beton Groep nv (HBG) acquired a majority stake in W&F.
1997
The "Ritterhaus" in Halle an der Saale
In just 20 months, Wayss & Freytag built the Ritterhaus, a modern shopping centre on Leipziger Straße in Halle an der Saale.
1998
The bridge over the Great Belt
When it was completed, the East Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. The clear span between the 254-metre-high pylons – the tallest structures in Denmark – is 1,624 metres.
1999
ICE - long-distance railway station
The long-distance railway station in Frankfurt am Main, built by Wayss & Freytag in a joint venture for Deutsche Bahn AG, is Germany’s largest airport station, serving around 20,000 passengers a day.
2000
The Botlektunnel
Between April 1999 and November 2000, Wayss & Freytag, working as part of a consortium, constructed the Botlekspoort Tunnel, the first bored railway tunnel in the Netherlands.
2001
Football stadium, Federal Chancellery and dam in China
An exciting year: the “Arena Auf Schalke”, the Federal Chancellery in Berlin and the Xiaolangdi Dam in China were built.
2002
The Rennsteig Tunnel and the Royal BAM Group nv
The Rennsteig Tunnel, comprising two tubes each approximately 7,900 metres long, was constructed between 1998 and 2003 by a consortium. In the same year, the project was taken over by the Royal BAM Group nv.
2003
Westerschelde tunnel and CERN nuclear research centre
Whilst the Westerschelde Tunnel is being built in the Netherlands, scientists in Geneva are searching for the ‘Higgs boson’.
2003
Elbe Tunnel and Katzenberg Tunnel
In December 2003, the “4th Elbe Tunnel” in Hamburg was completed by a joint venture. In October 2003, Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau AG, working as part of a joint venture, began construction of the Katzenberg Tunnel.
2004
The AWD Arena in Hanover
In 2004, the Niedersachsenstadion was converted into a World Cup-standard stadium by Wayss & Freytag and HBM, based on a design by Schulitz and RFR.
2005
New Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre multi-storey car park
Germany’s largest construction project, with a budget of €800 million, was completed at Stuttgart Airport.
2006
The Rhine bridge
Construction of the 211-metre-long, three-span bridge over the Rhine began on 18 June 2003.
2007
The Großlappen sewage treatment plant and the Datteln power plant
In spring 2003, W&F began construction of four new digesters for the GutGroßlappen sewage treatment plant in Munich. In the same year, the Datteln power station embarked on a project to ‘generate new energy’.
2015
140 years of Wayss & Freytag
Hardly any construction company in Germany can look back on such a long history as Wayss & Freytag.
2022
Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau becomes part of the Zech Group
ZECH Building SE has acquired 100% of the shares in Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau AG, including its subsidiaries and joint venture projects, from Royal BAM Group nv.
140 years of Wayss & Freytag
Download our 140th anniversary brochure.