The first moves towards internationalisation of the company were made back at the start of the eighties, but have ground to a halt. Initially, exports were initiated through agencies in the various countries, but Wilfried Ensinger quickly comes to realise that this type of co-operative arrangement fails to live up to the needs of either the product or the customers. Joint ventures in Switzerland and the USA fail to take off.
It is only by setting up decentralised production in countries with demand that Ensinger is able to achieve a sustainable solution to the problem of exchange rate risk. This realisation moves Wilfried Ensinger to launch another attempt to find a suitable location in the USA in the mid-eighties. By taking the bold step of launching an independent company, Ensinger Inc., with its own newly appointed workforce in Washington/Pennsylvania, the foundation stone is laid for what has now become the Group’s biggest subsidiary.
Over the following years, Ensinger Inc. systematically expands its market position. Today, the workforce at the producing locations in New Jersey, Texas, Connecticut, Delaware and the US Headquarters close to the industrial centre of Pittsburgh totals several hundred.