History

From repair workshop to pump manufacturer (1919–1953)

The boss, two employees and two apprentices: that was Friedrich Bieri’s mechanical workshop when it was first set up. Before long, the workshop on Dorfmattweg in Münsingen was not only carrying out repairs, but also designing and building horizontal saws and oil-fired heating systems. In 1923, Friedrich Bieri and his staff installed refrigeration units from Escher Wyss – and the first pumping systems were produced in the same year.

Just under ten years later, the Great Depression also hit the business in Münsingen. The company held its own and even expanded: by 1945, it had ten employees. Three years after the war, Friedrich Bieri and his sons Franz and Werner founded a limited partnership. The company now employed 15 staff, and pump manufacturing already accounted for 90 per cent of turnover.

Growth and Internationalisation (1953–1979)

On 1 January 1953, Franz and Werner Bieri took over the company, which was henceforth known as ‘Friedrich Bieri’s Söhne’. In 1956, the first major success came with the glandless circulation pump: over 1,000 units were produced and sold in Münsingen each year. In 1960, the Bieri brothers began marketing their pumps in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Austria. A year later, they moved into the new factory building with 1,500 m² of production space – employing 100 staff.

In 1962, the RCB engine factory was established in Beinwil am See, which from then on supplied the motors for the company’s own pumps. In 1966, Ulrich Bieri marked the arrival of the third generation, and the general partnership became Bieri Pumpenbau AG. In 1971, the growing company moved to Südstrasse 10 in Münsingen – which remains its headquarters to this day. In 1979, Ulrich, Peter and Hansruedi Bieri took over the management and established the first subsidiary in Germany.

Crisis and a New Beginning (1980–1998)

Further subsidiaries followed: in Austria in 1982, and in the Netherlands and the USA in 1988. It was there that the company’s current name first appeared – the American subsidiary was founded as Biral Inc. In 1989, the company acquired the German firm Habil and established a subsidiary in the UK; this was followed in 1991 by certification to ISO 9001 / EN 29001.

From 1992 onwards, the company faced difficulties in its sales markets. On 26 March 1993, Bieri Pumpenbau AG was sold to the Danish company Grundfos. This was followed by a streamlining of the product range and a restructuring into a process-oriented organisation. In 1998, the company – now renamed Biral AG – embarked on a new chapter with 150 employees.

Energy efficiency as a priority (from 2000)

In 2000, Biral became one of the first Swiss companies to be certified to ISO 9001:2000 and launched the MC 10 energy-saving pump – marking the birth of the modern heating circulation pump. In 2001, it was awarded the Prix Eta 2000 and the Wuppertal Energy and Environment Prize, and reduced energy consumption by up to 80 per cent.

Biral has remained committed to this goal. In 2011, both buildings in Münsingen were refurbished, reducing heating oil consumption by 75 per cent; since establishing a connection with the Münsingen local authority’s ‘Wärmeverbund Süd’ district heating network, Biral has been operating in a climate-neutral manner. In 2012, the Biral Campus – the company’s own training and competence centre – opened. Since 2017, there has been a second campus in Würselen (Germany), where the subsidiaries in Germany and the Netherlands are based.

The Biral Group grew out of Friedrich Bieri’s mechanical workshop – the oldest and still innovation-driven manufacturer of highly energy-efficient Circulation pumps. At the Münsingen site, around 150 employees now work under the leadership of CEO Sjef de Bruijn towards a single goal: to build the best pumps available – and to advise customers at home and abroad with expertise and passion.

100 Years of Biral on Film

Two short films show how a mechanical workshop grew into an international pump manufacturer.

In conversation with the founder’s granddaughter

Ursula Zehnder Horvath, Friedrich Bieri’s granddaughter, talks about the company’s early days.