50 years of showing its teeth.

Mulco-Europe EWIV: From a joint venture group to a sensibly intermeshed European Group of Companies.

Continuity, technical know-how and a convincing concept are a guarantee of growth and market strength, even in these fast-moving times. What was founded in 1951 as the mulco joint venture comprising five German enterprises, namely

• Wilhelm Herm. Müller, Hanover
• Hilger u. Kern, Mannheim
• Reiff, Reutlingen and Göppingen
• Walter Rothermundt, Mönchengladbach,

to present a combined front during this difficult time, is now Europe's leading group of manufacturers and sales organisations in the field of PU timing belt technology with BRECO, BRECOFLEX and SYNCHROFLEX timing belts.
Its 17 partners throughout Europe, nine of them located within the Federal Republic of Germany, and a sales figure of hundreds of millions of Marks allied to a market share of approx. 50% clearly underline the reputation enjoyed by this group of companies as one of the most innovative and inventive developers of power transmission technology.
Of more than 600 employees, no less than 120 are engaged entirely in technical consultancy, evidence of the close relationship between the Mulco-Europe EWIV group and its customers and the successful philosophy of working together with the customer to find solutions to their various individual and complex problems.


Mulco also demonstrated its affinity to Europe and the closeness of its relationships both internally and externally in 1999 when it also took the additional title of EWIV - "Europäische Wirtschaftsinteressenvereinigung“ [Ungültiger Link: European Economic Interest Association]. This "powerful, meaningfully intermeshed group“ is now celebrating its 50th anniversary.

And yet anyone who, back in 1952 when the new production process for SYNCHROFLEX timing belts - the so-called "crimping process“ - was developed, had predicted the triumphant progress of timing belts as well as a perfectly harmonised range of associated components, would have been accused of “fantasizing", particularly as at that time the chain and sprocket drive was still seen as the "non plus ultra“.

Today there are just about no power drive problems left for which Mulco-Europe EWIV, with its wide range of BRECO, BRECOFLEX and SYNCHROFLEX PU timing belts allied perfectly to a comprehensive service and maintenance program, would not have the perfect answer. The healthy mix of price and performance has made Mulco-Europe EWIV the quality mark for PUZ timing belts throughout the world.


If one were to trace the 50-year history of Mulco-Europe EWIV, it is continuity, innovation and systematic development, coupled to the main technical developments such as sensible sales co-operation agreements and partnerships, which catch the eye. Everything, however, revolves around the brilliant relationship between high tensile and wear-resistant polyurethane and high load-bearing embedded steel cord tension members of the timing belts, the unique technology of which is protected worldwide by a range of patents and utility models.

1954, when the production process for SYNCHROFLEX timing belts was further developed by the introduction of mould cores with coiling noses for the coiling of tension members, heralded the dawn of the double-sided, meshed SYNCHROFLEX timing belt, which was followed a year later by the first SYNCHROFLEX timing belt with special back profiling.

But not all machine manufacturers, designers and power transmission technicians could yet see the advantages offered by PU timing belts, continuing to insist on chain and sprocket drives. The triumphant progress of Mulco products could not be stopped, however, even if, given the ubiquity of the non-profiled V-pitch of the tooth profile at that time, nobody could have envisaged today's comprehensive range of profiles, pitches, tooth meshing, coatings and special shapes.


Nevertheless, more and more manufacturers came to recognise the immense advantages offered by cast PU timing belts, which they more or less inherited per production process:

• extremely tight tolerance range
• high torque transmission
• silent running
• great resistance to mechanical and chemical influences
• no lubrication of the timing belt.

The young Mulco Group grew in strength as new partners joined. The successful working principle "from the market place for the market place" became more and more prevalent.

At an early stage of the development the designers and developers of the manufacturers were offered almost unlimited access to trial and test facilities. Partnerships were created which exist to this day - obviously the reason why the high number of technically trained Mulco-Europe EWIV sales staff are jokingly called the "PU timing belt task force“. Thanks to the close association and business partnership between the manufacturers, Mulco and the users, this dialogue has enabled a great number of futuristic solutions to be developed. A large part of the secret of success is based on the notion of "consult before beginning design“.


A further technical milestone was reached in 1968 when the present Mulco-Europe EWIV member BRECO Antriebstechnik Breher GmbH + Co., Porta Westfalica, presented a new production process for timing belts made from thermoplastic polyurethane and steel tension members running parallel to the edges: BRECO M as goods by the yard and BRECO V as endless welded belts.

Two years later the Mulco Group took over the marketing of the BRECO timing belts as well as the newly developed BRECOFLEX, an endless timing belt with thread-type coiled tension member.

When having to make a decision regarding their power drive problems, more and more general machine constructors are opting for PU timing belts from the Mulco group. The traditional chain and sprocket drive now faces serious competition.

The logistics network has also been expanded, as has the currently extremely comprehensive range of accessories. This has led to Mulco works standards being prepared for synchronised pulley manufacturing. A comprehensive range of standard sizes held in stock guarantees "just-in-time“ servicing of customer requirements and constant delivery capability. A further extraordinary strong point of the Mulco group lies in special developments tailored to customer requirements. There is hardly a drive or conveying problem today that has not been solved with PU timing belts provided by the Mulco group.


Constant further development of the PU timing belt led to the introduction of the ATP high performance timing belt in 1994. Sub-division of the trapezoidal tooth into two high load-bearing individual teeth has ensured optimum operating capability, noise reduction and even longer service life.

Although isolated complaints about design-related polygon effects of timing belts continued until 1997, even these complaints disappeared thanks to the introduction of the BAT timing belt. The self-guiding characteristics of the arched profile guarantee extremely silent running and make the PU timing belt suitable even for space-saving constructions.

The latest technical highlight in the long line of remarkable PU timing belts from the Mulco-Europe EWIV group came in the form of the ATN profile developed in 1999. With its very simple method of changing flights, it offers a modular system with almost endless possibilities and provides the designer not only with a nice feeling of creative freedom when compared to solutions with welded flights, but also considerably reduces the development costs.

This ANT timing belt represents a particularly significant example of the modus operandi of Mulco-Europe EWIV: always close to the customer, with close attention being paid to the further technical development of power transmission technology.


In line with the constant progress in the political and economic development of the European Union, the Mulco group is becoming more and more a "European Player“ and, from 1989 to 1998, entered into partnerships in Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Austria, Great Britain, Spain, Sweden and Italy. Today the whole of Europe is covered by the sales force and the worldwide marketing organisations of Mulco Europe EWIV's partners guarantee a close relationship with customers even on the other side of the world.

Mulco-Europe EWIV has ambitious plans for the future. As it seeks to become a systems provider supplying complete ready-made component groups, all possibilities of modern logistics and the expansion of communication systems, e.g. the Internet, are investigated and utilised, with the ultimate aim being further improvements in the already high quality of consultancy. The worldwide partnership network is also being expanded and sensibly extended.

The Mulco group is not only the inventor of the PU timing belt, but has also determined the major developments in this field. To ensure that this remains the case, the group promotes further development and creativity of this unique product by sponsoring the annual "Mulco Innovation Prize“.


If Dietrich Bartelt, the Managing Director of Mulco Europe EWIV, were to be asked for a statement regarding his successful group, he would put it succinctly like this: "A joint venture has been transformed into an interlinked European Interest Association which, thanks to high precision, innovation and leading technology throughout the world, is one of the most important partners for power transmission solutions in the field of general mechanical engineering.“

October 2001
Mulco-Europe EWIV