Rücker AG, Deutschland

After elementary school the founder commenced training as a technical draughtsman and then studied production engineering. He was then employed as a machinery designer and started his own business in 1970 in Troisdorf. The plc he founded soon after was the foundation for today's Rücker AG. Wolfgang Rücker soon noticed the opportunities for his company in the automotive field and concentrated on working for the major carmakers from 1975 on. Five years later he opened offices at the locations of his major automotive clients.

The company began testing and simulating in the automotive field in 1988 and thus specialising in the high tech field. A year later he expanded the company to cover the styling, aviation and environmental simulation fields. At the same time he founded subsidiaries abroad, including the US and Asia. The group's headquarters has been in Wiesbaden since 1990. All his companies were combined into the Rücker AG when the latter was founded in 1998. Two years later the group went public.

1970
Wolfgang Rücker founds Rücker as a sole proprietorship

1975
Rücker GmbH is founded in Troisdorf and focuses on the automotive industry

1976
The company headquarters moves to Wiesbaden

1979
Offices are opened at locations in close proximity to major automotive industry clients,
beginning with Stuttgart

1984
The Ingolstadt office opens

1985
The Munich office opens

1986
Rücker Ges.m.b.H. is founded in Vienna

1988

• Rücker Iberica is founded in Barcelona (now Rücker Lypsa)
• The company specialises in high tech (implements CAD systems, conducts tests, trials and simulations)

1989

• The Gifhorn and Hamburg offices are opened
• The new Styling, Aviation and Environmental Simulation divisions are set up

1990

• Rücker Poland is founded in Warsaw
• Rücker CR is founded in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic

1992
Rücker do Brasil is founded

1994

• First offices are opened in the US and the Far East
• Star Design UK is founded in Cambridge, UK, and Star Design USA in Birmingham, Alabama/USA

1997
Expansion of virtual project development

1998

• Rücker AG is founded; all subsidiary companies are incorporated into it
• The Bremen office is opened
• Rücker SR is founded in Bratislava, Slovakia
• Rücker Sverige is founded in Gothenburg, Sweden (now Rücker Nord)

1999

• Rücker Ges.m.b.H. is founded in Graz, Austria
• Rücker Star Design de Mexico is founded in Mexico

2000

• On 15 May, the Group goes public in Prime Standard
• Rücker Korea is founded in Incheon, South Korea
• The Nord company in Gothenburg, Sweden, is acquired and merged with Rücker Sverige to form Rücker Nord, headquartered in Gothenburg
• The training divisions are amalgamated into the Rücker Akademie in Magdeburg

2001

• Rücker Italia is founded in Turin
• The LYPSA company in Spain is acquired and later merged to form Rücker Lypsa, headquartered in Barcelona (2004)
• Offices are opened in Laupheim and Rostock

2002

• Rücker Schweiz is founded in Arbon
• The Oberpfaffenhofen office is opened

2003
Rücker Design is founded in Shanghai, China

2004
Rücker France is founded in Toulouse

2005

• The aviation divisions are merged into Rücker Aerospace GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg; including the Bremen, Laupheim, Oberpfaffenhofen, and Rostock offices as well as Rücker France in Toulouse
• Silver Aerospace in Haarlem, Netherlands, is acquired
• Operating media divisions are merged into Rücker EKS in Weingarten

2006
Rücker Design is founded in Iasi, Rumania

2008
The Wörth office opens

2009
Rücker Russia is founded in Kaluga, Russia

2010
The new plant construction division is set up

2011
Joint Venture: RÜCKER CT Engineering in Hamburg