Company History

The First Embroidery Machine…

Paul Gunold founded his business in Plauen, Germany, in 1927 as an art studio and punching service. At the time, his friend at school Max Bredtschneider, had invented the first single head embroidery machine, which was driven automatically by Jacquard cards. Paul Gunold, Max Bredtschneider and a machine manufacturer named Würker all collaborated to begin manufacturing the first embroidery programs.

Due to the Second World War and the Russian occupation of former East Germany, Paul Gunold and his family were forced to flee to West Germany. Once safe, he re-established the business in Stockstadt am Main, a market community in current day Bavaria, Germany. Today, this historic location is home to the Gunold headquarters.

A New Generation

After the death of Paul Gunold in the year 1950, his eldest son Heinz took over management of the Gunold brand. In 1958, Heinz Gunold was able to move into brand-new production facilities located in the industrial park of Stockstadt. This was a historical moment for Gunold, as it marks the initial move from workshops and small production to a larger scale industrial production.
Ten years later in 1968, Stickma GmbH was founded and began with the distribution of embroidery materials. This company later merged with Gunold and carried the name: Gunold + Stickma GmbH, signifying a partnership. This partnership boasted as a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ for everything concerning commercial embroidery.

About Our Products

Since 1976, our special threads have been manufactured by Beerli AG Switzerland according to our requested specifications. The decision was later made to expand the business into the wholesale embroidery supply market. Since 1991, the Division Materials has laid the foundation of today’s Gunold GmbH.
In 1996, another milestone of the Gunold brand came to fruition. Beerli AG, a production facility owner in Switzerland & Austria, acquired 50% of the Gunold GmbH shares and created the consistent integration of production & sales for embroidery supplies. Urs Isler and Christoph Gunold, Heinz’s eldest son, now serve as the directors. Stephan Gunold, Christoph’s brother, heads up responsibilities for marketing & product management.

Gunold Today…

Our company’s reputation as a global player continues to grow and our range of products is becoming more and more diversified. The Gunold brand name stands for high quality products, friendly service and expert advice. Any embroiderer that does business with our company can experience the quality that we consistently pour into our products and services.