About Draht

Draht

DRAHT is a German-language trade journal for the European wire, spring, formed-parts, and cable industries, published by the Meisenbach Verlag in Bamberg. Founded in 1950, it celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2025, making it one of the oldest and most established trade publications for the wire industry in Europe. The magazine appears six times a year with a distributed circulation of around 5,600 copies, and it promotes the exchange of knowledge and contacts between equipment manufacturers and suppliers, service providers, customers, and research institutions, a mission it has pursued since its founding and that has made DRAHT an indispensable part of the European wire industry's information landscape, a status it has held for 75 years and that it continues to defend through its editorial quality and industry engagement, a testament to the magazine's enduring relevance and to the importance of the wire industry it serves, an industry that DRAHT has championed since 1950.

Overview

DRAHT is a journalistic trade journal in German, with contributions from industry and science informing readers about the state, trends, and techniques in the spring, wire, and cable industries. Its focus sectors include mechanical, plant, and vehicle engineering, manufacturers of technical springs based on wire, and the shipbuilding, aircraft, and electrical industries, a broad readership that reflects the wire industry's role as a supplier to many other sectors and that gives the magazine its cross-industry relevance, from automotive to aerospace to electrical engineering, the industries that depend on wire-based components and that look to DRAHT for the information they need to navigate the industry's challenges and opportunities, today and tomorrow. The magazine is supplemented by news from trade associations on industry and company developments, as well as reports on products for wire and cable production, making it a comprehensive source of information for everyone involved in the wire industry, from machine builders to wire producers, the companies and professionals who form the backbone of the European wire industry and who rely on DRAHT for their technical information, a trust that the magazine has built over 75 years and that it honors with every issue it publishes, year after year.

The magazine appears six times a year, with a distributed circulation of 5,559 copies according to the publisher. It is a brand of umformtechnik.net, the Meisenbach portal for forming technology, and it maintains an online presence with digital issues and industry news. The editor-in-chief is Jörg Dambock, and the editorial team can be reached at draht@meisenbach.de, inviting contributions and input from the industry, a dialogue that has been at the heart of DRAHT's editorial concept since 1950 and that continues to define the magazine today, as it looks to the next 75 years of serving the wire industry, a future that DRAHT faces with the same pioneering spirit as its founders, who dared to launch a trade journal in 1950.

History

DRAHT was founded in 1950 by Arthur Prost and Hans Meiner, a bold step in the post-war years when the German wire industry was rebuilding. Just a year later, in 1951, the founders launched the English-language sister publication WIRE, giving the magazine an international dimension from its early days and serving the global wire industry alongside the German edition, a bilingual strategy that was ahead of its time and that has given DRAHT a lasting international presence, with readers and contributors around the world, a global community that reflects the wire industry's international nature and DRAHT's role in connecting it. The publisher is the Meisenbach Verlag GmbH in Bamberg, a traditional publishing house for technical trade journals.

In 2025, DRAHT celebrated its 75th anniversary with a special jubilee issue, looking back on 75 years of reporting on and accompanying the wire industry. The jubilee issue carried the motto "Das war morgen", asking which ideas from past years, once discarded, are becoming relevant again today, from climate change to electromobility, the megatrends that are reshaping the wire industry and that DRAHT covers with its characteristic foresight, always looking to the future and to the innovations that will shape the wire industry in the years to come, from new materials to new manufacturing processes, the innovations that will define the wire industry's future. The Eisendraht- und Stahldraht-Vereinigung (ESV), the German association of iron and steel wire producers, congratulated the magazine on its anniversary, praising its technical excellence, well-founded research, and fine sense for the topics that move the industry, and describing it as a link between science, industry, market, and the public.

Coverage and Content

DRAHT covers the full spectrum of wire production and processing: wire manufacturing, spring production, and cable production. Each issue focuses on technical topics such as wire drawing, spring winding machines, cable stranding, and quality management, with contributions from industry practitioners and researchers. The magazine reports on new machinery, such as high-performance pickling lines and CNC spring winding machines, and on research results from universities and institutes, bridging the gap between academic research and industrial practice, a role that has made DRAHT a trusted partner for both worlds and that underscores the magazine's unique position in the technical press, where few publications can match its longevity and authority, a distinction that DRAHT has earned through 75 years of dedicated service to the wire industry.

The magazine also covers industry news, association reports, and company developments, serving as a showcase for the wire industry with national, European, and international news. Recent issues have focused on springs, with reports on the newly founded spring academy in Hagen, research on cyclically loaded springs, and innovations in spring end grinding, as well as the surprising fact that springs are even used in NASA's Mars rovers, a testament to the versatility of wire-based components and to the wide range of applications that DRAHT covers, from the everyday to the extraordinary, the full spectrum of what wire and wire-based products make possible, from the mundane to the miraculous.

Organization and Ownership

DRAHT is published by the Meisenbach Verlag GmbH in Bamberg, a publishing house specializing in technical trade journals. The editor-in-chief is Jörg Dambock. The magazine is a member of or participates in industry organizations including the International Wire & Machinery Association (IWMA), the Verband der Draht- und Kabelmaschinenhersteller (VDKM), and the Verband der deutschen Federnindustrie (VDFI), reflecting its close ties to the industry it serves and its commitment to representing the wire industry's interests, a commitment that has earned it the respect of its readers and that continues to guide its editorial decisions, ensuring that DRAHT remains true to its mission of serving the wire industry, today and in the future.

Digital Presence

DRAHT is a brand of umformtechnik.net, the Meisenbach portal for forming technology, where digital issues and industry articles are available. The magazine maintains a LinkedIn presence under "wire-draht-magazine", and the editorial team publishes news and updates online between the six print issues. Whether the magazine maintains a dedicated newsletter is not publicly confirmed from the sources consulted, though its regular online updates serve a similar function for its digitally engaged readers, keeping them informed between issues and ensuring that DRAHT remains a constant companion for its readers, a trusted source they can rely on, issue after issue, year after year.