Wincor Nixdorf timeline

Wincor Nixdorf’s journey spans from a mid-century German startup to its 2016 merger with Diebold, forming a global leader in banking and retail technology. 

The Early Years (1952–1990)

  • 1952: Heinz Nixdorf founds Labor für Impulstechnik in Paderborn, Germany.
  • 1964: Launches the System 820, a pioneering programmable small computer.
  • 1968: Renamed Nixdorf Computer AG after acquiring Wanderer-Werke.
  • 1980s: Becomes a market leader in European mid-range computing and retail banking systems.
  • 1986: Heinz Nixdorf dies; the company faces financial challenges shortly after. 

Siemens Era & Rebirth (1990–1999) 

  • 1990: Siemens AG acquires the company, forming Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme (SNI).
  • 1998: Siemens refocuses the unit exclusively on banking and retail, spinning it off as Siemens Nixdorf Retail and Banking Systems GmbH.
  • 1999: Venture capital firms KKR and Goldman Sachs acquire the unit, rebranding it as Wincor Nixdorf

Expansion & Independence (2000–2015)

  • 2004: Wincor Nixdorf goes public with a successful IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
  • 2000s: Expands into IT outsourcing and gains significant global market share in the ATM and EPOS markets.
  • 2015: Carves out its cashless payments unit into a new entity called AEVI

The Merger Era (2016–Present)

  • 2016: American rival Diebold Inc. completes a $1.8 billion acquisition of Wincor Nixdorf, forming Diebold Nixdorf.
  • 2023: After struggling with debt, Diebold Nixdorf files for and successfully emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, restructuring its finances.
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Author: Mark Whitfield

Welcome to my site! After graduating in Computing in 1990, I accepted a position as a programmer at a Runcorn based software house specialising in electronic banking software, namely sp/ARCHITECT-BANK on Tandem Computers (now HPE NonStop). This was before the internet became more prevalent and so the notion of enabling desktop access to company accounts for inter-account transfers and book keeping was still quite a cutting edge idea (and smartphones only ever hinted at in Space 1999). The company was called The Software Partnership (which was taken over by Deluxe Data in 1994). I spent 5 years in Runcorn developing code for SP/ARCHITECT for various banks like TSB, Bank of Scotland, Rabobank and Girofon (Denmark) to name but a few. I then moved onto a software house in Salford Quays for further bank facing projects. After a further 23 years in the IT industry and now a Senior IT Project Manager (both Agile and Waterfall delivery), I thought I would echo out my Career Profile in this corner of the internet for quick and easy access.

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