100 years of BayWa: A history

Wilhelm Haas was one of the founding fathers of the cooperative movement. He said the following about the character of his “project” in 1905: “The idea of the cooperative is an eminently ethical and noble one …, but the day-to-day work that is involved has a thoroughly material character, and ignoring this will lead one astray.” Just under 20 years later, in 1923, the Bayerische Warenvermittlung landwirtschaftlicher Genossenschaften AG was founded in Munich, inspired by the hyperinflation of the era.

  • BayWa’s founding years

    BayWa’s founding years

    On 17 January 1923, the Bayerische Warenvermittlung landwirtschaftlicher Genossenschaften AG was founded – or BayWa, as it came to be known. In 2023, BayWa celebrates its 100th anniversary under the motto "Where worlds meet".

    BayWa’s founding years
  • Tractor - historical photo

    The war and a new beginning

    In the 1930s, the Nazis subjected all agricultural operations to Gleichschaltung and prepared for war. 

    War & new beginning
  • Tractors 60's

    Setting the pace of progress

    The industrialisation of agriculture started in the 1950s. Machinery grew ever more diverse and ever more powerful. BayWa was one of the pioneers of this development.

    Boom & mechanisation
  • BayWa Logo as a cube

    Energy-saving house and mobility

    Building was on everyone’s mind in the 1970s. DIY centres opened, and BayWa’s Sonnenhaus placed the company at the vanguard of the energy-conservation movement. 

    Ahead of its time
  • Collage from Trabi and a poster with a child

    On the road to the new millennium

    From the early 1980s, society started growing increasingly aware of environmental protection. BayWa reacted with efficient agricultural machinery solutions.

    Fall of the Berlin Wall & millennium
  • Family in front of a graphic with wind turbine and photovoltaics

    Shaping the future with positive energy

    BayWa rose to become a global player. Its key fields of expansion were global grain markets and renewable energy. 2023 BayWa celebrates its 100th anniversary. 

    Shaping the future