Our History – Creating Elegant Surfaces for over 135 Years

For over 135 years, we have been crafting refined surfaces for our customers. Throughout this journey, technical innovation and change have remained the only constants. Our history spans from gilding and decorative painting to carriage painting, and now to today’s highly automated industrial coating technologies. Our identity is rooted in the continuous pursuit of innovation alongside our customers. We take great pride in this legacy—and in the fact that many of our employees have shaped this journey for years, often decades, together with the company’s owners.

Company Founding in 1887: Gilding and Decorative Painting
In March 1887, Julius Bix—great-grandfather or great-great-grandfather of today’s managing directors—announced the opening of his decorative painting and gilding business in the newspaper Oberbadischer Grenzbote. The range of services he offered included decorative painting as well as restoration work on statues and altars.

Second Generation from 1912: Innovation During Wartime
The founder’s sons learned their father’s trade both in the family business and while traveling through Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Julius Bix passed away at a young age, and his widow continued to run the business—a rare occurrence at the time. In 1921, son Erwin Bix took over the painting business from his mother. At that time, the company focused on decorative and building painting, but by the 1930s, some coating work on carriages and automobiles had begun—albeit still laboriously by brush. The early adoption of the then-new spray painting technology helped the business survive the economically challenging times.

Third Generation from 1952: Entering Industrial Coating
Son Lothar Bix Sr. began training in the painting trade in 1940. After attending master craftsman training courses in Munich, he was drafted for military service in 1943. Returning from Russian captivity in 1949, he joined his father’s business. Large-scale painting contracts in residential and military construction during the post-war boom financed the move into automotive painting. Continuous facility expansions led to the company taking on industrial contracts as early as the 1960s. In 1970, the decision was made to build a new, modern coating facility on Badenwerkstraße.

Fourth Generation from 1981: New Coating Technologies and Automation
Sons Lothar Jr. and Andreas followed in their father’s footsteps, training as a painter and coating technician, respectively. Strong customer relationships and continuous technological advancements drove further expansion at new sites. The move into new coating technologies required ongoing expansions of facilities and equipment—such as the powder coating expansion in 1996, the addition of a high-bay warehouse and new office buildings around the millennium, and the construction of new production halls in 2005 and 2008. The era of fully automated coating began with the first robot painting line in 2001, followed by continuous investment in additional systems.

Fifth Generation from 2013: Looking Ahead to the Next 100 Years
Today, Dr. Johannes Bix, Christoph Bix, and Dr. Susanne Bix lead the company. Their main goal: to evolve the business model in such a way that it continues to offer secure and fulfilling jobs for our employees over the next 100 years as well.