Adolf Mann and Erich Hummel were the heads of the Stuttgart clothing company Bleyle, which during the
Second World War became a supplier to the fellow-citizen company
Mahle. They thus founded Filterwerk MANN+HUMMEL GmbH in 1941 and employees produced fabric filters for the automotive industry. Customers include
Maybach-Motorenbau with the
HL230 engine, used on Panzer tanks such as
Panther and
Tiger. After the end of the war, in 1945, a branch was opened in Ludwigsburg, followed by
Bösperde (1946) and
Marklkofen (1962). From the late 1940s onwards, MANN+HUMMEL was also active in the textile industry under the name Mann Pamina Moden, before this line of business was sold to Schiesser in 1974. Since 1948, there is further diversification beyond filter production through the equipment manufacturing division, particularly for the plastics industry. Mann died in 1971 followed by Hummel in 1984. In 2016, MANN+HUMMEL acquired the filter business of the American auto parts company Affinia Group, and with it almost all of the company. Kurk Wilks has been MANN+HUMMEL's CEO since January 2020. ==Brands==