The company was founded, as Escher Wyss & Cie., in 1805 by
Hans Caspar Escher and
Salomon von Wyss. After having originally started the company as a
textile spinning business, the two expanded their enterprise to include a machine shop that manufactured textile machinery, water wheels, water turbines, power transmission equipment, and starting in 1835, ships, including boilers and steam engines. After 1860, under the direction of Hans Zoelly, the company concentrated on hydraulic systems, steam engines and cooling systems. Between 1904 and 1929 steam turbines were produced for thermal power plants, ships and locomotives. The company also manufactured hydraulic systems for hydroelectric plants. Around this time it provided equipment for
Norsk Hydro. During WWII, the company was a supplier for the German war effort manufacturing and supplying
flamethrowers. The company remained in existence until it was taken over in 1969 by
Sulzer AG, then inside of the group
Andritz AG, and was closed in 2014. == Notable products ==