Brüninghaus is a medium-sized, family-run enterprise in the wire-making business with a manufacturing plant in Altena The location of the company's headquarters in Altena has been a wire production company for more than 260 years. Since 1919 the company has traded under the name of Friedr. Brüninghaus & Söhne, and has been headed by the family for four generations now. In its early stages, the company manufactured wires for screws, chains, nails and bent wire components as well as electrode wires for autogenous welding, while for the last 25 years it has concentrated almost exclusively on the production of wires for screws, rivets and cold-formed components. Brüninghaus employs about 50 workers and manufacture an annual 20.000 metric tons of wire, most of which is heat treated.