Wittenstein subsidiary. In 1984, alpha getriebebau GmbH was established as a cooperative venture of two SMEs (Bastian in Fellbach, just outside Stuttgart, and Wittenstein), with Manfred Bastian and Manfred Wittenstein as managing partners. An assembly shop, warehouse and various office buildings were erected at the Herrenwiesenstrasse site in Igersheim, as a result of which floor space more than doubled. The workforce increased steadily in size too, and for the first time a large number of technicians and engineers were also recruited. alpha regularly recorded double-figure growth in turnover. The complete assembly side was transferred to Weikersheim in 1990. Forty staff on average worked there for six years before the company moved out for good in 1996. This period simultaneously marked the end of the sewing machine era and the last Dewitta was assembled while still in Weikersheim. The entire sewing machine business was subsequently sold off, including all spare parts, milling machines and other equipment. In the early 1990s, Wittenstein began to expand internationally. alpha réducteurs Sarl was set up in Paris (France) as the first foreign subsidiary, followed not long afterwards by alpha getriebe Ltd., Tokyo (Japan). The first manufacturing headquarters outside of Germany was founded in 1992 in North America. By 2007, the Group had eleven subsidiaries outside Germany, with exports accounting for over 60% of turnover. The creation of Wittenstein motion control GmbH in 1992 spearheaded the Group's transition to a provider of electromechanical servo actuators and actuator systems. More new Business Units were successively added over the next few years, such as Wittenstein intens and Wittenstein cyber motor in 1999. Today, the group headquarters are in Igersheim-Harthausen – a star-shaped complex of administrative buildings, production shops and logistics centre. Gearhead cases, input shafts, attached motor components, etc. are still manufactured at Igersheim, while gear wheels continue to be produced in Fellbach – which was converted to a "Future Urban Production" (Urbanen Produktion der Zukunft) facility in 2010. The first new buildings in the industrial park in Harthausen were occupied in 1996. A development and sales centre, a training and communication centre, a second production and assembly shop and a new logistics hall were added in 1999. A second logistics hall and third assembly shop were officially opened in the spring of 2002. Within the next five years, the number of production shops at the company headquarters increased to six. In 1995, Manfred Wittenstein and Ullrich Lempp,