The original owner of today's Petzolt company, a widow, married the considerably younger Johann Georg Petzolt at the age of 42. The industrious young man expanded his wife's modest general store on the corner of Wendelgasse – today's Neubaugasse – and Burggasse.
Their son Johann Baptist Petzolt carried on his parents' business. Over the following generations, the single-storey Biedermeier house was demolished and replaced by the present double building.
As a European great power, the Austrian Empire offered outstanding economic opportunities. Metals and tools experienced a strong upswing during the Gründerzeit era. The company was able to expand considerably, and the Petzolt family soon ranked among the well-known and respected families of Vienna.
Willibald Petzolt ran the metal trading business in the third generation and developed the company into a major market player within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. His wife Fanny bore him two sons, Johann Georg and Friedrich, known as Fritz. The elder son was killed in the First World War. The father struggled to come to terms with this loss. He withdrew from business life and thereafter lived in Bad Ischl in the Salzkammergut region.
He handed over the management of the company to his younger son Fritz Petzolt, who likewise had two sons and a daughter. The elder son was killed in the Second World War. His brother Friedrich Petzolt took over the business after returning from captivity as a prisoner of war.
At that time the warehouses were empty, Vienna was partly destroyed and occupied by the four victorious Allied powers. Nevertheless, Friedrich Petzolt succeeded in rebuilding the company. His sister Elisabeth Petzolt-Reichenberger was also actively involved in the family business for several years.
As the last bearer of the name after five generations, Friedrich Petzolt died in 1999 – just one year before the company's 175th anniversary. The long-established company was subsequently carried on in the sixth generation by Christine DelMonte-Petzolt.
Since July 2026, Petzolt Metallhandel GmbH has continued the long-standing business activities of Friedrich Petzolt Gesellschaft m.b.H. The Petzolt company name, the accumulated experience, and the personal contact with customers and suppliers are thus preserved.
Business operations are now located at a shared site with Wittka Galvanisierung Ges.m.b.H. at Litfaßstraße 11, 1030 Vienna. Thanks to the close cooperation between metal trading and surface technology, the company can support its customers along a broader value chain – from the selection of suitable semi-finished products and technical consulting through chemical and mechanical pre-treatment to the finished surface.
The product range continues to include semi-finished products made of non-ferrous metals, steel, stainless steel, and aluminium. This offering is complemented by services such as electroplating, bluing (browning), patination, and wet painting. In this way, materials and surface technology are combined under one roof.
The company is managed by Peter Reinthaler and Martin Reinthaler. They are supported by long-serving employees whose experience and product knowledge contribute significantly to preserving and continuing the company's accumulated expertise.
Petzolt Metallhandel GmbH will continue to focus on personal service, professional expertise, short decision-making paths, and long-term partnerships. The aim is to carry on Petzolt's more than 200-year history with respect for its origins while at the same time laying the foundation for a successful future.