During the 19th Century, constitutional and legal reforms were shaping the loose collection of Dutch provinces into a modern industrial economy. The demand for educational and informational literature led to the rise of numerous family run publishing houses. Wolters Kluwer’s roots can be traced directly to four entrepreneurial houses: Wolters, Noordhoff, Samsom and Kluwer.

At the turn of the century, the western world was gripped in a reading frenzy. Print production, marketing, distribution and consumption changed radically. In the coming decades, Wolters, Noordhoff, Samsom and Kluwer would navigate the Depression of the 30s, a slew of post-war commercial and social developments — and emerging electronic publishing technologies. Eventually, all four houses would merge under one roof.

During the 1990s, Wolters Kluwer realized at least 15% annual average profit growth. Numerous acquisitions of traditional and electronic companies fueled international expansion. However, the rise of the internet was as disruptive as anything the Company had yet faced. It required fresh thinking and a new start. By 2001, the Company had mapped the path to sustainable growth.

After the dot-com bust of 2000, the Digital Age began in earnest. It was a period of immense technological and informational change impacting businesses and customers alike. In 2003, under new leadership, and acknowledging the speed of change, Wolters Kluwer adopted its first three year strategy cycle. By 2010 the Company’s portfolio would be fundamentally transformed.

Now in its second decade, the Digital Age matured quickly. Data was big, phones smart, and search semantic. In a challenging global economic environment, the Company’s customers were under pressure to work harder, faster, more efficiently — all while navigating ever-growing mountains of data and information. Their need to be right was perhaps greater than ever.

In 2016, Wolters Kluwer celebrated 180 years of rich heritage. While much has changed for the Company over this time, some things have remained constant: strong values and business principles, deep domain knowledge and dedicated employees, innovation in technology — and along-standing focus on the customer. In the future, there will be new challenges and new opportunities.

In 2019 we embarked on our new three-year strategy, Accelerating our Value, designed to grow our expert solutions, advance our deep domain expertise, and drive operational agility. Working alongside our customers, we will continue to apply advanced technologies to address complex problems in society.