Although Solingen was heavily destroyed towards the end of World War II, the Wüsthof plant remained mostly intact, and production was resumed soon after the war ended. However, the firm's outdated equipment and reliance on manual labour proved to be a liability; in the 1970s, Wüsthof replaced the old factory building with new facilities with partially-automated production lines, removing pocket knives, shears and cutlery from its product range and concentrating on knives for professional and home use. In 1986, the first robot was installed in the Wüsthof factory.