Balthasar Helfmann

Balthasar Helfmann (born May 26, 1848 in Kelsterbach ; † January 1, 1896 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German entrepreneur. The locksmith, who came from Kelsterbach, succeeded his brother Philipp Helfmann in 1873 , who until then had been trading as a timber merchant in Frankfurt-Bornheim and shortly afterwards as a building contractor. In 1874, the Bornheim address book recorded the company "Gebrüder Helfmann" for the first time.

After Balthasar's death in 1896, Philipp Helfmann converted the company into the “ Aktiengesellschaft für Hoch- und Tiefbauten”. After his death in 1899, Hans Weidmann , Philipps' son-in-law since 1897, became chairman of the board. In 1921 the industrialist Hugo Stinnes took over the majority of the shares and integrated the construction company into his complex group. In 1922 the company's headquarters were relocated to Essen , and in 1923 the company was renamed “ HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft für Hoch- und Tiefbauten vorm. Gebrüder Helfmann ”changed, later to Hochtief AG .

There was a clear division of labor between the two brothers. Balthasar was more concerned with building construction and, as the company grew, with monitoring. Philipp, on the other hand, made the processing of banking transactions, which were gaining in importance from year to year, and the procurement of orders to his fields of activity.

The son-in-law of Philipp Helfmann , Hans Weidmann (1862–1948), who worked for the company for many years and recorded his story in an extensive chronicle, described Balthasar as the craftsman of the brothers. Philipp is characterized as dominant, dynamic and far-sighted.

literature

Manfred Pohl / Birgit Siekmann: HOCHTIEF and its history. From the Helfmann brothers to the 21st century. Piper 2000, 352 pp. ISBN 9783492042703

Web links

HOCHTIEF chronicle from the 19th to the 21st centuries

Individual evidence

↑ see Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (HStAMR), Best. 903 No. 9349, p. 35 ( digitized version ).
↑ see Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (HStAMR), Best. 903 No. 10493, p. 10 ( digitized version ).

personal data
SURNAME	Helfmann, Balthasar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH	May 26, 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kelsterbach
DATE OF DEATH	January 1, 1896
Place of death	Frankfurt am Main

[1] see Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (HStAMR), Best. 903 No. 9349, p. 35 ( digitized version ).

[2] see Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (HStAMR), Best. 903 No. 10493, p. 10 ( digitized version ).