Brökelmann, hunters and buses
| BJB | |
|---|---|
| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | 1867 |
| Seat | Arnsberg - Neheim , Germany |
| management | Dieter Henrici, Philipp Henrici |
| Number of employees | 346 (2019) |
| sales | 83 million euros |
| Branch | Components for the lighting and household appliance industry, automation for the lighting industry |
| Website | www.bjb.com |
The BJB GmbH & Co. KG (Brökelmann, hunters and buses) is a German medium-sized company based in Arnsberg - Neheim . Originating from a factory for the manufacture of petroleum burners , it turned to the production of parts for the electrical industry in 1913/14 .
Foundation phase
In 1867, the entrepreneurs Gustav Busse (1835–1919), Franz Jaeger (1829–1902) and Friedrich Wilhelm Brökelmann (1799–1890) signed a contract to establish the limited partnership G. Busse & Co. The company began to manufacture Focus on kerosene burners. The company also produced finished lamps.
Brökelmann was primarily involved as a financier and investor. Since the financial requirements of Brökelmann were higher than expected, the company was liquidated and re-established as Brökelmann, Jaeger & Co. in 1871. The previously independent company Jaeger & Co. was also merged into this company. In the first year of its existence, the company employed 96 workers and achieved a turnover of 90,000 thalers. It already ranks second in terms of the number of employees and, in terms of turnover, first among the metal processing companies in the city of Neheim. The commercial management was with Jaeger and Brökelmann, while Busse was responsible for the production.
After numerous molds were destroyed by fire in 1873, the manufacture of finished lamps was restricted and, after another fire in 1880, it was completely abandoned except for a few simple types. The manufacture of petroleum burners became central. The company kept pace with technical developments.
Initially, the company was still dependent on the steam engine from the Brökelmann oil mill, but in 1875 it acquired its first steam engine with ten hp. New machines with higher performance followed in the coming decades. In 1892 the steam engine produced 125 hp. For the first time, this also generated electricity to drive machines.
As early as the founding year of 1867, a support fund for workers was established, from which a company health fund emerged in 1885.
Transition to the electrical industry
After the death of Friedrich Wilhelm Brökelmann in 1890, the family business was divided among the heirs. Wilhelm Brökelmann (1829–1929) received the shares in the company Brökelmann, Jaeger & Co. Friedrich Brökelmann received the company under the umbrella of FW Brökelmann .
Wilhelm Brökelmann rose to become the main partner in Brökelmann, Jaeger & Co. In 1893 the company was renamed Brökelmann, Jaeger and Busse (BJB).
Not least because technical developments led to fears of dequalification among the skilled workers, the labor movement began to find its way into the company towards the end of the 19th century. In 1899 there was a first strike, which immediately led to the establishment of the Sauerland Trade Union - a trade union within the Christian trade unions .
Economically, the importance of the kerosene burner declined in view of the triumph of electric light. After other companies in Neheim had long since started to convert, BJB did not begin to manufacture sockets for light bulbs until 1913/14. The company then focused on this line of business. In this context, the mechanization of production and the importance of unskilled and semi-skilled workers increased.
Shortly before the First World War, a new generation of entrepreneurs took over responsibility. Adolf Brökelmann (1877–1944) and Walter Busse (1878–1946) were engineers, while Franz Jaeger (1861–1930) had an international commercial training.
Interwar period
BJB benefited from the post-war economy after the First World War. The workforce grew, the production facilities were expanded and an administration building was built.
In the years that followed, the company not only suffered from hyperinflation , but for the foreseeable future there were indications that the manufacture of incandescent lamp bases would pass into the hands of the large electrical companies. As a result, the company concentrated on the production of lamp sockets. The company now saw itself as an electrotechnical factory.
In the mid-1920s, inspired by American Fordism, the transition to mechanized mass production began. Most of the machines were operated by women. Numerous unskilled female employees were also employed on the new assembly lines.
time of the nationalsocialism
BJB was badly affected by the global economic crisis . Not until 1935 was there any significant new investments. Internally, the company was adapted to the Nazi regime. However, the shortage of skilled workers led to the establishment of a training workshop in 1936 as one of the first in-house workshops in the region.
So far, production has been based on metal processing. In the 1930s, the use of the plastic Bakelite was added. The molds for this were made by the company's own mechanical engineering department.
In the course of the upgrade, a subsidiary was founded in 1937, Ruhr-Metallwarenfabrik GmbH, to produce storeys. During the war, BJB itself also became a producer of armaments. In 1940 these accounted for 50% of sales. But the goods for peace were also considered important to the war effort. Of the incandescent lamp bases produced in Germany in 1940/41, BJB manufactured 30%. Most of the petroleum burners still in production went to the Reichsbahn . On the other hand, the frame production slackened.
In the course of the war, the number of foreign forced laborers increased. For the needs of the entire Neheimer industry, the forced labor camp Möhnewiesen was set up for initially 700 people on the Möhne. BJB built a barrack for a hundred workers. When the Möhne dam was destroyed in 1943, the camp was completely destroyed. Among the 860 victims were numerous slave laborers employed by BJB.
post war period
After a temporary interruption due to the war, BJB resumed production on June 5, 1945. Parts of the Osram factory were relocated from Berlin to the buildings of the Ruhr metal goods factories affected by the dismantling . This produced fluorescent lamps there. In 1948, BJB started manufacturing sockets for fluorescent lights made of Bakelite.
In the 1950s, the company benefited from the economic miracle . The product range was greatly diversified, but bases, sockets and still petroleum burners remained the core business.
In the post-war years there was another generation change at the top of the company. Hanns Busse (1906–1967) took over the position of his father in 1946. Dietrich Gercken (1898–1958) succeeded Fritz Jaeger as son-in-law in 1947. Hans Henrici (1895–1960) followed in 1949 as Adolf Brökelmann's son-in-law. After the death of his father in 1964 Dieter Henrici took over his position.
Adjustment crisis
BJB has had a difficult time since the late 1950s. The business was made difficult by foreign competition and the base production gradually lost its importance completely. In the 1970s there were downsizing and in 1974 short-time working for the first time since the beginning of the economic miracle.
Between 1966 and 1978 production was greatly rationalized and completely new production methods were introduced. Instead of the hand press machines for plastics, press machines were purchased. Injection molding technology was introduced a short time later. The consequence of the rationalization measures between 1965 and 1975 was the drop in the number of employees by 250 people.
From 1964, the introduction of plug contacts for fluorescent lamp sockets became central to production and the recovery. The company increasingly turned away from the old products.
Current situation
Today BJB produces connection elements, switches, LED connection elements, systems for the automation of lights for household appliances. BJB is the world market leader in its field of activity. It is sold through eight subsidiaries in 70 countries. The company currently makes 2000 different products. The in-house research department adds around 100 new products every year. The company produces a total of 500 million individual parts annually. In addition to production, the company also has its own tool shop. The company was ISO certified for the first time in 1996. The conversion of production to LED technology is proving difficult for the company. While sales in conventional lighting technology collapsed, the share of LED products increased relatively weakly. One consequence of the shrinking total turnover is the shedding of more than a hundred jobs at the main Neheim plant.
literature
- The focus: the light. BJB 125 years of involvement in Neheim's industrial history . Arnsberg, undated
- North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location. Chances and prospects of a country . Darmstadt, 2008 p. 105.
- Tanja Bessler-Worbs, Klaus Pradler: Discoveries. Documents from company history collections in south-eastern Westphalia . Arnsberg, 2001 p. 26