C. Ludwig
| C. Ludwig
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | October 1, 1905 |
| Seat | Munich , Germany |
| management | Carl-Heinz Ludwig, Thomas Ludwig |
| Number of employees | 9 |
| sales | EUR 3.0 million |
| Branch | Church supplies |
| Website | www.c-ludwig.de |
The C. Ludwig GmbH & Co. KG is a German company based in Munich distributes the world Church Supplies, Christian art and religious gifts to religious institutions, public officials and private individuals. The term church supplies was first used by Carl Ludwig in 1942.
The company is considered the market leader in Germany.
history
Carl Ludwig (born March 9, 1879 in Langenbrück , Silesia) trained as a businessman and bookseller. On October 1, 1905, the company was founded in the predominantly Catholic medium- sized town of Neisse , where there were several churches and religious branches. As the foundation day, Ludwig chose the beginning of the month of the Rosary and Mary in the church festival calendar.
Initially the company consisted of 3 departments. Department 1 traded as “bookstore and antiquarian bookstore for good literature”, department 2 as “typewriters, office furniture, office supplies of all kinds, business books warehouse”, and department 3 was the “sales of practical innovations”.
The product range has been to meet the needs for the operation of the office Pfarrämter expanded (from the envelope over typewriters to office furniture). Ludwig expanded the product range to include items that were needed for worship and in the sacristy . In addition, Carl Ludwig acquired through personal contacts knowledge of the duty clothes , the collar and the collar , for which he patents logged.
In 1922 Ludwig began to bring his goods to customers by mail order . He won his customers through advertisements. During the Second World War , the city of Neisse , which was declared a fortress town, was largely destroyed. Carl Ludwig's property, which housed the warehouse and mail order business, was also bombed out. At the end of the Second World War, the Ludwig family fled to Munich , where they opened a new shop in 1952.
In 1956, the son Karl-Heinz Ludwig took over the company and in 1959 opened a city shop in Munich city center next to the Archbishop's Ordinariate . The turnover of the company increased through the Eucharistic World Congress of 1960, which took place in Munich, and the Second Vatican Council , which met in Rome from 1962 to 1965 . The reason for this lay in the innovations that were decided in the course of the liturgical mass, so that church institutions bought new altarpieces and new furniture.
Karl-Heinz Ludwig sought to expand the sales area and focused on national advertising with brochures and catalogs. From 1960 the first brochures were sent to parish offices, in 1964 the first larger catalog with 40 pages appeared, 18,000 copies of which were printed and sent. The annual catalogs achieved a high level of awareness in church circles in the Federal Republic and were later also sent to neighboring German-speaking countries.
The company's founder, Carl Ludwig, died on July 22nd, 1964. On the occasion of the company's 75th anniversary, the catalogs were designed in 4-color printing from 1980. In 1987 Karl-Heinz Ludwig's son, the business economist Thomas Ludwig, joined the company in the third generation. During this time, order processing was switched to computers .
C. Ludwig today
On the occasion of the year 2000, which was celebrated as the jubilee year of Christendom , the company expanded its mail order catalog “Church Crafts” to 420 pages. In the same year C. Ludwig bought the former papal purveyor to the court Josef Janauschek in Vienna. Internet sales began in 2001 . In 2003 the company was transformed into a GmbH & Co. KG. Karl-Heinz Ludwig and his son Thomas Ludwig are shareholders.
The online shop is now operated in German and will soon be in English . In addition to the euro, the company also accepts the US dollar as a currency and reaches customers as far as Asia .
Various media reports have been and still are about the C. Ludwig company ; There were several press reports, especially on the occasion of the company's 100th anniversary in 2005.
Developments and patents (selection)
- Collar and collar: Carl Ludwig developed a permanent collar made of celluloid , which was supposed to be superior to the priest collars that were customary at the time and were made from pure linen, which required a lot of care and had a poor fit. Celluloid, a material developed by the Schildkröt company , was break-proof, washable, colourfast and hygienic. This permanent collar was designed in such a way that the collar and collar made a durable connection with the help of a plug-in system that prevented them from slipping. Further improvements followed, so that several patents were registered. In total, Carl Ludwig received eight patents at home and abroad, including the German Reich patent .
- Large capacity fountain pens : The system of large capacity fountain pens made it possible to hold twice the amount of ink compared to previous systems and thus allowed longer operation without refilling. The fountain pen also received the German Reich patent.
- Wende chasuble and Wende dalmatik : liturgical vestments , which show a different liturgical color on each side , were presented for the first time at the Ecclesia fair in March 2008. This form of the chasuble is intended to reduce acquisition costs and space requirements. It is now protected by utility models across Europe .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The bible from the web shop: C. Ludwig sends church supplies all over the world ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article by the editorial team on the website of VNR Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft (accessed April 7, 2009).
- ↑ Reports about the company C. Ludwig were made e.g. B. in: Münchner Merkur , Journal, No. 94, 22./23. April 2000; Münchner Saturday Gazette , January 5, 2002; Welt am Sonntag , No. 26, June 27, 2004; Münchner Merkur, No. 272, November 23, 2004; Süddeutsche Zeitung , No. 299, 2004; Evening newspaper , Christmas 2004.
Coordinates: 48 ° 6 '56.6 " N , 11 ° 35' 22.6" E