Frowein & Co.
The Frowein & Co. was a belt and wide weaving in Elberfeld , Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 154 , and from 1899 in the Uellendahler road 70-72 . Elberfeld has been part of Wuppertal since August 1, 1929 .
It was founded in 1763 as an office for linen and woolen ribbons and braids .
Around 1900, ribbon weaving was increasingly relocated from home work to the factory . That is why Frowein & Co. built a new factory building on Uellendahler Strasse in 1899. Until 1995, the buildings on Uellendahler Strasse were used for textile production .
Frowein & Co. GmbH wove and dyed at the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße location until 2004.
history
Bleicherei Jaspar, Johannes, Peter Johann Frowein (1st, 2nd and 3rd generation in Elberfeld)
Hermann Frowein was in Lennep in the cloth weaving and cloth trade operates. His son Jaspar (Caspar) Frowein (1st generation in Elberfeld; * around 1575 in Lennep; † November 9, 1631 in Elberfeld) moved to Elberfeld and married their daughter Gertrud there in 1601 (* around 1585 in Barmen; † November 1665 in Elberfeld) of the Elberfeld merchant, yarn bleacher , jury and landowner Jasper Rittershaus (* around 1560 in Barmen; † November 1631 in Elberfeld). In 1603 he built a house for the family on one of the castle freedom squares that had been bought from the government .
Jasper Frowein became one of the four heads of yarn food as early as 1610 , and in 1617 also mayor of Elberfeld . He had twelve children. Maria (1602–1646), Caspar (1604–1668), Johannes (1608–1674), Ursula (1644–1683), Anna Maria (1646–1714), Anna (1613–1665) and Engelbert (1616–1667) older than 15 years. The eldest son, Caspar, moved to Schwelm and the youngest, Engelbert, moved to Cologne .
The middle son, Johannes Frowein (2nd generation; * January 1608 in Elberfeld; † June 1674 ibid) inherited the parent company in Elberfeld and part of the Ritterhausschen Hof in Barmen from his mother . From 1636 he ran a yarn bleaching shop on Unterbarmer Hof “ Zur Furt ” and traded in products made from linen yarn. This essentially remained the business of his son Johann Peter Frowein (3rd generation; * December 25, 1670 in Barmen; † November 1725 in Elberfeld) and grandson Johann Kaspar Frowein (4th generation; * September 1700 in Elberfeld; † July 1743 in Barmen). They were smaller farmers and bleachers on the property “vor dem Brögel ” in Unterbarmen.
Abraham Frowein ribbon weaving mill (from 1763)
Due to the development of fashion , the need for ribbons, braids and trimmings had risen sharply. Merchants therefore started buying finished yarns from yarn dealers, weaving them for their own account and selling them to customers as ribbons, braids and trimmings .
Abraham Frowein (5th generation; born October 23, 1734 in Barmen; † April 18, 1813 in Elberfeld), son of Johann Kaspar Frowein (4th generation; 1700–1743), founded the Cappel brothers in the yarn business after completing a commercial apprenticeship , 1763 the own company Abraham Frowein for linen and woolen ribbons and braids. He had his office at Klotzbahn 54. The wedding in 1772 with a daughter from the respected family of Carnap merchants certainly promoted the success of the company, whose customers mainly lived in Elberfeld and the surrounding areas in the first few years.
Abr. & Gebr. Frowein (approx. From 1775)
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As early as 1776, the direct sales sources for tapes and strands, apart from Germany and the Netherlands , were in France , Italy , Spain , Portugal and Russia ; in 1790 the first shipments were shipped to North America .
Since the couple's only child died in childhood, Abraham Frowein (5th generation) took his nephews Kaspar (Caspar) Abraham Frowein ((6th generation; born April 30, 1759 in Elberfeld; † May 11, 1823 ibid) and Abraham Frowein (politician) (6th generation; born January 29, 1766 in Barmen; † March 16, 1829 in Elberfeld)) started business as an apprentice and from July 12, 1787 as a partner . Since then the company has been called Abraham & Gebrüder Frowein (Abr. & Gebr. Frowein) .
Kaspar A. Frowein remained unmarried and childless. Nephew Abraham (6th generation) married Charlotte (Luisa) Luise Weber (born September 30, 1770 in Elberfeld; † December 27, 1833 there) on July 31, 1794, a good match as she came from the long-established Elberfeld merchant families Weber and Cappel . From his dowry and inheritance he came into possession of significant funds and three residential buildings on Neuer Weg and Wall . The Frowein family lived here on the Wall with eleven children.
Napoleonic period (1806-1813)
The Napoleonic era brought many changes to trade. First of all, the decline of the French manufactories gave the Bergisch a great boost . The continental blockade of 1806 soon blocked this market more and more, trade and production suffered great hardship and with it the whole country. The end of Napoleon was seen as a great salvation, but the economic difficulties were not over. The cotton industry, which was once strong in the valley, had moved to cheaper regions ( Mönchengladbach , Saxony , Vogtland ) because of the high wages . English traders had taken over the American and Indian markets and were now flooding the continent with cheap cotton goods. Many German cotton mills and trading houses had to give up. Even with Abr. & Gebr. Frowein international business had collapsed, but new business relationships were quickly established in other European countries, where ribbons and braids were still required.
Finishing on Dünnbiers-Gasse (today Neumarktstraße) (from 1813)
When the company founder Abraham Frowein (5th generation) died in 1813 at the age of 79, his two nephews Abraham (6th generation) and Kaspar (6th generation) continued it. Despite the bad times, the family had become wealthy, so that the considerable sum of almost 75,000 thalers could be paid out for bequests and severance payments without the capital necessary for the company being significantly affected. A few years later, in 1816, the commercial property was expanded significantly through the purchase of adjacent properties up to what was then Dünnbiers-Gasse (now Neumarktstrasse). In 1818 the two nephews Abraham (6th generation) and Kaspar (6th generation) built a three-storey Bergisches slate house in Empire style here as their home . At the same time, they built a factory building for the finishing of their ribbons in the garden behind the neighboring main building , in which in 1825 the Harkort company from Wetter (Ruhr) installed a coal- powered steam engine with an output of three hp.
Silk and half silk ribbons weaving (from 1829)
Abraham Frowein (6th generation) died in 1829. The entire estate was valued at 465,500 thalers, including the business contribution of 288,026 thalers. The estate included four houses on Neumarkt with the factory buildings behind them, as well as some other properties in Elberfeld and a few vineyards on the Rhine . Three of his five sons took over the business as partners. Like their sisters, they married daughters and sons from merchant families.
Abraham Frowein (7th generation; * July 15, 1797 in Elberfeld; † May 15, 1848 ibid) married Eleonore Wilhelmine von Carnap on June 7, 1820 (* January 18, 1801 in Elberfeld; † August 5, 1861 in Mainz ) ( without children); August Frowein (7th generation; * October 10, 1805 in Elberfeld; † March 25, 1850 ibid) married Thekla Boeddinghaus (* July 6, 1819 in Elberfeld; † August 7, 1897 ibid, partner 1850–1864) on September 23, 1837 , 4 children) and Louis (Ludwig the Elder) Frowein (7th generation; born February 19, 1808 in Elberfeld; † March 29, 1882 there, partner from September 1, 1832) married Julie von der Heydt on September 18, 1832 ( * January 27, 1810 in Elberfeld; † July 28, 1884 ibid), (7 children).
Around the middle of the 19th century, the previous cotton ribbons were increasingly being replaced by silk and semi-silk ribbons , of which fashion demanded vast amounts for dresses and hats .
Business relationships with customers in South and North America as well as the Caribbean (at that time still called the West Indies) became increasingly important in the following years. In the 1820s manufacture was expanded to include silk, semi-silk and woolen ribbons, braids, cords and trimmings , which were popular in overseas places .
It is true that the business was still largely based on the work of house tapestries. However, the labor yield increased by installing wider belt chairs and strand machines at Frowein. Frowein produced and delivered. In 1854 a new, more powerful steam engine was installed with the requirement of the supervisory authority to raise the chimney to 60 feet (18.3 m) if the neighbors complained , because the development in the area had meanwhile been significantly expanded.
New building on Neumarkt (1869)
In 1869 the old main building at Neumarkt 1 was demolished and replaced by a 5-storey building . The neighboring Empire building became a commercial building. A new shed building was built in the garden to accommodate ribbon chairs on which a new production of black taffeta , faillé and satin ribbons was woven. Around 100 ribbon chairs have now been set up here.
Louis Frowein the Elder and Children (7th and 8th Generation) (from 1848–1882)
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After the deaths of his brothers Abraham (7th generation; 1797–1848) and August (7th generation; 1805–1850) Louis (Ludwig) Frowein (7th generation; 1808–1882) continued the business alone.
In the following years, he took three of his sons in the 8th generation: Ludwig (Louis the Younger) Frowein (born January 9, 1835 in Elberfeld; † July 6, 1906 there, partner 1858–1877); Rudolf Frowein (born April 7, 1836 in Elberfeld; † January 24, 1918 there, partner from 1868); Abraham Frowein (born February 20, 1847 in Elberfeld, † August 26, 1893 in Magglingen , partner from 1875) (of 7 children) as a partner, while the descendants of his two brothers Abraham and August left the company. In 1877 Ludwig (Louis the Younger) (1835–1906) left the company to take care of his youngest brother Karl Frowein (8th generation, born July 31, 1852 in Elberfeld; † April 28, 1928 in Lugano , partner 1877–1926) to make room as a partner.
Louis Frowein the Elder was appointed royal councilor of commerce because of his services to the economic life of the city of Elberfeld .
The Elberfeld textile entrepreneur and partner in the silk weaving mill Frowein & Co. GmbH and Prussian Kommerzienrat Rudolf Frowein (8th generation) married Elisabeth De Weerth on June 20, 1861 (born April 26, 1840 in Elberfeld; † April 21, 1927 there, partner 1918– 1922, 6 children). Rudolf Frowein was the builder of the late Classicist Villa Frowein Elberfeld, Briller Straße 2.
Ribbon weaving mill in Frowein and piece dyeing mill in Sehlbach (from 1880)
In the 1880s, the Prussian Kommerzienrat Rudolf Frowein developed the production of piece-dyed ribbons together with the Sehlbach dye works . This was a major simplification compared to ribbon dyeing, as the ribbons could now be woven first and then dyed as required. This increased the sales of ribbons at Frowein, and the number of its own looms for ribbon production had to be increased considerably. This was no longer possible at Neumarkt.
Relocation to the Uellendahler Straße ribbon weaving mill and relocation of the Neumarkt site (from 1886)
On a property acquired in 1886 on Uellendahler Strasse by the heirs Johann Peter Wülfing and Miss Theodore Franke, a shed building was therefore built for the manufacturing company, in which up to 500 ribbon chairs then temporarily ran. Initially, the women's ribbon department, the office, the weighing chamber, the warehouse and the lead rooms remained on Neumarkt. In 1900 the other departments and offices were also relocated to a newly constructed office building on 'Uellendahler Straße.
Because together with the new town hall on Neumarkt, which was inaugurated on October 24, 1900 during a visit by Kaiser Wilhelm II , Neumarktstrasse was also to be widened to 13 m, the city bought all of Frowein's property for this purpose. The corner houses and the Empire house were demolished. On the part of the property not required for the street, Leonhard Tietz had the architect Wilhelm Kreis build his Elberfeld Kaufpalast , which was opened on April 24, 1912.
Building on Uellendahler Strasse
The factory building of Frowein & Co. AG was built in 1899. The location at Mirke station was chosen with care. All raw materials and finished goods had short transport routes . The passage of the front building was directly opposite the driveway to the railway area.
The factory building is one of the architecturally remarkable factories in Wuppertal. The year the company was founded could be read above the portal : "1663". The facades of the building are made of brick masonry and have a strict symmetrical structure with emphasis on the vertical through profiled pillars and indicated central and side risalites . Vertical pillars and transverse bands structure the facade and end in an artistic brick ornament as the crowning finish. With its 19 window axes, the prominent central projection and its location on a slight bend in the street, the brick building forms the focal point of the street section. The street side and the gable are also divided by a brick arched frieze of the attic , continuous parapet cornices and the window frames made of sandstone .
Shortly after the railway viaduct, the Frowein company was now working in new premises on Uellendahler Strasse . 500 looms were last operated here in three shifts. Because of the heavy weight of the looms, rooms at ground level were needed. So behind the five-storey front building, the rear area was densely built with shed buildings.
The product range included men's hats, women's ribbons of all kinds, braids, trimmings, satin ottoman , double satin, grosgain, faille and other fashionable items as well as linen and cotton narrow ribbons. Foreign business in particular flourished. Hat ribbons were in great demand in America, and large quantities of braid were delivered to East Asia , especially China .
A large part of the production, especially the narrow linen and cotton ribbons, was still done at home until the Second World War . The workers lived mainly in Ronsdorf , Lüttringhausen , Barmen and Neviges . The smaller part came from the area of Wermelskirchen and Dabringhausen .
Works in the Czech Republic and Austria from 1897
In 1897 a men's hat ribbon factory was built in Dobruschka in Eastern Bohemia . Rudolf Frowein took over the management. In 1911 it was merged with the Austrian factory for men's hats under the name Vereinigte Bandfabriken AG , based in Vienna. Abraham Frowein (1878–1957) became the supervisory board of the Vereinigte Bandfabriken AG in Vienna .
First World War
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During the First World War , traditional production had to be discontinued due to a lack of raw materials. As a war delivery , the company produced artificial silk ribbons that were processed into cartridge pouches for the artillery . In January 1918, Kommerzienrat Rudolf Frowein (8th generation) died at the age of 82. In the meantime, however, two of his sons (Rudolf Ludwig Frowein (* July 23, 1866 in Elberfeld; † September 5, 1942 in Wuppertal, partner 1892–1926); Walter (Abraham) Frowein (* March 28, 1875 in Elberfeld; † 6. September 1955 in Wuppertal, partner from January 1, 1901, 1927–1933 board member of Frowein & Co. AG)) and two sons of his brothers Abraham Frowein (born September 19, 1878 in Elberfeld; † July 12, 1957 in Wuppertal, partner 1904 –1957) and Karl Frowein (born August 26, 1880 in Elberfeld; † March 9, 1933 in Wuppertal, partner 1906–1911) (9th generation) worked as partners in the company, so that business could be continued seamlessly.
In China there was a change of costumes, the braid was no longer worn and most of the articles that were delivered to China before the war were lost.
Company mergers to form Elberfelder Textilwerke AG (from 1920)
After the First World War, however, large markets in foreign business were lost. In Europe, too, changed fashion ideas caused sales of silk ribbons and trimmings to shrink. The owners wanted to counter this development by merging to form larger corporate units. On October 23, 1920, the Abr. & Gebr. Frowein in Elberfeld on Uellendahler Straße (production of ribbons and braids) with the Elberfeld cloth factory Schlieper & Frowein in Friedrich-Ebert-Straße. 154 to Elberfelder Textilwerke AG in Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 154 together.
A year later, on October 1, 1921, the company was founded by the incorporation of the lining company Wilhelm Boeddinghaus & Co. (1866–1924) in Elberfeld on Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 99–111, (formerly Königstr. 125–131) and expanded by the Peter Schürmann & Schröder cloth factory in Vogelsmühle near Lennep and provided with a capital of 30 million Reichsmarks .
Kurt Frowein (born September 28, 1885 in Elberfeld; † January 21, 1966 in Hamburg ), son of Abraham Frowein (1847–1893), was a partner from 1922 to 1928. He married on December 30, 1908 (Anna) Lotte Schlieper (born December 19, 1888 in Elberfeld; † 1985) (5 children). His second marriage was on July 5, 1928, Marga (Leonore) Boeddinghaus (born February 15, 1903 in Elberfeld; † 1959) (one son).
Inflation period (1913 to 1923)
A banking department was also set up in Uellendahler Strasse. When the devaluation of money went unstoppable and it was no longer possible to deal with the vast amounts of paper money, the employees were able to pay for their need for materials with working hours.
The new company Elberfelder Textilwaren AG (Etag) survived the inflation period that lasted until 1923 well. After that, however, difficulties soon arose for the development of the various areas. In the mid-1920s, Peter Schürmann & Schröder initially left the company.
Kurt Frowein (1885–1966) was a partner from 1922 to 1928.
Frowein & Co. AG (from 1927)
In 1927 the former company Abr. & Gebr. Frowein again spun off from Elberfelder Textilwerke AG . It was re-established on November 30, 1927 as Frowein & Co. AG and resumed production with initially six looms. The driving force was Harald's wife Hildegard Bürhaus (1904–1949), the daughter of Walter Bürhaus (1872–1922), who was formerly head of Deutsche Bank in Berlin and later in Düsseldorf . The first step towards separation was taking back the tapes department. Cords, braids and laces from Elberfelder Textilwerke AG.
The Frowein family's fortunes had shrunk so much during the war and inflation that they could only take over part of the shares in the new company. The majority of the shares initially remained in the possession of the other owners of Elberfelder Textilwerke AG . Walter (Abraham) Frowein (9th generation; 1875–1955, married to Elisabeth Lohmann (1880–1940)) and his son (Walter) Harald senior took over the management. Frowein (10th generation; born August 3, 1900 in Elberfeld, † October 29, 1978 in Wuppertal, partner 1927–1972, member of the board from 1927).
Abraham Frowein (9th generation; born September 19, 1878 in Elberfeld; † July 12, 1957 in Wuppertal) became chairman of the supervisory board and remained in this position until the end of his life. He was also very active in economic and social institutions before and after the Second World War, from a councilor to a member of the “ Confessing Church ”. He was chairman of the "Association of German Silk Weavers, Krefeld " and the "Association of the Silk Ribbon Industry of Germany eV, Barmen". At the beginning of August 1929, however, he resigned the chairmanship of the leading associations of the silk industry and joined the supervisory board of the new large artificial silk company. He was founder and deputy. Chairman of the "Reich Association of German Industry in Berlin", as a board member of the " Association of German Employers' Associations ", as President of the " International Chamber of Commerce " and its " German Chamber of Commerce (IHK) ". Since the existence of the Provisional Reich Economic Council , he was also a member and finally, after 1945, as chairman of the "German Economic Advisory Board", based in Minden . He was also a member of the board of the German employers' associations , main member of the commercial statistics advisory board of the Reich Statistical Office , member of the administrative board of the branches.
The company Frowein worked in contract manufacturing for the Barmer company " JP Bemberg ", mainly for their plant in Augsburg .
In addition to the production of ribbons, they started manufacturing women's clothing fabrics from rayon . They appeared on the market with fabrics made from “ Crêpe de Chine ”, “ Crêpes Satin” and the new artificial silk fabric “Bemberg Crêpe Georgette” and “Bemberg Lavabel”. The goods were sold raw, uncoloured, and also hand-painted or printed. The dye works " Schlieper & Laag " dyed on behalf of Frowein & Co.
Initially, the band and braid articles of the previous company were largely continued, but because of the stagnant heels, new clothing fabrics made of silk and then artificial silk were increasingly added to production. These were so successful that the business was quickly expanded with new looms. It survived the years of the Great Depression (1920-1930) without any major slumps.
Boom (in the 1930s)
The upswing continued in the 1930s, and international business was also rebuilt. The fabric production received a growing share of the company result, while the ribbons and braids achieved an ever smaller share due to the lack of impulses from fashion. By 1930 the number of looms rose to 140, and in 1937 600 looms were worked day and night. At the same time, the number of employees rose from 388 in 1931 to 682 in 1932.
As early as 1930, the remaining shares were bought back by the Frowein family, so that the company was again a purely family business . Younger family members (10th generation) also joined the company.
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The good relationships with Leonhard Tietz AG (from 1933 Westdeutsche Kaufhof AG, later Galeria Kaufhof ) and the Wertheim Group required expansion of capacities both in terms of space and technology. In 1932, the Wassenberg silk weaving mill on the Dutch border was taken over.
In 1933 Abraham Frowein (1878–1957) moved to the supervisory board. This was an opportunity that (Walter) Harald sen. his brother Rolf (Adelbert) Frowein (10th generation¸ * February 16, 1903 in Elberfeld; † January 10, 1991 in Wuppertal, partner 1933–1972) took on the management. He took over a board position and the management of the company in Wassenberg.
In 1936, Walther & Lebrecht Stein AG in Osterath (now a district of Meerbusch ) was taken over.
On January 1, 1937, Gert (Gerhard) Frowein (10th generation; * April 27, 1907; † December 26, 1952), cousin of (Walter) Harald sen. , appointed as deputy board member. He took over the management of the silk weaving mill in Osterath.
In the 1930s, the number of looms rose from 6 in 1927 to 140 in 1930, 330 in 1932 to over 600 in 1937. The number of employees rose accordingly from 312 in 1928 to 682 in 1932 and to over 1,100 in 1937.
Second World War
The war years meant the conversion to so-called war-essential goods, such as B. Pure silk fabrics used for parachute production.
The city of Wuppertal suffered severe damage during the war. British air raids on Barmen and Elberfeld in May and June 1943 devastated large parts of the city area, followed by wildfires. The old five-story skyscraper at Neumarkt 1, which the Frowein company used from 1869 to 1900, was also destroyed. The building on Uellendahler Strasse remained relatively intact. After installing new windows, cleaning and repairing the machines, the weaving mill could start up again.
Frowein & Co. KGaA
In 1943 Frowein & Co. AG was converted into Frowein & Co. KGaA.
Post-war period (from 1945)
In the early post-war period it was an advantage for Frowein Co. KGaA that Abraham Frowein, now 67 years old, was appointed head of the German Economic Council in the British occupation zone by the British military government.
The textile industry in Germany experienced an enormous boom after the currency reform in 1948. The shortage economy of the war years was over. First, silk women's blouses were made from leftover parachute silk.
After the Second World War, a new beginning was necessary with new technology and new yarns. The new clothing fabrics and ribbons were woven from synthetic yarns .
After the early death of his wife in 1949 (Walter) married Harald sen. 1951 Gertrud "Trautel" Schreyögg (1907–2007). Her first marriage was to August Mittelsten Scheid , who brought the Wuppertal company Vorwerk (1904–1963) to bloom.
(Walter) Harald Sr. Frowein was involved in organizations in the textile industry. He was deputy chairman of the Association of the German Silk and Velvet Industry . From 1964 to 1970 he was also the president of the Wuppertal Chamber of Commerce and Industry . In 1967 (Walter) Harald sen. awarded the Great Federal Cross of Merit.
In the early 1950s took Frowein & Co. KG , the Rheinische textile factories AG (ETAG, RTF) (founded in 1910), located in the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 125-131. The Rheinische Textilfabriken AG ("Frowein") wove, dyed and finished (finished) lining materials. The financially strong ribbon company was given a second economic pillar with the production of lining and clothing materials and a dye works and thus became less dependent on economic fluctuations . Around 1970 the entire production of the company was concentrated on Friedrich-Ebert-Straße.
Harald (Walter) jun., (11th generation; born April 14, 1928 in Elberfeld; † June 26, 2016 in Ronco sopra Ascona ) the eldest son of (Walter) Harald senior, joined the company in 1953. His cousin Peter (Kaspar) (11th generation; born September 29, 1932 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld), the eldest son of Rolf, followed in 1959. The handover of management to these two and the retirement of Harald senior. and Rolf Frowein took place in 1965. The two seniors then performed tasks in the company as part of consultancy contracts.
Harald (Walter) jun. As a trained banker, mainly took care of the commercial side. Harald junior volunteered. on the board of the Association of the German Silk and Velvet Industry. Like his father Harald Sr., he was also active on the supervisory board of Kaufhof AG for many years.
Peter (Kaspar) took care of the original Frowein company on Uellendahler Strasse. When he joined the company in 1959, Peter (Kaspar) took over the management of the band department as a commercial clerk. He built up the broad weaving mill.
Peter (Kaspar) Frowein represented the Bergisch economy and in particular the textile industry in a leading position nationwide. From 1964 he was heavily involved in the employers' association of the textile industry on the right bank of the Rhine. From 1981 to 1998 he was chairman of this association. In 1971 he became a member of the main committee, in 1981 a member of the board of directors and in 1985 deputy chairman of the employers' associations Wuppertal eV As chairman of the association of the textile industry on the right bank of the Rhine, Peter (Kaspar) Frowein was particularly active in the field of social and collective bargaining policy. From 1983 to 1993 he was Vice President of Gesamttextil and from 1985 to 1992 a member of the Presidium of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations. In 1997 Peter Frowein was awarded the Cross of Merit, First Class, for his diverse voluntary work.
The silk weaving mill in Osterath was completely stopped in 1957. The looms were relocated to Wassenberg and the Jaquard looms to Elberfeld.
An additional mainstay of the Frowein company was the purchase of the insolvent textile printing company Göcke & Sohn AG in 1968 in Hohenlimburg, Westphalia . Harald jun. took care of this new field of textile printing . Textile printing required completely different processes and knowledge than weaving or dyeing fabrics. In 1971 Gätze & Sohn had to file for bankruptcy.
During this time, guest workers were also recruited who were directly recruited and brought to Germany on the basis of their own recruitment contracts in southern and southeastern European countries, particularly Turkey. Many of these workers stayed with the Frowein company in the second and third generation.
The German textile industry was still one of the largest employers in Germany in the 1950s. In 1950 it employed around 530,000 people. That number rose to over 625,000 by 1955.
Due to the increasing relocation of the production of woven and knitted fabrics to countries with lower labor costs, first to Southern Europe, then to Eastern Europe and then to Asia, especially to China, the importance of the textile industry in Germany declined moderately from 1957 until 1970, but then rapidly.
Because necessary renovation and modernization measures, conversions of the building from the Wilhelminian era in Uellendahler Straße could only be carried out under strict monument protection requirements, the Frowein company relocated the headquarters to the buildings of the Rheinische Textilfabriken on Friedrich-Ebert-Straße in Elberfeld. The building on Uellendahler Strasse was sold. Only the band department continued to produce at the old location and in the rented-back rooms until 1995.
From then on, broadband and lining materials were woven almost exclusively in Wassenberg.
Frowein & Co. GmbH (from 1976)
In 1976 Frowein & Co. KGaA became Frowein & Co. GmbH.
Since 1976 the company traded under the name Frowein & Co. GmbH , but was still a family business. Harald Frowein jun. was a co-owner. In 1988 the Frowein textile group employed a total of around 350 people .
Wassenberg site
Wassenberg was still a production site with a silk weaving mill for lining and clothing materials (1988: 150 employees, demolished in 2003).
Location Uellendahler Strasse
Tape production and administration remained on Uellendahler Strasse until the old location there was completely given up in the 1970s.
Esposende site in Portugal
As part of a joint venture with the Mehler subsidiary "Lückenhaus Seidenstoffe GmbH & Co" from Wuppertal, Lückenhaus wove raw lining, ladies' outerwear and decorative fabrics for Frowein in their weaving mill in Esposende in Portugal . In the course of setting up production in Portugal, the weaving machines were transported there from Wassenberg and the factory in Wassenberg was closed, making it the last Frowein lining weaving mill.
Location Friedrich-Ebert-Straße
In Germany only the dyeing and finishing works in Friedrich-Ebert-Straße in Elberfeld and initially the ribbon weaving mill in the rented-back rooms on Uellendahler Straße remained.
Restructuring from 1960
The banker Berthold (Harald) Frowein (12th generation, born October 13, 1960) son of Harald (Walter) Frowein joined the company in 1993 as sales manager. In 1997 he became managing director and from 2001 sole shareholder.
The cost pressures required considerable restructuring. To reduce fixed costs, the collection was downsized, production was streamlined, and customers who could not be supplied profitably were parted with. The mainstay remained the processing capacity, i. H. the dyeing and finishing of the lining fabrics woven in Portugal and for the processing of lining fabrics for external companies. It was able to increase from around 20 million meters in the 1996/97 financial year to 24 million meters in 1997/98.
In addition to the lining materials, the Frowein company also still produced raw fabrics for blouses and dresses, especially with fine crepe qualities. The capacity here was around three million meters per year in the mid-1990s. But the amount decreased steadily over the years.
Around 120 people were now employed in Wuppertal.
Tape company Da Vinci Frowein Futura GmbH
The ribbon department produced high-quality, design-oriented, textile decorative and gift ribbons . From the nineties, the band department was continued as an independent company under the name "Da Vinci Frowein Futura GmbH". The Frowein band company was doing well and in 1995 "Frowein Futura GmbH" moved to new premises in Gruiten / Haan . Here, too, the market pressure was high. Frowein Futura 2001 merged with the Velbert - Langenberg- based company "Artfleur Hoffmann GmbH" as "Da Vinci Artfteur GmbH & Co. KG". Frowein left Da Vinci Artfleur in 2005. In 2009 Da Vinci Artfleur had to close.
Cooperation with Balson-Hercules Group Ltd.
From 1999 the Frowein Group worked with the Balson Hercules Group Ltd. in New York together. This applied primarily to the refinement and distribution of lining materials. The cooperation enabled Frowein to use the storage and distribution capacities of Balson-Hercules in North America and Mexico .
Managing Director Mathias Wierling
After Peter Frowein retired from the management, Matthias Wierling joined the management as an external in 2000. He first brought the company's IT department up to date. The processes were mapped using SAP tools and the website was set up for communication with suppliers and customers. The “E-Chain” platform was presented in 2002 at the “Join the Internet” series of events as an exemplary form of cooperation between Gerry Weber and the Frowein textile group.
Lining weaving mills in China
From 2001, Frowein had viscose woven in the Chinese spinning mill in Baoding , approx. 170 km south of Beijing , and in a weaving mill in Suzhou , almost 100 km west of Shanghai . The price of the raw material manufactured in China was around 60% lower than that of the woven material in Portugal, an extraordinary boost to the company's profitability. The Chinese weaving mill completely replaced production in Portugal in a short time. The machines in Portugal, which in turn had been purchased by Frowein, were sold. With this, the Frowein company ended the production of woven fabrics in Europe at the beginning of 2003.
Devetex GmbH (from 2004)
Frowein & Co. GmbH produced and colored at the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße location until 2004. In September 2004 Berthold Frowein sold her "customer relationships", i. H. she stopped production. 120 employees lost their jobs.
The entire lining activities of Rheinische Textilfabriken AG ("Frowein") was taken over on August 23, 2004 by Delius-Verseidag (Lining) (DEVETEX) in Krefeld, manufacturer of high-quality lining and outer fabrics . In this way DEVETEX became the European market leader in the segment for high-quality lining materials, primarily made of viscose, for ladies 'outerwear (DOB), men (HAKA) and boys' outerwear and corporate fashion. Despite or perhaps because of this enormous consolidation, DEVETEX could not withstand the international pressure and had to file for bankruptcy in 2010. A year later, the company was released from bankruptcy after the Spanish Sedatex SA had taken over two thirds of the shares.
For the 250th anniversary in May 2013, the Frowein company launched the “Leben in Wuppertal eV” association. With this association, Frowein & Co. wants to support the work of various institutions that support needy children, adolescents and senior citizens in Wuppertal and all of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
Frowein & Co. Beteiligungs AG
Today Frowein is still active as an entrepreneur - but with completely different tasks than the holding company of several other family businesses in Germany. Since 2005 it has been investing in medium-sized family businesses as “Frowein & Co. Beteiligungs AG” in order to build and continue them. In addition to Berthold Frowein, Matthias Wierling, who was already managing director of the textile company Frowein, has a stake in Frowein & Co. Beteiligungs AG. He works in the management.
Conversion of the building and the site
On June 26, 1986, the administration building of Frowein & Co. at Uellendahler Strasse 70-72 was placed under monument protection under the number 797.
Web links
- Coat of arms of the Frowein family
- Mirke station
- Ernst Hellmut Vits: The origin and path of artificial silk, Die Zeit, March 1, 1951
- Frowein & Co. Beteiligungs AG
- Association "Leben in Wuppertal eV"
literature
- Wolfgang Köllmann : Abraham Frowein 1878–1957, in: Wuppertaler Bibliographien, Vol. 5, 1960, pp. 53–58 Textilgruppe Frowein, Sept. 1988 (R. Rhefus)
- Max Gürtler: Textile - Industry II weaving, knitting, trimmings, lace and curtain manufacture and felt manufacture, Göschen Collection , Leipzig 1910
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ribbon and wide weaving mill Frowein & Co, Wuppertal Elberfeld, Uellendahler Str. 70–72. Rhenish industrial culture, accessed on October 25, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d Historical companies in Elberfeld as of September 2017 pages 16, 18, 33–34, 38–42, 75, 80, 88, 96–97.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Edmund Strutz : 175 years Abr. Frowein jun. / Abr. & Gebr. Frowein / Frowein & Co. AG, A Contribution to Wuppertal Economic History, Düsseldorf 1938
- ↑ a b ›wiki› Frowein_ (entrepreneur family) WikiProjekt Wuppertal / Frowein (entrepreneur family)
- ↑ a b Frowein / Brückenberg. In: heidermanns.net. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
- ^ A b c Wilhelm Crecelius: Frowein, family of manufacturers. In: Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig. Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB), Volume = 8, 1878, pp. 151–153. , accessed on October 27, 2019 .
- ↑ Charlotte Luisa Weber
- ↑ August Frowein
- ↑ The history of the company Peter Schürmann & Schröder in Lennep
- ↑ Kurt Frowein and Anne Lotte Schlieper
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Annegret Hauer: 250 years of Frowein & Co., 2013, available at the Rheinisch-Westfälisches-Wirtschaftsarchiv Foundation in Cologne, registration XIVe 11123.
- ↑ Abraham Frowein was buried in his native Elberfeld these days
- ^ Entry "Frowein, Abraham" in Munzinger Online / Personen - Internationales Biographisches Archiv 39/1957 from September 16, 1957, (accessed October 28, 2019)
- ↑ If it is not allowed to work on Sundays, textile entrepreneurs threaten to relocate their production abroad. Der Spiegel, Volume 37, September 11, 1989, accessed October 27, 2019 .
- ^ ISB: Wassenberg: Textile industry interwoven with the city. Rheinische Post , September 4, 2015, accessed on October 27, 2019 .
- ↑ a b 250 years of Frowein - ceremony in the town hall, Westdeutsche Zeitung May 16, 2013
- ↑ Devetex, The Company, the Video
- ^ Frowein Beteiligungs GmbH
Coordinates: 51 ° 16 ′ 8.8 ″ N , 7 ° 8 ′ 55.7 ″ E