Wisthoff glassworks

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Wisthoff glassworks

logo
legal form most recently GmbH
founding February 17, 1723
resolution 2004
Reason for dissolution Merger with Gerresheimer
Seat Essen , Germany
Number of employees approx. 400-500
Branch Glassworks

Wisthoff glassworks seen from the opposite bank of the Ruhr

The Wisthoff glassworks is a glassworks that has been located in the Ruhr Valley in the Horst district of Essen since 1971 . It was founded in Steele . As today's part of the Gerresheimer Group, it is probably the oldest industrial company in the area of ​​today's city of Essen.

history

On February 17, 1723, Friedrich Wilhelm I approved the establishment of the royally privileged glass factory in the then rural municipality of Königssteele and privileged it in 1727. Since hard coal was already being mined in the Ruhr Valley at that time, the glassworks was one of the first in western Germany to be able to produce with the help of this fuel. That and the proximity to the Ruhr were among the locational advantages in the otherwise structurally weak Steele.

Initially, the hut was named Hünninghausener Glashütte , after its founder Hermann Albert Hünninghausen, who built other glassworks in the nearby Ruhr Valley. The factory was later called Knohl'sche Glashütte . After an eventful history, Friedrich Ignatz Wisthoff (* 1792, † 1863) became a partner in 1820 and took over the management of the company in 1824, under the name of Vereinigte Schellenberger und Steeler Glashütten Wisthoff & Co. it rose to become an important glassworks in the Ruhr area. The most important products included various hollow glass items such as bottles for medicines and beverages.

The original glassworks was initially on Bochumer Strasse and is now at Dreiringplatz. Wisthoff's former home, which is a listed building, is still nearby. When Friedrich Ignatz Wisthoff died in 1863, his sons Ferdinand (* August 24, 1834 in Steele, † March 1, 1882 there) and August took over the business and successfully expanded the factory. Around 1875 the Wisthoff family moved to today's Wisthoff-Park on Villenweg, so that their previous house was still used as a commercial building until 1970. The production facility was relocated to the area of ​​the former Krahwinkel farm south of Bochumer Strasse. Since the company had up to 500 employees at times, company apartments were built and a relief fund was set up to help with illness and death . About a third of the products were exported, so that in 1871 a branch was established in Brussels .

The mouth blow molding process was gradually replaced by semi and fully automatic machines. In 1912, Wisthoff was the first company in the Ruhr area to use remote gas for production. After the Second World War , in June 1945, Wisthoff was the first company in North Rhine-Westphalia that was able to resume production. The later director Maria Tosse succeeded in asserting this with the occupying powers. The glassworks was a family business until 1969.

The production facilities in the area of ​​the former Krahwinkel farm, which were in operation until 1970, were demolished as part of the so-called Steeles renovation. The current high-rise residential buildings were later built on the site by GAGFAH .

Today's company

Today's glassworks at Ruhrau 50 went into operation on June 3, 1971.

The traditional company Wisthoff has been part of the Gerresheimer Group since 2004 under the name "Gerresheimer Essen GmbH" with around 400 employees .

literature

  • Milena Karabaic: Glass products from Ruhr / Glashütte Wisthoff GmbH & Co. in Essen-Steele since 1723 - a brief portrait; In the magazine Industrie-Kultur, issue 2 (2000), pages 8 to 9

Web links

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  1. ↑ a b Erwin Dickhoff: Essen heads . Ed .: City of Essen / Historical Association for the City and Abbey of Essen. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2015, ISBN 978-3-8375-1231-1 .
  2. ↑ Steeler Archive e. V .: Steeler Chronicle ; last viewed on October 4, 2011

Coordinates: 51 ° 26 ′ 15 ″  N , 7 ° 5 ′ 21 ″  E