Heinrich Stollwerck
Heinrich Stollwerck (born October 27, 1843 in Cologne , † May 9, 1915 in Cologne) was a Cologne entrepreneur, producer of chocolate and sweets and co-founder of the global company Gebrüder Stollwerck AG.
Career
Heinrich Stollwerck was the third child of Franz Stollwerck (1815–1876) and his wife Anna Sophia, b. Müller (1819-1888). He grew up in the family home in Cologne, Am Bayen. When Heinrich's father recognized his mathematical and technical talent, he sent his son to a boarding school in Paris. After completing his academic years, Heinrich began his apprenticeship in his father's factory and at Geissler's in Düsseldorf. In 1863 he served his "one year year" in the 19th Infantry Regiment, at the end of which he was promoted to NCO.
When there was a dispute with his father, Heinrich wanted to continue studying, the father wanted to see his son in the factory, his older brother Albert Nikolaus provided him with the financial means for further training. After completing traineeships in Paris and at the Reese & Wichmann chocolate factory in Hamburg, Heinrich joined his father’s company in 1868 together with his older brothers Albert Nikolaus (1840–1883) and Peter-Joseph (1842–1906) as a partner. Franz Stollwerck & Sons ”was renamed. His father gave him the management of the new factory at Hohe Strasse 9. In the same year he married his childhood friend Apollonia Krusius. The marriage had six children: Bertha (1869–1953), Sophie (1870–1952), Albert Nikolaus (1872–1929), Maria (1874–1957), Heinrich (1876–1919) and Franz (1877–1955) .
In 1869 he installed the first steam heater he had built in the factory, improved the belt drives of numerous machines and put the first machines he had designed into operation. In 1870 the Franco-Prussian War broke out and Heinrich Stollwerck and his older brothers were drafted into the Rhenish Infantry Regiment 69. After the battle of Gravelotte, Heinrich was assigned to the Carthusian monastery in Koblenz to supervise the French prisoners of war as a French-speaking second lieutenant. He had his family come to Koblenz and lived in Koblenzer Schlossstrasse 31 until the peace agreement.
After returning from the war, Heinrich was disappointed to find that his father had put many of his machines out of operation again. In 1871 he and his older brothers bought the property at Corneliusstrasse 12 in the south of Cologne. The brothers separated from their father in a dispute and founded their own company "Gebrüder Stollwerck", which was entered in the Cologne commercial register as a general partnership on January 1, 1872 and which the younger brothers Ludwig Stollwerck and Carl Stollwerck also joined a few years later .
Heinrich initially managed the camp and expedition, but later turned to machinery and construction with his technical talent. From 1872 he put a new steam engine into operation almost every year , the drive power of which increased to over 500 hp in 10 years. He developed new machines and in 1873 received his first patent for his invention of a roller mill with 5 rollers, which multiplied the capacity of chocolate production and dramatically increased the quality of the chocolate mass. Because of his French work experience, he measured "his" machines on the French objects: his roller mill had 5 vertical rollers, while the French had "only" 3 rollers. “His” mixing machine produced 40 quintals of chocolate a day, while the French only gave 5 quintals.
In 1875 he put a new self-designed roasting machine for cocoa into operation, which he continuously improved and for which he received patent 308/529 in 1894. In 1877 the Stollwerck brothers had 70 of his new machines in operation. His eternal annoyance was the scale that formed in the operation of the steam engines. The steam engines had to be taken out of service for days for cleaning. He developed a new method of combating the scale, which was protected in 1882 as DR Patent No. 22554. In the meantime he had built a "dining establishment" with recreation rooms and baths on the company premises, founded the Stollwerck health, relief and accident funds, the Stollwerck choral society Theobromina and the invalids and relief fund, whose foundation capital grew to one million marks by 1914 .
In 1885, Stollwerck received the only award medal for machines for chocolate technology at the inventors' exhibition in London. In 1886 Heinrich Stollwerck opened the Stollwerck machine factory in Cologne's Severinsviertel on the expanded Stollwerck company premises, where the utility machines he designed were produced. The machines were bestsellers, were sold throughout Europe and later even in the USA, and made up a large proportion of the company's sales and profits. In the same year he commissioned Europe's largest steam boiler with a heating surface of 780 m², which was later also patented. In 1899 Heinrich Stollwerck built the new production facility for the Stollwerck brothers' branch in Berlin. In the same year he and his brother Peter-Joseph were awarded the title of "KuK court supplier" by the Viennese court.
As Heinrich Stollwerck took social responsibility as an entrepreneur very seriously, he built six country-style semi-detached houses on Bonner Strasse in Cologne in 1900, which he called "Heimstätte Frieden". Here, well-deserved Stollwerck workers found an apartment for a minimal rent. Heinrich's helpfulness and generosity earned him the esteem of his employees. He promoted the war graves care, numerous other social facilities for soldiers and gave many war comrades work in the factories. Heinrich's “Heinzelmännchen-Gaben” were just as famous: they consisted of 20-mark bills that could be found on the windowsill or in the mailbox of the needy or needy. In his office there always had to be a large supply of five-mark pieces, which he distributed on his walks through the factories and on walks.
As a great admirer of Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , Heinrich Stollwerck financed the construction of the Bismarck Tower (Cologne) in 1902 and built his villa, which he called "Bismarckburg" , in the immediate vicinity in Cologne-Marienburg , on Bayenthalgürtel 2 within the villa colony Cologne-Marienburg . The castle-style house was demolished in 1936. In 1907 he was appointed Kommerzienrat by Kaiser Wilhelm II and in 1912 expanded the Cologne factory premises of Gebr. Stollwerck AG to include new buildings in Zwirner Strasse.
Heinrich Stollwerck died on May 9, 1915 as a result of an accident following the explosion of a fondant kettle in the factory.
Individual evidence
- ^ Sulkowska-Stollwerck, Sophia Fürstin: life and work of the Kommerzienrat Heinrich Stollwerck. Cologne, 1939
- ^ Kuske, Bruno: 100 years of Stollwerck history 1839–1939. Cologne, 1939.
- ^ Joest, Hans-Josef - 150 years of Stollwerck. The adventure of a global brand, Stollwerck, Cologne, 1989.
- ^ Rheinisch-Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv (RWWA): Inventory 208 "Stollwerck AG", Cologne.
- ^ Rheinisch-Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv (RWWA): Inventory 208 "Stollwerck AG", Cologne.
- ↑ Haslinger, Ingrid: Customer - Kaiser. The story of the former imperial and royal purveyors. Schroll, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85202-129-4 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stollwerck, Heinrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur and inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 27, 1843 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cologne |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 9, 1915 |
| Place of death | Cologne |