Julius Ahlmann

Julius Hans Ahlmann (born December 26, 1880 in Copenhagen , † September 3, 1931 in Gravenstein ) was a businessman and manufacturer.

Live and act

Julius Ahlmann was a son of Johannes Ahlmann and his wife Wilhelmine, nee Olde. From Easter 1890 to upper secondary school on Easter 1898, he attended the Rendsburg high school. He then completed a commercial apprenticeship in Heide and Copenhagen . In 1902/03 he did a year and a half military service in Koblenz . He then worked for several companies in England, France, Spain and the USA.

In 1907 Ahlmann moved to Büdelsdorfer Carlshütte , where his father worked as a commercial director. At the beginning of 1909 he received power of attorney and in the following years traveled to countries in southern and western Europe and in 1913 to the Balkans in order to expand the sales markets. On May 27, 1914, he married Katharina Aline Braun in Cologne , with whom he had two daughters and two sons, including Josef-Severin Ahlmann . During the First World War he fought on the Western Front from 1914 to 1916. He then worked for two years as a teacher in a military school in Jüterbog .

In January 1919, Ahlmann succeeded his father as commercial director of Carlshütte. At first he traveled a lot abroad to get back customers who had chosen other suppliers due to the war. In 1922 a large part of the production area was lost due to a fire. Ahlmann was able to restore this within a very short time and thus satisfy the increasing demand for consumer goods. After the currency reform of 1923, sales fell and there was not enough cash. Ahlmann therefore opted for temporary short-time work.

Ahlmann constantly argued with the technical director Rudolph Meyn. In 1925 Meyn left the company, which Ahlmann then managed alone. During his time, many renovations and new buildings were built and turned the plant into a modern industrial company. The Carlshütte introduced new manufacturing processes and machines and made extensive advertising measures. Ahlmann sometimes traveled himself and took part in trade fairs in Cologne and Leipzig . The turnover and the number of employees increased constantly. On the Hamburg stock exchange , the company's shares reached prices well above par.

Ahlmann continued to demand modernization and expansion of the Carlshütte. In 1925 he reorganized the company's Scandinavian sales department, as the “Ohlsen & Ahlmann” responsible for this had gone bankrupt. During the global economic crisis, Ahlmann temporarily introduced short-time work again at the end of 1930.

In the spring of 1931 Ahlmann traveled to England. Because of a brain tumor, he was operated twice afterwards. He died in the family home. Following his request, his wife took over the management of the company.

literature

• Thomas Pfeiffer: Ahlmann, Julius . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 17-18.