Mehler (company)

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The Mehler AG (formerly also Val. Mehler AG after the first name of the founder), headquartered in Fulda is a historic textile and clothing group, which in the 1970s almost exclusively on technical textiles concentrated. In the 1960s it had over 4,500 employees and was therefore one of the most important employers in the structurally weak region at the time. From the historical group of companies, Mehler AG continues to exist as a subsidiary of the listed KAP Beteiligungs-AG , which most recently produced technical cord fabrics with the operational subsidiary Mehler Engineered Products GmbH . In the past, up to the 1990s, tents under the Mehler brand were also particularly important. As part of the name, Mehler will continue to be transferred to former subsidiaries, now independent companies such as Mehler Vario System and Mehler Texnologies with different owners. As of 2019, Mehler Vario System produces 250 employees in production, development and administration bulletproof vests , Mehler Texnologies produces polyester- coated fabrics with 200 employees that are used in sports mats, truck tarpaulins and as sun protection and has been part of the listed British group since 2007 Low and Bonar .

history

The company was founded in 1837 by Valentin Mehler (1816–1884) as a workshop for table linen near the Fulda parish church. Valentin was born as a farmer's son in Friesenhausen . His ancestors come from the Dürrmühle near Poppenhausen / Wasserkuppe . In 1880 his sons Wilhelm (* 1852) and Karl (* 1854) became the owners. By 1887 the number of employees rose to 53. Then in the same year the company was relocated to today's production facility in Edelzeller Straße and the weaving mill was completely mechanized . Since 1903, under the influence of the new partner Arthur Kayser, specialization in the manufacture of canvas took place . In 1915 the company was converted into a stock corporation and in the following decades developed into one of the leading manufacturers of technical fabrics, including for the tire industry. Mehler became known to the general public for his waterproof tarpaulins , tents , coats and sportswear. Since the 1920s, the company has also built up a ready-to-wear department specializing in men's and women's coats.

Since the 1930s, Val. Mehler Segeltuchweberei AG has been increasingly involved in the development of new products and brands, which subsequently became well known. The brands “Valmeline” (registered in 1937) and “Valmex” (registered in 1938) should be mentioned here in particular. In 1933, the focus of clothing production was placed on men's and women's coats and ski anoraks. In 1935 the production of cords and fabrics for the tire industry started. In 1937 the company had 1,301 employees and a turnover of 11 million Reichsmarks. The company employed forced laborers between 1940 and 1945 , and around 900 people were housed in the “Rosita” camp. During the Second World War, a large part of the factory was destroyed and 700 people, including 451 employees, died in a bomb attack on the “ Krätzbachbunker ”, the company's own bunker.

After the expropriation of the majority shareholder, the Jewish Kayser family, in 1938, the entrepreneur and military leader Willy Kaus took over the majority of the company's shares. After the war ended in 1945, Kaus tried in vain to reach an agreement with the Kayser heirs about his majority stake. In 1952 he had to return the Mehler shares. From 1952 until his death in 1968 , the entrepreneur Walter Albert Bauer shaped the further development of Val. Mehler AG , which was the focus of his Bauer Group; The company had 4,552 employees in 1960. In 1967 Bauer became the majority shareholder. In 1972 the entrepreneur Johann Nepomuk Glöggler took over the majority of shares from the Bauer and Mehler heirs, which he held until the collapse of his Glöggler Group in 1976.

After the collapse of the Glöggler Group, the Bank für Gemeinwirtschaft and the Hessische Landesbank restructured the company and became majority shareholders during this process. During the 1980s, under the aegis of the banks, Mehler was split up into subsidiaries that were based on the existing product lines. In 1982, the clothing industry was transferred to the newly founded companies Valmeline Brille GmbH and Fulwiline Mode GmbH . This was followed in 1986 by the technical manufacture through the establishment of Mehler Vario System GmbH and in 1989 the production of technical textiles through the establishment of the subsidiary Mehler GmbH . The company becomes a financial and management holding company; In 1990 Val. Mehler AG achieved sales of almost 450 million marks and employed 2,100 people.

In 1997/98 KAP Beteiligungs-AG took over the majority of shares in Mehler AG. KAP took care of the name change of the subsidiary Mehler Haku GmbH and the bundling of the coating and calender coating activities in the Mehler Texnologies Group. Mehler Texnologies GmbH was sold to the British listed group Low & Bonar in 2007. In 2010 the KAP Beteiligungs-AG relocated its headquarters to Fulda. Today Mehler Engineered Products (MEP), manufacturer of technical textiles, and Olbo & Mehler (OMT), manufacturer of technical fabrics still belong to KAP. After a sale of the company premises to the city failed in 2019, it was announced at the beginning of 2020 that the production site with around 80 employees in Fulda, whose main focus was the production of technical cord fabric, is also affected by a location in the Czech Republic, where primarily Soft cords and raw twine were produced. Around 45 employees remain employed in administration and development.

Camping and scout tents

Patch with word and picture mark on Mehler house tent from the 1980s.

The camping area, which was particularly well known to the public, became independent in 1991 as Mehler Camping GmbH . As a result of the repeated restructuring of Mehler AG and acquisitions, this basically long-lasting product range is overall quite inconsistent. Until the end of the 1980s, the leisure tents were sold as clearly distinguished Mehler products. The spin-off of Mehler Vario System GmbH , which was assigned to the camping area, did not change anything. This changed only with the takeover of Stromeyer Innovation GmbH in 1990 , which had formed from the traditional company Stromeyer, which was liquidated in 1986. The headquarters of Stromeyer Innovation GmbH in Radolfzell was retained by Mehler and Mehler Camping GmbH was founded from the previous company . Now the Mehler tents have also been given a new company name: The sewn-on word and image mark was no longer "Mehler", but "Mehler Camping". In the same year, Mehler Stromeyer Camping GmbH started operations, which sold former Stromeyer tents under the old brand name.

The episode “Mehler Camping GmbH” ended with the deletion of the brand in 1997, Mehler-Stromeyer followed in 2000. In 1998, Mehler AG acquired the Czech company Technolen technicky textil sro from Lomnice nad Popelkou . Stromeyer is now a manufacturer's brand of Technolen, which is still a subsidiary of Mehler. One of the oldest and most recently available Stromeyer products, which was produced before the Second World War, were the black tents of the German boy scout and youth movement . In 2007, Technolen, together with the also Czech textile manufacturer Texlen, dared to gain a foothold in Germany again with black tents under the traditional name Stromeyer. This enterprise was accompanied by the Protect GmbH from Essen . When the attempt was unsuccessful, the venture was abandoned after 2009.

literature

  • Michael Mott : Fulda textile factory became a global company / The company's founder Valentin Mehler (1816–1884) had a decisive influence on the economy in East Hesse ; in: Fuldaer Zeitung, Aug. 16, 2006, p. 11 (Series: Fuldaer Köpfe).
  • Julia Schnaus: Clothing attracts everyone: The German clothing industry 1918 to 1973 ; Chapter 7.1. Valentin Mehler AG (pp. 223-278); Dissertation; 2017 Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-055729-9

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mehler Texnologies - history. Retrieved May 27, 2019 .
  2. ↑ DPMA register entry for Valmeline , DPMA register entry for Valmex
  3. ↑ History of Mehler AG ( Memento of the original from July 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kap.de
  4. ^ Fulda, "Rosita" warehouse, Gummiwerke Mehler AG. Topography of National Socialism in Hesse. (As of February 21, 2011). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  5. ^ "Outsiders in chemistry and rubber" in: Die Zeit (No. 9/1966) of February 25, 1966. "Are the shares void?" In Der Spiegel (No. 11/1957) of March 13, 1957. Mehler, Valentin , Hans Jaeger in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 16 (1990), p. 621 [online version]
  6. ^ "Without office and mandate" in: Die Zeit (No. 45/1961) of November 3, 1961. www.leo-bw.de , accessed on September 9, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Frohe Laune im Bett" in: Der Spiegel (No. 4/1976) from January 19, 1976. "Who has Deutsche Bank as an enemy ..." in: Die Zeit (No. 41/1976) from October 1, 1976 .
  8. ^ “The happy tightrope walker” in: Die Zeit (No. 12/1979) of March 16, 1979.
  9. ↑ Cheap to have Der Spiegel from February 5, 1990
  10. ↑ mvs.de , accessed on September 9, 2015.
  11. ↑ KAP-Holding is rowing back: the Mehler area will not be sold ; osthessen-news from July 20, 2019; accessed on January 25, 2020
  12. ↑ Mehler stops production in Fulda - out for 80 employees ; Fuldaer Zeitung from January 24, 2020; accessed the same day
  13. ↑ Tents of the Stromeyer brand from Technolen , accessed on November 23, 2018.