Rectol

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REKTOL group of companies

logo
legal form GmbH & Co. KG
founding 1892
Seat Korbach
management Jochen Pohlmann
Number of employees 30th
sales EUR 10 million
Branch Manufacture of lubricant requirements
Website https://www.rektol.de
Status: 2019

The company REKTOL (also Rektol GmbH & Co. KG ) is a traditional German manufacturer of specialty oils and lubricants and a former factory in the north Hessian county and Hanseatic City Korbach . The fourth generation of the family business is, according to its own statements, the smallest oil mixer in Germany and the last small lubricant manufacturer in Europe on a market dominated by corporations and large medium-sized companies.

history

REKTOL was originally founded in 1892 as the C. Pohlmann fat goods mail order business by the Pohlmann family in Adorf . Initially, Karl Pohlmann dealt with the manufacture and sale of vaseline - leather grease , machine oil, car grease, carbolineum , hoof grease, cleaning agents and related products that could be used in a similar way to Ballistol gun oil . In 1897 the company expanded, including the production of leather fats, which the companion Fritz Pohlmann promoted. In 1902 the company headquarters was moved to a larger facility in Korbach. The company prospered and was able to increase sales considerably in the 1900s thanks to a rail connection, its own loading station and company expansions.

From 1907 Fritz Pohlmann was the sole owner of the company. From 1908 a new factory was set up and detergent production was expanded. In the 1910s and 1920s "KAPOKO" (Karl Pohlmann Korbach) was a well-known brand name for soaps from Korbach. After the First World War, additional factory areas were set up to manufacture motor oils. The increasing degree of motorization in the 1920s offered the company good sales opportunities. The then Reichspost was an important bulk buyer of engine oils. From 1922 the company was also active in the collection and processing of used oil, in 1924 the company name "REKTOL" was registered with the Reich Patent Office, literally translated as "the really good oil". In the 1930s a larger laboratory for development and quality assurance was set up. The production areas for the distillation and refinery of motor oils were modernized. Until the end of the Second World War , the company supplied lubricants for small vehicles and aircraft to the Wehrmacht.

In the post-war period, the company was able to produce again from 1948 and operate its own laboratory. "REKTOL" as a company was registered again in 1948. In the 1950s and 1960s, the company profited from the upswing in the post-war period and realigned itself. The company infrastructure and operating areas for oil production were modernized after a major fire in 1953, triggered by a technical error in a seal and associated with a break in operation of several months; other areas of operation such as in-house soap production (1953) and lubricating grease production (1966) were closed. In the 1970s, further specialization followed in the area of ​​products for the automotive industry and the introduction of new standards for environmental protection. The company was involved in committees and associations. Karl Friedrich Pohlmann was elected to the board of the AMMRA (working group of medium-sized mineral oil refineries) and was on the advisory board of the MZW ( Central Mineral Oil Association).

View of the old Rektol refinery tower, which was in operation until the late 1970s.

In 1983 the in-house refining of oils was stopped. The environmentally friendly renovation of old business areas followed in the 1990s. After that, some production areas were converted to oils from regenerative sources (organic oils such as rapeseed oil / rapeseed oil ) and storage capacities were expanded. Modernization with automatic filling systems followed in the 2000s. In addition, an area for the acceptance and disposal of oils and workshop waste was set up as part of the obligation to take back oils . In 2017, waste oil disposal was given up after more than 100 years.

In the 21st century, REKTOL is one of the oldest family-run businesses in Korbach and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2017. The company has been managed by Jochen Pohlmann in the fourth generation of the family since 2007. The factory chimney with the label "Rektol", which has been shut down for several years, is regionally known.

Products

In the 21st century, the company develops, manufactures and sells special oils, lubricants and manufacturer-certified motor oils. Among other things, hydraulic and gear oils, industrial oils and brake fluids and biogenic lubricants such as saw chain oil are produced. With the latter, Rektol is the market leader in Germany. The classic car oils developed by Rektol deserve special mention, which have received multiple awards and are sold under the registered trademark Rektol Klassik . According to our own estimates, the market share in Germany in 2013 was 20 percent.

Rektol products are exported to 25 countries worldwide, the company's export share was 40 percent in 2017.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Premiere after 117 years . In: Waldeckische Allgemeine . September 30, 2009.
  2. ↑ a b c d From soap to oil . In: Waldeckische Allgemeine . August 13, 2009.
  3. ↑ a b c d e REKTOL: Anniversary brochure and company history (online PDF 4.5 MB) ( Memento from June 5, 2019 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Up-and-coming industry in the zone border area . In: Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine . June 28, 1958.
  5. ↑ a b c From Korbach to the whole world . In: Frankenberger Allgemeine . 15th November 2017.
  6. ↑ Trademark entry: Rektol Klassik at the German Patent and Trademark Office
  7. ↑ Auto Bild Klassik : Issue 11/2013 Oil test guide (online PDF 1.3 MB) ( Memento from June 5, 2019 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Waldeckische Landeszeitung : Edition 11/2013 Press review (online PDF 1.3 MB) ( Memento from June 5, 2019 in the Internet Archive )