Soennecken

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Soennecken logo on the main factory building in Bonn-Poppelsdorf
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The Soennecken company was originally a German office equipment manufacturer, whose brand is also well known in the Anglo-Saxon world, North America , Australia and India . Founded in 1875 by Friedrich Soennecken , the name was registered as a trademark in 1905. The development of the pen holder , file folder and punch is closely associated with Soennecken . In 1973 the company filed for bankruptcy and the trademark rights were transferred to Branion eG. Since 2007, this purchasing and marketing cooperation based in Overath has been operating again under the name Soennecken eG . The latter sells a wide range of office items under its own Soennecken brand .

history

Stationery catalog from 1895

On May 27, 1875, Friedrich Soennecken founded the trading company F. Soennecken Verlag in Remscheid . Under the brand name Soennecken, circular writing springs ( tension springs ) designed by Soennecken were initially produced. Until then, Soenneckens was written with pointed nibs ( swell springs ), which originally came from England. Soennecken himself developed the circular script, a script that was easier to learn than swell script. His publishing house published teaching and exercise books, the circulars. They appeared in several languages ​​and advertised the circular pens that he was selling in parallel.

Plant in Poppelsdorf around 1897 on Kirschallee

On October 19, 1876, the company moved to Bonn , also because of its proximity to the university , and was entered in the commercial register. In 1883 the company acquired land belonging to the Poppelsdorf community . Stationery and, above all, nib production remained there for a long time. At first the springs, which were made according to Soennecken's most precise specifications, were forged in England . The examination and testing of the springs took place in Bonn. In 1877 the domestic production began with the help of a specially invented travel copier press. In 1913 Soennecken employed around 1000 people and had export houses in Berlin , Leipzig , Amsterdam , Antwerp and Paris . 72,000 parcels of goods were sent all over the world.

Nib assortment from 1924

After Soennecken's death in 1919, the company was continued by his son and grandson.

In 1973 the company filed for bankruptcy . This also closed the last plant in Poppelsdorf, the Soenneckenfeld plant. In 1983 the "Großeinkaufsvereinigung deutscher Bürobedarfshäden" (gdb) took over the sole trademark rights. The gdb was later renamed “Soennecken eG” and in 1999, after the merger with the second major purchasing cooperative for office supplies in Germany, the “büro actuell” was renamed Branion eG (art expression for Brand Union ). Since May 9, 2007, the cooperative is again called like the trademark: "Soennecken".

Since 2004, the motto brand quality has been inexpensive! in use, which alludes to the company's long history. The current range includes office items such. B. inks , toners and digital storage media .

Since the general assembly of BRANION eG on May 9, 2007 decided to rename the company to Soennecken eG, Soennecken has been Europe's largest cooperative in the office industry.

Since the Extraordinary General Meeting on November 25, 2014 Soennecken eG has been legally able to conduct its own business with end and business customers. The necessary amendments to the statutes were approved by the members at the extraordinary general assembly in Cologne with a large majority.

Timetable

Sample of school pens from the 1930s
  • 1883: Soennecken employs 30 workers and packers, acquisition of land belonging to the Poppelsdorf community
  • 1887 Expansion of the factory with an extension
  • October 3, 1896: A new building designed by the architect Otto Penner is inaugurated
  • February 19, 1898: New building for furniture production
  • 1903/1904: Completion of the Soenneckenfeld furniture factory
  • 1909: New building in Bonn-Poppelsdorf: Soenneckenfeld plant by architect Heinrich Müller-Erkelenz
  • 1910: Participation in the world exhibition in Brussels with awards
  • 1911: Soennecken's son, Dr.-Ing. Alfred Soennecken works at the plant
  • Acquisition of the Shannon Zeiss Registratur Company, Berlin
  • Acquisition of the Schaper spring factory, Iserlohn
  • 1919: Friedrich Soennecken's death
  • 1920s: Company employs approx. 1000 people

Production range around the turn of the century

Key to a Soennecken desk from 1935

Trivia

  • In 1888 Friedrich Nietzsche wrote to a friend: [...] I discovered this paper , the first on which I can write. Also pen, but this one from Germany: Soennecken's circular pen
  • The Theoretical Biology department of the University of Bonn has been located in the Soennecken building, part of the former stationery factory, at Kirschallee 1 in Bonn-Poppelsdorf since 1970
  • Soennecken eG sells the specially developed e-procurement platform "So.PROCURE" and the open web shop system "So.COMMERCE" for all members of the cooperative.

Web links

Individual evidence

Commons : Soennecken  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  1. ↑ Alfred Soennecken , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 36/1956 of August 27, 1956, in the Munzinger Archive ( beginning of article freely available)