Friedrich Lohmann steel factory

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Friedr. Lohmann
legal form GmbH
founding 1790
Seat Witten
management Gunnar Lohmann Hut
Number of employees 350
Branch Steelmaking
Website www.lohmann-stahl.de
As of January 26, 2017

Company history on an information sign on site

The steel factory Friedrich Lohmann is a 1790 in Witten by Friedrich Lohmann d. Ä. established steel mill. Today the family business operates in the seventh generation under the name Friedr. Lohmann GmbH .

history

In 1788 Friedrich Lohmann the Elder leased the Berge estate (today Haus Witten ) in Witten , in 1790 he moved there himself and founded the steel factory on October 24th. In 1798 the lease was extended to the nearby grain mill on Mühlengraben, including the water rights there on the Ruhr . In 1815 he bought the entire site, including all rights .

In 1800 he founded the Witten Ironworks Union , and the plan was to build a blast furnace. The project was abandoned around 1815. From 1801 he began to acquire iron stone and coal mines in order to secure his raw material supply.

From 1809 to 1812 he tried to produce a usable crucible cast steel . As a result of the continental blockade (1806–1814) by Napoleon, continental Europe was cut off from the crucible steel supply of the until then exclusive supplier England. Especially in France and Germany ( Kingdom of Westphalia and Kingdom of Prussia) attempts were made to replace this by reinventing the technology. However, the regular manufacture of high-quality crucible steel was only achieved by the son Friedrich Lohmann the Younger after the death of the company founder. In the cellar of the Witten house, which has now been converted into a cultural center, relics of the production facilities and finished crucible steel workpieces can still be viewed.

The rolling mill was put into operation in 1822, and a puddling mill to supply material in 1831 . 1834 Friedrich Lohmann the Younger built a brandy - distillery on the grounds. The company was called "Lohmann & Brand" at the time. The name part Brand comes from the son-in-law Ambrosius Brand, who was involved in the company.

Friedrich Lohmann the Elder died in 1837. Ä. and it was not his son, as was customary at the time, but his widow Helene (née Berger) who took over the entire company property, in addition to the Witten house with its agriculture and the local steel and file factory, distillery and mill, from almost 70 mines and extensive grain trade existed. In 1847 the company was called "Gußstahl- u. Feilen-Fabrik Friedr. Lohmann". It was not until 1855 that Helene handed over the family business to her son.

" The cast steel factory of Herr Friedrich Lohmann in Witten employed 70 workers and 750,000 pounds of cast steel were won, the greater part of which was further processed into cast steel files, which have gained a great reputation." "

- "Weekly for trade, industry and transport agencies" of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1858
Mill ditch in Herbede

In 1859/1860 production began in the rolling mill and hammer mill in Herbede . Before that, land and a grain mill at Herbeder Mühlengraben including the local water rights had been acquired, the water power was used to operate the plant until 1992. The family and company archive is now located in the Kornmühle and the neighboring Schellenberg House, with about 100 meters of files, documents, business books and photos. From 1870 the company called itself "Gußstahl-Fabrik, Walz- & Hammerwerke Friedr. Lohmann".

House Witten around 1900

In 1910, production was expanded to include high-alloy tool and high-speed steels. In 1917 the company was an open trading company , in 1922 the form of business changed to Friedrich Lohmann GmbH .

In 1939/1940 the factory at Haus Witten was closed and a new crucible steelworks was put into operation in Herbede, from 1954 the production of stainless steel castings also took place there.

In 1973 another plant, a stainless steel foundry, was put into operation in Witten - Annen .

Today's company

Company premises in Herbede

In subsequent years, the modernization of the facilities were repeatedly carried out, including a ESR plant ( electroslag remelting ) and a 10 MN - forging press .

Today the company produces hot-rolled and forged tool, high-speed and special steels for toolmaking and sheet metal and bar steel products made from them, as well as high-quality stainless steel castings and welded composite structures. Corresponding services are also offered and steel trading is operated.

At the Herbede location there is an induction melting furnace, the ESR system, forging press, grinding system and roller train, laser, straightening, cutting and separating machines as well as a high-bay warehouse. In Annen there are induction melting furnaces, a core shop, fettling shop and molding shop as well as the warehouse with the cast models.

The company employs around 350 people.

literature

  • Fried. Lohmann GmbH (Ed.): 200 years of Friedrich Lohmann GmbH, From the history of a family and their company , 1790–1990, self-published , Herbede 1990.

Web links

Commons : Friedr. Lohmann GmbH  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Route of Industrial Culture, House Witten
  2. Snippet from Google Books
  3. ^ Lohmann-Stahl: Wasserkraft

Coordinates: 51 ° 25 ′ 21.4 "  N , 7 ° 17 ′ 26.7"  E