Brewhouse (company)

Brewhouse GmbH
legal form	GmbH
founding	1844
Seat	Iserlohn , Germany
management	Stephan Keidel (Managing Director)
Number of employees	170 (2019)
Branch	Lock and fitting technology
Website	www.sudhaus.de

The Sudhaus GmbH in Iserlohn is a medium-sized company founded in 1844 with the product areas locks and fittings , locking technology, automotive.

Historical development

The company was founded in 1844 by Eduard Aurand and Heinrich Sudhaus as "Aurand & Sudhaus" and produced spurs , stirrups , bridles, curbs and fittings for carriages . The company developed into one of the leading manufacturers of fittings in Europe. In 1855, brewhouse products were awarded a first class silver medal at the World Exhibition in Paris . In 1866 110 employees work in production. In the same year Friedrich Soennecken , who later founded the office equipment manufacturer Soennecken , began his professional career here with a commercial apprenticeship. At the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, brewhouse dishes were awarded silver.

In 1889 the company name was changed from Aurand & Sudhaus to Heinrich Sudhaus Sons . At the end of the 1890s, the factory building on Gossenweg (now Teichstraße) in Iserlohn was constructed according to plans by the architect Otto Leppin. Leppin had already made a name for himself with the design of the Villa Wessel in Iserlohn.

The manufacture of carriages and teams was an important market until the First World War . In the early 20th century, the brewhouse experienced a significant boost in production through armaments orders for the cavalry and the horse-drawn artillery. After the First World War, the automobile replaced the carriage and the focus of production became the manufacture of locks. Until the 1950s, Sudhaus was one of the market leaders in the field of accessories for travel items and leather goods. Due to their historical importance, company papers are archived in the holdings of the Deutsches Museum and the NRW Archive.

During the Second World War , forced laborers had to work at the brewhouse, the company was later criticized for dealing with compensation claims. In the meantime, forced laborers have been compensated on application through the Federal Administration Office.

Newer development

Company headquarters in Iserlohn

In the post-war period, the company established itself as a supplier for suitcase, satchel, furniture and garbage can manufacturers. Today it develops and builds parts and assemblies made of zinc, sheet metal and plastic according to orders or in-house development. Sudhaus actively develops, manufactures and sells products.

Articles for the automotive and sanitary industries have been expanding the production program since 1979. Here the company works with system suppliers and produces plastic and zinc die-cast parts for vehicles and sanitary facilities. An assembly site in Horažďovice in the Czech Republic was used between 1993 and 2018 . The company has been manufacturing exclusively in Iserlohn since 2019.

In Iserlohn, Heinrich-Sudhaus-Weg is named after the company founder.