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The company`s history

 

Carl KRAFFT & Söhne was founded 1870 by Carl KRAFFT together with Heinrich Depiereux. They initially ran an iron foundry with a steam boiler and the company called itself KRAFFT & Depiereux.

 

 
 
 
 
 
In 1879 an engineering factory was added and a further steam motor was put into service.
     
 
At this point in time KRAFFT mainly produced machines and parts for the local paper industry. The company sometimes also supplied other sectors with wire pullers, glass-polish-machines and even winding board machines.

 
    
 
 
 
The early pulp manufacture machines were of great importance for the Düren area and for KRAFFT, so the company began to produce large quantities of these items.
 
In 1898 Heinrich Depiereux left KRAFFT and founded a new company only a few hundred meters away from the original site. Carl KRAFFT continued to manage his company and changed the name to Carl KRAFFT & Söhne, the name under which it is still known today.

The paper industry has always been an important customer for KRAFFT. During the first years its list of customers mainly included local mills and later it also began to include European companies.

 

 
 
Between 1900 and 1907 the company expanded substantially and undertook a technical modernisation. E.g. a large crane was built so as to move the heavy cylinders that were cast in the foundry.   
    
 
The company even had its own transportation fleet which consisted of a horse and wagon.
 


In 1920 Carl Eberhard KRAFFT, the founder's son, took over the full management until 1955. The company was still mainly dealing with products for the paper industry, but also began to build complete installations that were assembled and put into operation by KRAFFT engineers.
 

 
    
 
 
 
The large-scale attack over Düren during World War II in 1944, did surprisingly little damage to the KRAFFT facilities. It was therefore possible to continue business immediately after the German capitulation and to repair the local paper mills.
 
Soon the foreign customers were being supplied once again and complete paper mills were engineered and sold to countries such as South America, Korea and South Africa.
Due to the evolution of the paper machines, a growing demand for bigger and longer rolls appeared.

In 1964 the management was taken over by 25 year old Eberhard Hess. He soon met Mr. Dietrich Nebel, who was known for his knowledge in the winding board industry. Together they ran the company until 1990, when Dietrich Nebel had to retire for health reasons. During those years KRAFFT began to concentrate on rolls, cylinders, drums and other heavy turning components.

 

 
 
 
The facilities had to keep up with the continuous new demands and, since the foundry was not profitable any longer, it was closed down. 
    

 
    
 
 
 
The hall was converted into a welding shop and the amount of employees remained unchanged.
 
In 1996 the original buildings of 1870 and a part of the offices were pulled down so as to build a new spacious hall. At the same time another floor was added to the administration building. A year later KRAFFT built a second establishment only one kilometre down the road. An area of 10.000 m² was purchased and a 1.500 m² hall was built.

Today the KRAFFT facilities are well prepared for the production of rolls, cylinders, drums and other heavy turning components.

The company is still a family managed and medium sized enterprise with about 110 employees.

By the end of 1999 KRAFFT took over the majority of KELZENBERG + CO. GmbH & Co. KG, who is also a manufacturer of big rolls and pressure vessels. Due to this acquisition KRAFFT was able to expand its facilities and its product range.
 
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