Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kick

Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kick GmbH & Co. KG (AKW) is a German industrial minerals company and the largest producer of kaolin in Germany. Headquartered in Hirschau, Bavaria, it operates as a specialist within the Quarzwerke Group, a family-owned minerals group based in Frechen. The company's product portfolio centres on kaolin, feldspar and quartz, which are processed into a wide range of industrial mineral products for applications including ceramics, paper, coatings, glass, and solar reflective granules. The present company was formed in 1993 through the merger of two historically distinct enterprises: the Amberger Kaolinwerke, founded in Hirschau on 29 March 1901 by Kommerzienrat Georg Schiffer and four financial partners, and the Eduard Kick company, established in Schnaittenbach in 1833 by Daniel Christoph Eduard Kick. The Eduard Kick business began as a porcelain and stoneware slip works and grew through successive generations of the Rasel family. The Amberger Kaolinwerke expanded significantly after German reunification, acquiring the Caminau kaolin works in 1990 and the Kemmlitzer Kaolinwerke in 1991. In 1995, the merged Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kick was acquired by the Quarzwerke Group, integrating it into a larger industrial minerals producer with over 140 years of history. Under Quarzwerke ownership, AKW continues to operate its core sites at Hirschau/Schnaittenbach in Bavaria, Caminau in Saxony, Kemmlitz in Saxony, and Gluhivzi in Ukraine. The company extracts and refines kaolin from various deposits, producing granulate and milled grades, alongside feldspar and quartz products. AKW is known not only for its industrial output but also for the Monte Kaolino, a 35-million-tonne quartz sand heap near Hirschau that has become a recreational park on its southern slope. The company remains an active part of the Quarzwerke Group's portfolio, contributing to the group's production of over 700 quality products sold in 50 countries.

The history of Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kick GmbH & Co. KG is rooted in two separate companies that developed independently before merging in 1993. The older of the two, the Eduard Kick company, was founded in Schnaittenbach in 1833 by Daniel Christoph Eduard Kick, a bookkeeper of modest means, in the barn of the innkeeper Lorenz Popp. In 1835, Kick petitioned the highest authorities for a privilege to establish a porcelain and stoneware slip works in Schnaittenbach for a period of 15 years, attaching a description of his kaolin extraction process. In February 1836, the ministry granted permission for 15 years, subject to a privilege fee of 130 gulden and 30 kreuzer. Kick found the fee too high and requested a reduction; this was granted but at the cost of shortening the privilege period to eight years, though ultimately he received the full 15-year term. In 1838, Kick purchased the Lohtoracker for 220 gulden and built a larger kaolin slip works there, followed in 1840 by another works at the Blemlhof, the 'upper slip works'. The 'lower slip factory' on the Loh was demolished in 1892 and replaced by an agricultural barn. In 1843, Kick married Anna Popp, daughter of the innkeeper, who brought a dowry of 10,000 gulden. With this, he acquired half of the Steingutwerk Amberg (Amberg stoneware works) and soon after the other half, relocating to Amberg. In 1856, the younger innkeeper's daughter, Katharina Popp, married 21-year-old Wenzeslaus Cölestin Rasel from Roßhaupt. Kick and Rasel became brothers-in-law, and Rasel took over the representation of Kick's interests in Schnaittenbach. By this time, four kaolin slip works were in operation. After Eduard Kick's death, Wenzel Rasel continued to expand the business, followed by his son Johann Eduard Rasel, and in 1919 by his son Alfons Rasel, who led the works for over four decades. During his tenure, a major fire occurred in 1940, after which Rasel quickly rebuilt a new works. The Amberger Kaolinwerke (AKW) in Hirschau were founded on 29 March 1901 by Kommerzienrat Georg Schiffer and four other financially strong partners. On 7 May 1901, Schiffer had the new company entered in the commercial register with a share capital of 100,000 marks. The name 'Amberger Kaolinwerke' was chosen because Schiffer lived in Amberg at the time and intended to establish his office there; moreover, customers could orient themselves more easily since Amberg was known as an old iron town. After the political changes in East Germany, the Caminau kaolin works passed into the ownership of the Amberger Kaolinwerke in 1990. In 1991, the Amberger Kaolinwerke took over the Kemmlitzer Kaolinwerke, based in Kemmlitz, Saxony. In 1993, the Amberger Kaolinwerke and Eduard Kick merged to form Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kick GmbH & Co. KG. In 1995, the Amberger Kaolinwerke, with sites in Hirschau, Schnaittenbach, Caminau and Kemmlitz, were acquired by the Quarzwerke Group, headquartered in Frechen. On 30 April 2014, the foundation stone was laid for a new sand works in Schnaittenbach. Alongside the open-pit mine, a huge heap consisting of around 35 million tonnes of quartz sand was piled up over the years. Its southern slope serves as a recreational park under the name Monte Kaolino. Today, AKW operates as a specialist within the Quarzwerke Group, which has a history of over 140 years and processes quartz, kaolin, feldspar, wollastonite and mica into over 700 different quality products sold in 50 countries.

• 2014

  Foundation stone laid for a new sand works in Schnaittenbach on 30 April.

• 1995

  Quarzwerke Group acquires Amberger Kaolinwerke with sites in Hirschau, Schnaittenbach, Caminau and Kemmlitz.

• 1993

  Amberger Kaolinwerke and Eduard Kick merge to form Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kick GmbH & Co. KG.

• 1991

  Amberger Kaolinwerke takes over Kemmlitzer Kaolinwerke in Kemmlitz, Saxony.

• 1990

  Caminau kaolin works passes into ownership of Amberger Kaolinwerke after German reunification.

• 1940

  Major fire at the Eduard Kick works; rebuilt by Alfons Rasel.

• 1901

  Amberger Kaolinwerke founded in Hirschau on 29 March by Georg Schiffer and partners; registered on 7 May with 100,000 marks capital.

• 1840

  Kick builds the 'upper slip works' at the Blemlhof.

• 1838

  Kick purchases the Lohtoracker and builds a larger kaolin slip works.

• 1836

  Kick receives ministerial permission to establish a porcelain and stoneware slip works for 15 years.

• 1833

  Eduard Kick founded in Schnaittenbach by Daniel Christoph Eduard Kick.

Germany's largest kaolin producer and a specialist in industrial minerals within the Quarzwerke Group, serving ceramics, paper, coatings and other industries with high-quality processed minerals.

• Kaolin

  White, platelet-shaped mineral extracted from various deposits, available as granulate or milled grades.

• Feldspar

  Feldspar minerals, especially low-iron potassium feldspars, contained in almost all European deposits.

• Quartz

  Quartz products for industrial applications.

• Solar Reflective Granules

  Specialty granules for solar reflective applications.

1. 1Amberger Kaolinwerkequarzwerke.com
2. 2Unternehmen Quarzwerke – Tradition und Innovationquarzwerke.com
3. 3Die Quarzwerke Gruppe - Stationen der Geschichtequarzwerke.com
4. 4Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kickde.wikipedia.org
5. 5Amberger Kaolinwerke Eduard Kickwikidata.org