Bembé

Bembé is a German parquet manufacturer and flooring specialist operating as a GmbH & Co. KG from Bad Mergentheim. Its history reaches back to 1780, when Johann Benedikt Bembé founded a tapestry and decoration business in the electoral city of Mainz. Over the following generations the family firm expanded into furniture making and complete interior decoration, and in the nineteenth century it became one of the leading suppliers of high-quality interiors and parquet floors in Germany, serving princely palaces, grand hotels and ocean liners. A dedicated parquet factory was established in Bad Mergentheim in the late 1870s, and this site became the surviving core of the business after the original Mainz company was sold and wound down in 1925. Today Bembé focuses on the sale, installation, renovation and care of parquet and other floor coverings. The company offers solid parquet, multi-layer parquet, plank flooring, mosaic and industrial parquet, design floors, laminate and vinyl, alongside its own range of cleaning and care products. It operates a nationwide network of around 45 Bembé parquet studios in Germany, where customers can see and select flooring, and it employs more than 300 of its own parquet layers for professional installation. Sanding, repair and surface treatment of solid and multi-layer parquet are core services, and the company also runs an online shop. Bembé is internationally active in export and states that it installs roughly one million square metres of parquet per year. Since 2004 the shares formerly held by Peter Jucker have belonged to the entrepreneurial Wirthwein family of Creglingen. Production was shifted to Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s, leaving administration and part of the warehouse in Bad Mergentheim. The brand combines a long craft heritage with a modern, service-oriented flooring business.

The Bembé story begins in 1780, when Johann Benedikt Bembé founded a tapestry and decoration business in the electoral city of Mainz. His son Martin later expanded the business and entered furniture making as an ébéniste. In 1825 (Philipp) Anton Bembé (1799–1861), who had learned the upholstery trade like his father, opened an upholsterer's workshop in Mainz; in 1830 he merged it with his father's workshop and added new production areas. By moving from mere furniture production to the design and installation of complete interiors at a high level of craftsmanship and design, he steadily expanded the company. In 1840 a dedicated parquet factory went into operation in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, with a French parquet specialist training the craftsmen. In 1843 the Mainz operation converted to industrial production using steam power; its workshops included not only a joinery but also a locksmith's, a sculptor's workshop, a gilding shop, an upholstery shop and a special design studio. Bembé became one of the leading suppliers in its field, receiving commissions for the furnishing of princely palaces such as Peleș Castle, Bran Castle, Neuschwanstein Castle and Charlottenburg Palace. The company was a purveyor to the Prussian, Württemberg, Hessian, Weimar and Nassau courts and was repeatedly honoured at exhibitions: a prize medal at the Darmstadt trade exhibition in 1836, a prize medal at the General German Trade Exhibition in Berlin in 1844, a medal 'Honoris causa' at the London World's Fair in 1862, and a silver medal at the Paris World's Fair in 1867. A unique sample book of the Parquetböden-Fabrik of Anton Bembé in Mainz, printed around 1870 by Victor von Zabern with 37 colour lithographs, survives in the Mainz city library. After the revolution of 1848/1849 the wealthy bourgeoisie became the most important clientele, but state authorities and large companies also awarded prestigious contracts to Bembé, including the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, the Imperial German Embassy in Istanbul, and the salons of the North German Lloyd express steamers designed by the Bremen architect Johann Georg Poppe. In 1854 Bembé opened a furniture factory in New York, managed by Anton Kimbel, a nephew of Anton Bembé. After the early death of Anton Bembé's son August Bembé (1838–1880) in 1880, the merchant Wilhelm Preetorius, who had only recently joined as a partner in the now limited partnership, became sole owner. Preetorius continued the success story while retaining the renowned Bembé name, until the First World War and the social upheavals and economic difficulties of the following years brought the traditional business almost to a standstill. In 1925 the company was sold; the new owner soon ceased production entirely and disposed of individual parts. Especially after the founding of the German Empire in 1871, demand for parquet floors rose. In 1877 or 1878 a dedicated parquet factory with the latest machinery was therefore opened in Bad Mergentheim. When the Bembé company was dissolved in 1925, the Erfurt furniture manufacturers Ziegenhorn and Jucker bought the Bad Mergentheim parquet factory, and the company name was changed to Bembé-Parkettfabrik Jucker & Co. KG. The business survived the Second World War with losses but recovered with the economic upturn of the 1950s and again became a leading parquet factory in Germany. In 2004 the entrepreneurial Wirthwein family from Creglingen took over the shares of Peter Jucker. In 2007 Bembé had its own exhibition in London. Bembé is also active worldwide in export and lays about one million square metres of parquet per year. At the end of the 1980s production was relocated to Eastern Europe; only administration and part of the warehouse remain in Bad Mergentheim.

• 2007

  Bembé holds its own exhibition in London.

• 2004

  The Wirthwein family from Creglingen takes over Peter Jucker's shares.

• 1925

  The Bembé company is sold and production soon ceases; Ziegenhorn and Jucker buy the Bad Mergentheim parquet factory, renamed Bembé-Parkettfabrik Jucker & Co. KG.

• 1880

  After August Bembé's death, Wilhelm Preetorius becomes sole owner.

• 1877

  A dedicated parquet factory with the latest machinery is opened in Bad Mergentheim (some sources say 1878).

• 1867

  Silver medal at the Paris World's Fair.

• 1862

  Medal 'Honoris causa' at the London World's Fair.

• 1854

  Bembé opens a furniture factory in New York, managed by Anton Kimbel.

• 1844

  Prize medal at the General German Trade Exhibition in Berlin.

• 1843

  The Mainz operation converts to industrial production with steam power.

• 1840

  A dedicated parquet factory begins operation in Cologne-Ehrenfeld.

• 1836

  Prize medal at the Darmstadt trade exhibition.

• 1830

  Anton Bembé merges his workshop with his father's and expands into new production areas.

• 1825

  (Philipp) Anton Bembé opens an upholsterer's workshop in Mainz.

• 1780

  Johann Benedikt Bembé founds a tapestry and decoration business in Mainz.

Premium German parquet and flooring specialist combining centuries-old craft heritage with nationwide service, installation and care.

• Solid parquet

• Multi-layer parquet

• Plank flooring (Dielen)

• Mosaic parquet (Lamellenparkett)

• Industrial parquet

• End-grain parquet (Hirnholz)

• Panel parquet (Tafelparkett)

• Design floors

• Laminate

• Vinyl flooring

• Cleaning and care products

1. 1Bembé Parkett official websitebembe.de
2. 2Bembé (Unternehmen) – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Bembé – Wikidatawikidata.org