Olfry

Olfry Ziegelwerke GmbH & Co. KG is a German brick manufacturing company based in Hagen, a district of Vechta in Lower Saxony. The name Olfry is a portmanteau of "Oldenburg" and "von Frydag", reflecting the company's origins under the noble von Frydag family. Founded in 1907 when Paul Friedrich August Freiherr von Frydag acquired a full farmstead with an existing brickworks, the company began production in 1908 and has remained in family ownership for over a century. Today it is led by Georg Wilhelm von Frydag, the fourth generation of the family to own the business. Olfry specializes in the production of clinker bricks (Klinker), backsteins and roof tiles, using clay extracted from local deposits in the Vechta area. The region's iron-rich clay gives Olfry bricks their characteristic light and strong red hue. The company operates a brickworks museum at the family's ancestral estate in Daren, documenting the history of brickmaking. With approximately 5,000 reference buildings in its portfolio, Olfry serves both private builders and architects, offering services such as an online house configurator and exhibition showroom. The company's market extends across northwest Germany from the Polish border to the Netherlands and Denmark, which are its main export destinations. In 2007 Olfry employed 55 people, eight of them in field sales. The company has demonstrated environmental commitment, installing Europe's first flue gas cleaning system at a brickworks in 1993 with support from Lower Saxony's environmental fund, and using landfill gas from the nearby Tonnenmoor landfill for energy. As of 2009, the company's fixed assets were valued at 7 million euros with zero debt. Olfry remains a traditional yet innovative family business, combining classic organizational structures with flat hierarchies to remain competitive in the modern brick industry.

The history of Olfry Ziegelwerke begins in 1907 when Paul Friedrich August Freiherr von Frydag, a Grand Ducal Oldenburg chamberlain and later Oberhofmeister, acquired a full farmstead (Vollerbenstelle) in Hagen for 150,000 gold marks. The property included approximately 90 hectares of land and a brickworks first mentioned in 1678. For a long time, the brickworks formed an organizational unit with Gut Daren, the ancestral seat of the von Frydag family. August von Frydag reorganized and modernized the brickworks under the name "Freiherrlich Frydagsche Dampfziegeleiverwaltung" for 200,000 marks, and production began in 1908. In that year, 2 million bricks, 200,000 roof tiles and drainage pipes were produced. After August von Frydag's death in 1922, his son Haro von Frydag took over the company and in 1925 renamed it "Haro v. Frydagsche Guts- und Dampfziegeleiverwaltung, Daren bei Vechta". To keep brickworkers employed during winter, the owner acquired a peat litter plant in 1923. Haro von Frydag died in 1926, and his wife initially took over the business; she later married Friedrich Freiherr von Heimrod, who served as managing director until 1935. At the age of 23, Udo von Frydag took over the company from his mother. In 1953 he renamed it "Ziegelwerk Freiherr v. Frydag" and in 1976 to "Olfry" (with a crown on the "y"). After Udo von Frydag's death in 1969, ownership passed to his son Georg Wilhelm, who remains the company owner today. In 2007 the company employed 55 people, eight of them in field sales. Its business interests extend across the entire northwest German region from the Polish border to the Netherlands and Denmark, the two main export markets. In 2009, Olfry's fixed assets amounted to 7 million euros with a zero debt ratio. The von Frydag family operates a brickworks museum at their ancestral seat in Daren, where visitors can trace the history of brickmaking at Olfry. Geologically, the brickworks in Vechta benefit from a rich clay layer extending over the northern foothills of the Dammer Berge. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, this deposit was used by the church brickworks north of the neighboring town of Lohne; with the help of clinker from these clay deposits, the parish church of St. Gertrud was built. The clayey loam soil near Vechta has a high natural iron content, giving the bricks a light and strong red tint. Regarding ecological matters, from 1907 to 2009, 2 million cubic meters of clay were extracted in Hagen. Through the purchase of 3.6 hectares of extraction area in 2001, the area with an extraction permit currently totals 8 hectares. This area is expected to suffice until 2030. By 2033, a lake landscape with three lakes is to be created on the current extraction area. In 1993, Olfry was the first European brickworks to install a flue gas cleaning system, supported by the environmental fund of the state of Lower Saxony. To supply the brickworks with energy, Olfry also uses landfill gas from the nearby Tonnenmoor landfill.

• 2009

  Fixed assets valued at 7 million euros with zero debt ratio.

• 2007

  Company employs 55 people, eight in field sales.

• 2001

  Purchase of 3.6 hectares of extraction area, bringing permitted area to 8 hectares.

• 1993

  Olfry becomes the first European brickworks to install a flue gas cleaning system.

• 1976

  Company renamed 'Olfry' (with a crown on the 'y').

• 1969

  Udo von Frydag dies; ownership passes to his son Georg Wilhelm von Frydag.

• 1953

  Udo von Frydag renames the company 'Ziegelwerk Freiherr v. Frydag'.

• 1926

  Haro von Frydag dies; his wife takes over, later married Friedrich Freiherr von Heimrod who serves as managing director until 1935.

• 1925

  Company renamed 'Haro v. Frydagsche Guts- und Dampfziegeleiverwaltung, Daren bei Vechta'.

• 1923

  Acquisition of a peat litter plant to employ brickworkers in winter.

• 1922

  August von Frydag dies; his son Haro von Frydag takes over the company.

• 1908

  Production begins under the name 'Freiherrlich Frydagsche Dampfziegeleiverwaltung'; 2 million bricks, 200,000 roof tiles and drainage pipes produced.

• 1907

  Paul Friedrich August Freiherr von Frydag acquires the farmstead and brickworks in Hagen for 150,000 gold marks.

• 1678

  First documented mention of a brickworks on the site.

Traditional family-owned brickworks combining over a century of craftsmanship with modern innovation and environmental responsibility.

• Kohlebrand clinker bricks

  A selection of new coal-fired clinker bricks.

• Backsteins

  Traditional backsteins for masonry.

• Roof tiles

  Roof tiles produced since 1908.

• Drainage pipes

  Drainage pipes produced since 1908.

1. 1OLFRY-Ziegelwerke: Backsteine und Klinker seit 1907.olfry.de
2. 2Olfry - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Olfry - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org