Olsberg GmbH

Olsberg GmbH, historically known as the Olsberger Hütte, is a German industrial company headquartered in the town of Olsberg in the Sauerland region of South Westphalia. It traces its origins to a late-medieval iron smelting works first documented in 1495, making it one of the oldest continuously operating family businesses in Germany. For centuries the Olsberger Hütte smelted ore from the nearby Briloner Eisenberg and produced wrought and cast iron; in the 19th century it abandoned smelting in favour of products made from cast iron. Today the company is organised into three business units. Gusstechnik (casting technology) specialises in high-precision, complex, thin-walled cast components produced with modern casting processes for a wide range of industries. Feinblechtechnik (precision sheet metal technology) processes thin sheet metal into customised, high-quality components used from electronics to construction. Wärmetechnik (heat technology) develops efficient heat generation and distribution solutions, and the company is known as a specialist in heat from renewable energies such as log wood and wood pellets, producing design-oriented fireplaces and pellet stoves. Olsberg GmbH operates from its corporate seat in Olsberg, in the economically strong region of South Westphalia, and serves customers in Germany, Europe and worldwide. Alongside Olsberg GmbH, the group includes Olsberg Königshütte GmbH & Co KG. The company presents itself as a provider of special, customer-specific system solutions and emphasises corporate social responsibility, sustainability, recycling, resource efficiency and energy-efficient technologies, aligning its work with selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Olsberger Hütte has late-medieval and early-modern roots and has been operated without significant interruption since then. The oldest surviving document dates from 1495 and names a Hütte (smelting works) near Olsberg, when a co-owner from Brilon sold shares in it. A further mention comes from 1536, and in 1566 the works was rebuilt. It lay east of Olsberg on the Gierskoppbach stream, which supplied the water needed for operation via a Hüttengraben; charcoal was produced in kilns in the neighbouring forests, and ore came from the Briloner Eisenberg. The works belonged to several citizens of Olsberg, who had to obtain permission from the owners of Schellenstein Castle to use the water. That permission was granted in 1585 on condition that each of the then five Gewerken (shareholders) perform one day of haulage service; the number of service days was later reduced, and in return the House of Wrede received co-use rights. Despite ample rainfall, water was often insufficient in summer, and in winter the stream froze, so operation was limited to an average of about three months a year; according to the Lagerbuch for the Duchy of Westphalia of 1612, operating time was then thirteen weeks, a rather low figure compared with other regional works. During the 17th century the owners of the works became owners of the most important mines at the Eisenberg. A driving force was Johannes Hester (1657–1724). Iron processing in Olsberg based on the works' production grew strongly; in 1717, 23 farm owners were also blacksmiths. In 1691 the then six Gewerken defined the company's goals in a contract; five came from Olsberg and Brilon and one from Eslohe. In 1716 four Gewerken founded the Johannesmaaßener Gewerkschaft at the Eisenberg. From 1697 a legal dispute arose among the shareholders, triggered by the Eslohe Gewerke Johann König, who criticised the quality of the works and insufficient production, concerning a delivery for a client in Amsterdam — evidence that the works maintained business relations beyond the region. The dispute reached the Reichskammergericht without agreement by 1723; König then left the company and a new Gewerkschaft was founded, including the Brilon partners J.H. Kannegießer, von der Becke, Schlador and Iskenius and the Olsberg partners Johannes Kropff and Johannes Hester. Kropff and Kannegießer integrated their rights in the Olsberger Hütte into their network of other mines and works. From the early 1750s shares concentrated increasingly in the Kropff family, which also inherited the von der Becke share. At the end of the 18th century the Gewerkschaft of the Olsberger Hütte consisted of 132 shares: 79 to H.C. Kropff, 28 to F.B. Kropff-Hester and 25 to Johann Richard Kannegießer. In 1710 the works needed an average of seventy Fuder of iron ore per week. As ore extraction increased, production could also be raised. In 1740 the blast furnace was enlarged. In 1755 the Gewerkschaft tried to obtain permission from Bergmeister Kannegießer to blow the furnace twice a year. In 1780 the Gewerken decided to drive an adit to the Olsberg side of the Eisenberg, which was done over the following fourteen years; at its inauguration in 1794 Elector Maximilian Franz of Austria came personally to Olsberg. Between 1800 and 1810 the works produced on average about 277 tonnes of pig iron per year, compared with about 315 tonnes at the Hoppecker Hütte and 138 tonnes at the Wocklumer Hütte. The production facilities matched the technical standard of the time; larger-scale cast goods probably began only in 1809. Initially the company was a pure smelting operation; at least since 1700 a hammer mill for producing wrought iron is documented at the works, producing 120 cartloads of wrought iron in 1711. From the 1720s the hammer belonged to the Kannegießer family and also drew iron from the Bontkirchen and Hoppeck works. Bar iron was sold to smiths in the surrounding area and at the Allerheiligenkirmes in Soest, but the Olsberg hammer processed only a small part of the iron produced by the works; most was further processed at the Kropff family's hammer works in neighbouring Bigge, from where bar iron was sold to regional smiths and in Soest, Lippstadt and Münster. Besides auxiliary staff, two Reidemeister and three Hüttenschmiede were employed, and the operation directly or indirectly gave work to miners, woodcutters, charcoal burners, carters and day labourers. In the 19th century, given the decline of most pre-industrial works in the Sauerland in the face of competition from cheap English imported iron, it is remarkable that the Olsberger Hütte held its own. At the start of industrialisation the works adapted quite successfully. In 1822 the Gewerken concluded a new contract. The company gave up smelting in the 19th century in favour of products made from cast iron. Over the following centuries it developed into a provider of special, customer-specific system solutions for cast and precision sheet metal products and for design-oriented fireplaces and pellet stoves, today organised in the three business units Gusstechnik, Wärmetechnik and Feinblechtechnik.

• 1822

  The Gewerken conclude a new contract.

• 1809

  Larger-scale cast goods probably begin.

• 1794

  Inauguration of the adit, attended by Elector Maximilian Franz of Austria.

• 1780

  Decision to drive an adit to the Olsberg side of the Eisenberg.

• 1740

  The blast furnace is enlarged.

• 1716

  Four Gewerken found the Johannesmaaßener Gewerkschaft at the Eisenberg.

• 1697

  Legal dispute among shareholders begins, reaching the Reichskammergericht.

• 1691

  The six Gewerken define the company's goals in a contract.

• 1612

  Lagerbuch for the Duchy of Westphalia records thirteen weeks of operation.

• 1585

  Permission granted to use the water on condition of haulage service by the five Gewerken.

• 1566

  The Hütte is rebuilt.

• 1536

  Further mention of the works.

• 1495

  Oldest surviving document names a Hütte near Olsberg; a co-owner from Brilon sells shares.

Provider of special, customer-specific system solutions for cast and precision sheet metal products and for design-oriented fireplaces and pellet stoves; one of Germany's oldest family businesses.

• High-precision thin-walled cast components

• Customised precision sheet metal components

• Design-oriented fireplaces

• Pellet stoves

• Log wood heating solutions

• Heat generation and distribution systems

1. 1Olsberg GmbH official websiteolsberg.com
2. 2CSR - Olsbergolsberg.com
3. 3Olsberger Hütte - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
4. 4Olsberger Hütte - Wikidatawikidata.org