Dürkopp Adler celebrates its 150th anniversary

A company history of 150 years is a reason to celebrate. With two events dedicated to its sesquicentennial Dürkopp Adler can look back on a memorable month of September.

Under the motto "History meets future" Dürkopp Adler celebrated its 150th anniversary on September 10th and 11th. On the occasion of the ceremonial act in the evening of September 10th Mr. Werner Heer, spokesman of the managing board, was glad to welcome more than 250 invited guests from all over the world at the company’s premises in Bielefeld. Selected partners and customers as well as renowned representatives from politics and business had been invited. First of all, Mayor Pit Clausen emphasized in his speech the extraordinary importance of the enterprise Dürkopp Adler to the city of Bielefeld. His address was followed by greetings by Mr. Dong Ming Cui, deputy consul of the Chinese Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China, by Dr. Michael Henze, head of department at the Ministry of Economics of North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as by Mr. Min Zhang, chairman of the board of Dürkopp Adler AG. A three-course menu was served to care for the physical well-being, and - to round off the evening - an entertaining show program was presented afterwards. Until late midnight the guests used the time for lively conversation and exchange of experience in a relaxed atmosphere.

On the next day the festivities went on with an „open day“. In finest weather more than 2,500 guests enjoyed a colourful event with live music and activities for the whole family. The visitors had the opportunity to participate in machine demonstrations in the showroom or to go on a guided tour of the production facilities to get an idea of how industrial sewing machines are manufactured. The training workshop with at present 25 apprentices met with great interest, too. On the open-air ground some oldtimers like the „Dürkopp Phaeton“, a motorcar built in 1910, could be admired. Furthermore, numerous Diana motor scooters were shown in an exhibition organized by the Dürkopp Diana Community in Germany. The younger guests had a lot of fun with a special program for kids the highlight of which was a large bouncy castle. Many visitors seized the opportunity to be taken to the History Museum of Bielefeld by shuttle bus to see the special exhibition „From workshop to world market“ showing the wide product variety of the two companies Kochs Adler and Dürkopp with a long tradition in Bielefeld.

Dürkopp Adler - 150 years of innovative technologies from Bielefeld

It all started 150 years ago when Heinrich Koch and Carl Baer founded the first sewing machine factory in Bielefeld in the year 1860. Since 1865 the product name “Kochs Adler“ has been existing. Two years later Nikolaus Dürkopp developed his first sewing machine and established the factory Dürkopp & Schmidt, the second historical root of the today’s company. So Dürkopp and Adler belong to the oldest sewing machine factories of the world. As in many other Central European enterprises there were various mechanical innovations at the beginning of the 19th century which determined the development of the enterprise, as for example bicycles, motor scooters, motorcars and utility vehicles.

In 1990 Kochs Adler AG and Dürkoppwerke GmbH merged to form the company Dürkopp Adler AG. After the acquisition of the majority of shares by the Chinese SGSB group in 2005 Dürkopp Adler AG now disposes of three production locations and is represented all over the world by 8 subsidiaries and more than 80 distributors. With approx. 1,100 employees, about 220 of them in the parent plant in Bielefeld, Dürkopp Adler counts among the leaders in technology and innovation in the field of sewing technology. The special sewing machines, sewing automats and sewing units of Dürkopp Adler are used in all sectors of the sewing industry, not only for the production of garments but also for high-quality seams in home and car upholstery, shoes and technical textiles.

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