Company
History
| 1891 | At the age of 33, Joseph Heinen founds a tannery, with 2,500 marks of starting capital and a staff of five workers. In the year of the foundation, 463 horse skins are manufactured into sole leather. The workshop is only 300 meters away from today's company location. |  |
| 1892 | An additional 720-square-meter site is purchased, forming today's company location. | |
| 1907 | Application for the building of a boiler house. This marks the beginning of the switchover from craftsmanship to machinery-based production. First extension of the factory to the site obtained in 1892 and introduction of chromium-based tannery. The company's name is now “Chromgerberei (Chromium Tannery) Joseph Heinen”. | |
| 1911 | Josef Heinen (b. Sept. 2, 1893), son of the company's founder, enters the company and takes over responsibility for the commercial sector. | |
| 1914 | Carl Heinen (b. Aug. 4, 1896), second son of the company's founder and Joseph Heinen's younger brother, enters the company and takes responsibility for the technical direction of the tannery. | |
| 1936 | Further extension of the factory site by 9,200 additional square meters; afterwards, a new production hall is built. Here, boiler house, tannery, and dyeing works are set up. | |
| 1944 | During Word War II, two-thirds of the factory is destroyed by bombs. Only the administration building and the boiler house remain intact. | |
| 1945 | Rebuilding of the factory from 1945 onwards; completion of the works in 1950. |
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| 1946 | Tanning with vegetable tanning agents is stopped. From this point on, only chromium is used for tanning. | |
| 1961 | Karl Heinen (b. Apr. 10, 1939), grandson of the company's founder, enters the company. | |
| 1982 | Extension of the factory by building a new finishing hall. | |
| 1987 | New building of the shaving house and the experimental tannery. | |
| 1989 | Building of an in-house sewage plant. | |
| 1999 | Thomas Heinen (b. Oct. 15, 1970), great-grandson of the company's founder, enters the company. | |
| 2005 | Extension of the company by building a new warehouse for chemicals. | |
