About the company
From then until today
1905
Our short company chronicle begins with the founding of a small farrier’s and wagon smithy in Düsseldorf-Eller by Karl Hildebrand Sr. in 1905. At that time, shoeing parts were still made by hand. Tools such as hammers, anvils and bellows were primarily used for shaping and processing various metals. In addition to shoeing horses, Karl Hildebrand Sr. specialized in the construction and repair of farm wagons and trailers. The small forge quickly developed into a respected master craftsman’s business.
Until 1947, there were periods of interruption due to the war, but the forge expanded increasingly in the following years, particularly through the in-house development and production of latches for agricultural vehicles. From around 1955, the first malleable iron castings were produced and swing latches such as the H 110, H 109 and H 108 were developed, patented under the Rapid/Record brand and produced in series.
1963
Due to the increased production activities and the associated noise pollution, the geographical location of the company became increasingly problematic, as it was located in the middle of a residential area.
A new location with a correspondingly large plot of land was sought and finally found in 1963 in Erkrath-Hochdahl, a very small industrial estate at the time.
1972
An additional large warehouse was built in 1972.
In 1988 , Siegfried Hildebrand (born 1947) took over the company from his father Karl Hildebrand Jr. The product range was constantly expanded and, in addition to the standard closures for various truck drop sides, special parts from various industrial sectors were increasingly manufactured and supplied according to customer requirements. The office as well as the production and storage hall were “bursting at the seams” – so it was necessary to enlarge the halls and build a new office wing.
1995
In 1995, the extension was finally completed and the topping-out ceremony was celebrated.
With the addition of Cyril Hildebrand (born 1972) in 2001 , a new phase began for the company. He has been working with great personal passion since the beginning on the development of ROTACHAIN, an automatic snow chain system for commercial vehicles, so that another brand has enriched the company’s product portfolio and is now a very important part of our product range.
2005
The 100th anniversary of the company was undoubtedly a joyous occasion for a great celebration, which we were able to host in 2005 in the historic locomotive shed in Erkrath-Hochdahl at Hopmanns Olive. In addition to culinary delights and stage-ready anecdotes, there was plenty of laughter and dancing with musical entertainment. This was an unforgettable day!
In order to improve our company performance at all levels and document the quality of our delivery products, quality management in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001 was introduced in 2016 and the company was certified for the first time.
2018
Today’s Karl Hildebrand GmbH has been jointly managed by Siegfried Hildebrand and his son Cyril Hildebrand since 2018 – now in its fourth generation.
