Industrial Revolution
Kissel + Wolf GmbH, founded in Mannheim in 1893 as a trading company for animal glues, developed into a regionally important specialist wholesaler until the company was destroyed at the end of World War II. In the post-war years, recovery was halting until 1956, when Geschwister Eisenbeiss GmbH took over the operation and relocated production to Wiesloch.
Geschwister Eisenbeiss, had been making brewer’s pitch since 1876 (clear, resins for sealing wooden beer barrels) and preservatives for malt and coffee beans. The company relocated from Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, first to Heidelberg in 1902 and then to the present factory in Wiesloch. The period up until the Second World War saw the company prosper and grow, but preparations for the impending war finally killed the consumption of imported coffee. However, with caramel-based coatings for malted coffee, the company had a strong foothold, which ensured continuing sales.
The Eisenbeiss company in transition
With the outbreak of war in 1939, coffee imports were impossible and instead of malt coffee there was ersatz coffee. However, so that production could continue, plasticisers were manufactured under licence from Rhein Chemie AG and carried on until the spring of 1945. The Allied bombing of the railway station in Wiesloch-Walldorf also saw the complete destruction of our factory.
Reconstruction gradually started again after the war. Geschwister Eisenbeiss GmbH, however, never really got back on its feet. As additives for malted coffee and coffee glaze were no longer required, it was decided to manufacture products for the building industry and roofing-felt in bombed out Germany. But even this business did not materialise as expected. So the search for alternatives continued until finally a partnership was formed with Kissel + Wolf GmbH in Mannheim, then an independent manufacturer of animal and starch glues for paper processing.
Development of Kissel + Wolf GmbH in Wiesloch
Ultimately Geschwister Eisenbeiss GmbH acquired the shares of Kissel + Wolf GmbH in 1956 and production was relocated in Wiesloch. With a few employees, a manufacturing plant was built. The focus was then on the production of adhesives.
Thanks to the entrepreneurial initiative of Richard F. Eisenbeiss, chemical products for screen and textile printing opened up new, promising business fields. At the beginning of the 1960s, the lacquer factory Albert Rose GmbH in Kaldenkirchen was acquired. As a result, sales in the textile printing industry expanded rapidly and
the well-established international sales network of Albert Rose also jump-started Kissel + Wolf GmbH to become an export-oriented brand.
Business field expansion
In addition to production focussing on chemical products for screen and textile printing, the tradition of adhesive manufacturing was further developed and expanded. When Kissel + Wolf GmbH took over the ROWA adhesives production in 1988, it enlarged the flock adhesive range for industrial applications.
Another ground-breaking step, this time initiated by the next generation in the person of David R. Eisenbeiss, was the acquisition of the New York-based Ulano Corporation in 1999. With Ulano’s comprehensive range of screenprinting films, the acquisition enabled further manufacturing expansion of stencil making products. A valuable additional brand was assimilated into the company group.
Our company today
Today Kissel + Wolf GmbH is the mother company of the KIWO, ARC (Albert Rose Chemicals) and ULANO brands.The company’s five business fields include chemical products for screen and textile printing, adhesives, cleaning agents, resists & coatings, as well as services. With competent distribution partners, Kissel + Wolf GmbH is active in more than 120 countries and is well positioned for future challenges.