A crystal-clear success story: Bohle AG celebrates its 100th anniversary
11.10.2023 - An eventful century: from a one-man business to a global player with around 400 employees at over 14 locations worldwide. The Bohle family business is celebrating its 100th anniversary and looks back proudly on an eventful past. With tireless entrepreneurial spirit, good ideas and a focus on customer satisfaction, Bohle has shaped the glass processing industry and paved the way for the future.Since its foundation by Josef Bohle on 10 December 1923, the family business has developed from a local manufacturer of cutting wheels for glass cutting into a globally active company and Europe's leading producer and supplier of glass-related products. With a portfolio of glass fittings and railing systems, products for industrial glass cutting, vacuum technology products and workshop equipment as well as numerous pioneering innovations, Bohle AG is one of the leading pioneers in the glass industry. The company has invented or taken to a new level many of the things that characterise the glass industry today. The glass specialist supports the trade, industry, wholesale and specialised trade and exports to over 100 countries.
Start-Up 1923
The 100th anniversary not only marks an outstanding milestone in the company's history, but also honours the courageous spirit of development that has significantly shaped Bohle AG from its beginnings: Despite the hyperinflation prevailing in Germany at the time, Josef Bohle founded his company on 10 December 1923 in a small workshop belonging to his brother-in-law in Ohligs - today a district that belongs to Solingen in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). He manufactures glass cutting wheels and supplies Solingen knife manufacturers, among others, who use Bohle's products in their pocket knives.
The world takes notice of Bohle
The glass cutters as quality tools set new standards in the field of glass cutting under the Bohle brand Silber-schnitt®. They quickly became synonymous with top-quality glass cutting, first in Europe and then worldwide. This is because the tool enables precise and clean cutting. 1936 also saw the registration of the Veribor® brand, which from the 1950s onwards was the benchmark for the renowned range of suction lifters. The often pioneering developments revolutionise the handling of glass and gas-tight materials and pave the way for the safe and efficient handling of glass. These often patented products and the joy of innovation laid the foundation for remarkable growth and for Bohle's current success capital. One success factor: Bohle develops and produces most of its products at its headquarters in Haan. In recent decades, the company has also added its own chemical development department and the development and production of glass fittings, some of which have won awards. Through strict quality controls and a certified quality management system, Boh-le guarantees compliance with the highest standards, i.e. ‘Made in Germany’. The products and processes are regularly audited by TÜV Rheinland in accordance with the standard requirements and have been ISO 9001 certified since 1998.
International expansion
The company remains in family hands and is continuously expanded, first by the son August Bohle and then by the founder's grandsons, Norbert, Ulrich and Lothar Bohle. Their entrepreneurial spirit and ‘quality as a guiding principle’ are still firmly anchored in the company today as fundamental values. In the 1990s, Bohle expanded into Austria, Spain, Italy and Estonia. In the years following the turn of the millennium, subsidiaries followed in South Africa, Russia, Sweden, North America and China. In 2001, the company is converted into a public limited company and henceforth trades under the name Bohle AG. In 2013, Norbert and Ulrich Bohle retire from the Supervisory Board of Bohle AG. However, the family remains involved in and for the company in the 4th and 5th generation.
Service according to progress
The tireless spirit of development to make good things better and better is still a fundamental part of the company's DNA today. All new developments are therefore never an end in themselves, but are always closely orientated towards the needs of the customer. Crucial to this: our own employees. Well-trained, committed, with the right attitude. A team that works together every day, tries to improve and sees mistakes as an opportunity for growth. The special Bohle spirit that could be felt from the very beginning and still makes the difference today. Bohle has revolutionised the glass industry with a wealth of pioneering products. Today, Bohle focusses on four core areas: 1. glass fittings for interior fittings, bathrooms and showers as well as glass railings.2. manual and industrial glass cutting.
3. vacuum technology for safe handling of glass.
4. system provider for workshop supplies with glass bonding, glass measuring devices and glass cleaning.
Executive Board of Bohle AG: Arne Klöfkorn and Dr Thorsten Böllinghaus