Full text Article number ﻿ Fasteners Assembly systems Services Industry solutions Company Jobs & career Locations worldwide History of the Böllhoff Group A family business with a 138-year history Böllhoff Group > Company > About Böllhoff Group > History Historical highlights of the Böllhoff Group since its foundation in 1877 Intentionally founded on the feast of the Epiphany as the sign of a good beginning. The trader Wilhelm Böllhoff, youngest son of a master tailor in Herdecke-Ruhr in Germany, opens a hardware business supplying blacksmiths, metalworks and mines. 1877 Wilhelm Böllhoff (1848-1924) founds a wholesale hardware business in Herdecke, Germany, supplying blacksmiths, metalworks and industrial customers 1923 Opening of a branch in Bielefeld following occupation of the Ruhr area by the French after the 1st World War Start of specialisation in screws, nuts and thread parts for mechanical engineering and shipbuilding under the direction of Wilhelm's son, Josef Böllhoff (1894-1984) 1950 First sales branch in Stuttgart-Fellbach, Germany (photo) Concentration on products for machinery, motors, the automobile industry, the building trade and shipbuilding 1954 to 1959 1954 Award of USA license for HELICOIL® thread inserts Opening of the first production facility at Bielefeld, Germany (photo) 1959 Gerhard Böllhoff and Dr. Wolfgang W. Böllhoff, the third generation of the family, join the company 1964 Opening of production facilities and sales branches in Mexico and Brazil (photo) 1971 to 1985 1971 Production facility and sales branches in France (photo) 1980 Opening of branch in Italy 1985 Opening of branches in UK and Spain 1989 to 1991 1989 Building of a new central storage facility with space for 40,000 items Building of second German production facility at Sonnewalde, Brandenburg, Germany (photo) 1990 Opening of a branch in Belgium 1991 Opening of a branch in Hungary and Czech Republic 1992 to 1995 1992 Opening of a branch in USA Building of the "Joseph Böllhoff" training center for further and continuing education in Brazil (photo) 1994 Opening of a branch, a joint-venture, in Poland 1995 Wilhelm A. Böllhoff, a fourth generation member of the family, joins the company 1997 120-year anniversary with official opening of "House of the Customer" permanent exhibition (photo) Opening of a branch in Rumania 1998 to 1999 1998 Michael W. Böllhoff enters the company Building of new logistics center in Bielefeld, Germany 1999 Expansion of production facility at Sonnewalde Joint-venture with Neumayer in Brazil for the production of nuts, screws and fasteners Building of a new branch at Prague in the Czech Republic (photo) 2000 Foundation of the Böllhoff Systems Technology division for the joining and fastener business area Acquisition of RIVNUT® production facility in USA (photo) 2001 Expansion of production facilities in France and at Sonnewalde, Germany (photo) 2002 to 2004 2002 125-year anniversary of Böllhoff foundation Building of Logistics Centre South in Bavaria (photo) 2003 Opening of a branch in China 2004 Fifty-year anniversary of HELICOIL production at Bielefeld Foundation of new subsidiaries in Canada and South Africa Building of production facility in Wuxi, near Shanghai, China 2005 Foundation of subsidiaries in Russia and Turkey Official opening of production facility at Wuxi, Shanghai, China (photo) 2006 Böllhoff Turkey moves into its own building complete with storage facility (photo) 2007 Construction of new logistics centre for south-eastern Europe in Senec, near Bratislava in Slovakia (photo) Construction begins on the "World of Fastener Technology" at Bielefeld Foundation of new subsidiaries in Japan and India 2008 Finishing the "World of Joining Together" Bielefeld (photo) Expansion of production facility at Wuxi/China Expansion of production facility at Bielefeld, Germany 2009 Completion of the expanded production facility in Bielefeld Inaugration of the production facilities in Italy and India (photo) 2010 Taking over of "Armstrong Precision Components" (APC) in Hull, United Kingdom 11. edition of the "Blue Pages" will appear Inauguration of the new building complex in Mexico 2012 Production ramp-up for highly resistant thread inserts in Gurgaon, India (photo) 20 Mio € investments for the extension of the manufacturing capacity 2013 Acquisition of a distributor specialised on stainless steel in Murs et Gelignieux, France Acquisition of the Clinch technology company Attexor in Lausanne, Switzerland (photo) Awards: Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility prize OWL 2014 Inauguration of the new construction stage at our site in Wuxi, China (photo) First stone laying for a new hall with a production area (3,800 m2) and office space (2,000 m2) at our site in Bielefeld, Germany Böllhoff is certified Here, you find out in which fields! 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