VULKAN Home Language Global VULKAN Divisions Career News / Press Media Contact VULKAN VULKAN Group History Code of Conduct Company Policy Experience has future - History of the VULKAN Group The VULKAN company has been owned solely by the Hackforth family since 1889. The VULKAN Group companies are committed to a common set of values from the tradition grown out of a medium-sized family business. Our customers requirements for punctual delivery, quality, product safety and eco-friendliness with reduced costs are and continue to be a constantly growing challenge Our aim is to offer benefits to the user from development and production to the marketing of products and services. All members of the family provide maximum support to reach this goal, now and in the future. Although the 5th generation won't be able to contribute for some time yet. The milestones of the VULKAN Group 1889 till 1956 1889 The foundation 1898 The conversion 1918 The renaming 1926 The foundation of the Maschinenfabrik Hackforth & Co. 1930 The spin-off 1941 The takeover 1945 The reconstruction 1949 The change 1951 The highly flexible VULKAN-EZ-coupling 1956 The modification 1967 till 1997 1967 The largest 1971 The foundation of American VULKAN Corporation 1976 The foundation of VULKAN do Brasil 1977 The third generation 1978 The foundation of the company VULKAN Lokring 1982 VULKAN developed the RATO, The foundation of VULKAN HAREX Stahlfasertechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Bernd Hackforth assumes the sole management 1997 The foundation of the manufacturing location WUXI VULKAN in China 2001 till 2015 2001 The foundation of the manufacturing location VULKAN Technologies in India 2005 VULKAN starts its own vulcanisation , Joint Venture KrampeHarex GmbH & Co. KG, headquarted in Hamm 2011 Sebastian Hackforth was appointed President of the Hackforth Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Opening of a new subsidiary located in Turkey 2013 Inauguration of the Hackforth Academy 2014/2015 A new office building is built at the headquarters in Herne 2015 Opening of the new headquarters' office building and celebration of the 125th anniversary of the VULKAN Group 1889 till 2015 1889 The foundation VULKAN’s history began following the foundation of Maschinenfabrik Louis Schwarz in Dortmund. The company initially functioned as a supplier of brewing equipment, tanks and low pressure compressors for the already well-established Dortmund breweries. Back to the overview 1898 The conversion The world’s first clutch, which was capable of being activated under load, was produced for use in lifting machinery, hoists and reversing gearboxes. It was manufactured by Louis Schwarz and it marked the beginning of VULKAN couplings. Back to the overview 1918 The renaming The merger of Maschinenfabrik Louis Schwarz and the company Heinrich Behrend resulted in the establishment of Dortmunder VULKAN AG. Back to the overview 1926 Foundation of the Maschinenfabrik Hackforth & Co. Foundation of Maschinenfabrik HACKFORTH & Co. by the engineer Bernhard Hackforth Sr (1871 – 1954) in Herne. The company was primarily involved in repair work and small amounts of contract work for the local mining and foundry industries. Back to the overview 1930 The spin-off The flourishing construction of couplings and transmission units for ships was separated from “Dortmunder VULKAN AG” and made autonomous under the name “VULKAN Kupplungs- und Getriebebau GmbH”. Back to the overview 1941 The takeover Maschinenfabrik HACKFORTH & Co. took over the production from VULKAN Kupplungs- und Getriebebau GmbH. This resulted in the foundation stone for the co-operation between ”VULKAN” and “HACKFORTH” being laid. Back to the overview 1945 The reconstruction All commercial and technical installations of VULKAN (in Dortmund) and HACKFORTH (in Herne) were destroyed during a World War II air-raid. The reconstruction of Maschinenfabrik HACKFORTH & Co. in Wanne-Eickel commenced immediately after the war. Back to the overview 1949 The change Bernhard Hackforth Jr (1914 – 1990) assumed sole responsibility for the business from his father. As a result, Maschinenfabrik HACKFORTH & Co. passed to the second generation. Back to the overview 1951 The highly flexible VULKAN EZ-coupling VULKAN acquired the sole manufacturing and global marketing rights for a highly flexible coupling, aptly named the “Highly flexible VULKAN EZ Coupling”. Back to the overview 1956 The modification Bernhard Hackforth Jr acquired VULKAN AG. Consequently, the company was transformed into VULKAN Kupplungs- und Getriebebau B. Hackforth GmbH & Co. KG. Back to the overview 1967 The largest VULKAN was entrusted with the construction of the largest highly flexible couplings that had ever been built – the EZ 560 – with a nominal torque of 981 kNm. Back to the overview 1971 The foundation of VULKAN Corporation Foundation of the production subsidiary American VULKAN Corporation in Winter Haven, Florida. Back to the overview 1976 The foundation of VULKAN do Brasil Foundation of the production subsidiary VULKAN do Brasil Ltda. in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Back to the overview 1977 The third generation Bernd Hackforth (1949) joined the company as joint owner. This resulted in the third generation of the Hackforth family taking over a share of the responsibility. Back to the overview 1978 The foundation of the company VULKAN Lokring Foundation of VULKAN Lokring Rohrverbindungen GmbH & Co. KG, the headquarters of which were and remain located in Herne. The company is engaged in the development, production and marketing of solder free tube connections for air conditioning and refrigeration. Back to the overview 1982 Foundation of VULKAN HAREX Stahlfasertechnik GmbH & Co. KG, the headquarters were located in Herne. HAREX milled steel fibres were used as a substitute for the standard steel reinforcement in concrete buildings. VULKAN Kupplungs- und Getriebebau developed a coupling with an extremely high torsional flexibility, which bore the name RATO. Following this, the manufacturing of the patent-registered RATO S coupling began. Back to the overview 1997 The foundation of the manufacturing location WUXI VULKAN Foundation of the production subsidiary WUXI VULKAN Technologies Co., Ltd. in Wuxi, China. Back to the overview 2001 The foundation of the manufacturing location VULKAN Technologies Foundation of the production subsidiary VULKAN Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in Pune, India. Back to the overview 2005 VULKAN Kupplungs- und Getriebebau established an in-house vulcanisation ensuring the control, knowhow and reproducible quality of a core process. The merger of VULKAN Harex Stahlfasertechnik GmbH & Co. KG and Krampe Strahltechnik GmbH & Co. KG resulted in the establishment of the joint venture KrampeHarex GmbH & Co. KG; the headquarters were located in Hamm. Back to the overview 2011 After working with the management of VULKAN Lokring for four years, Sebastian Hackforth (1978), the son of the sole proprietor Bernd Hackforth, was appointed President of the Hackforth Holding GmbH & Co. KG. This meant that the fourth generation had now taken co-responsibility for the VULKAN Group. VULKAN Group celebrated the opening of the 20th VULKAN subsidiary located in Istanbul, Turkey. Back to the overview 2013 Inauguration of the Hackforth Academy Inauguration of the Hackforth Academy in the former residence of Bernhard Hackforth. Back to the overview 2014/2015 A new office building is built in Herne As a fitting tribute to the 125th anniversary of the company a new office building is built at the headquarters in Herne. Back to the overview 2015 Opening of the new headquarters' office building and celebration of the 125th anniversary of the VULKAN Group The VULKAN company has been owned solely by the Hackforth family since 1889. On occasion of the 125th anniversary of the company the new headquarters in Herne was inaugurated in September 2015. We need your consent to load the Youtube service! We use a third party service to embed video content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details and accept the service to watch this video. 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