In the year 1932, Mr. Wilhelm Kerspe and Mr. Erich Linde founded the company Kerspe und Linde in Lambach near Marienheide. They started to manufacture pressed duroplast parts for different branches of industry. In 1934, the enterprise moved to the energy centre of the IG Farbenindustrie AG at Ohl near Wipperfürth in order to make use of the cheap energy produced by its water power plant. Only one year later, Erich Linde left the enterprise and Mr. Wilhelm Kerspe became the exclusive owner. In 1939, the enterprise bought the plant at Ohl.
At the beginning of the Second World War, the first plant extensions were carried out. With his period of service terminated, Mr. Wilhelm Kerspe returned to his company and tried to maintain the production in the best possible way and with the assistance of foreign workers compelled to work in German enterprises. After the war, production was restricted to friction linings which helped the enterprise to gain its first experience in the processing of caoutchouc.
At the end of the fifties, the production of friction linings was terminated to be replaced by the production of formed rubber parts. There were further plant extensions and in 1961, Willi Kerspe, the son of the owner, entered the enterprise.
Continuous increases in turnover entailed constant investments in machines and plant halls. In the sixties, the first fully-automatic injection moulding machine for the processing of caoutchouc was purchased.
Today, the enterprise disposes of three compounding areas equipped with the corresponding machines like kneaders, rolling mills, extruders, granulators, etc. There are numerous injection moulding and transfer moulding machines with a locking pressure of up to 400 tons and hydraulic presses with a pressure capacity of up to 630 tons for the manufacturing of formed parts of any size. In addition to this, the enterprise has a completely equipped tool-making shop and a modern laboratory for the checking and development of compounds and parts. The company also carries out re-working, cold burring, and inspecting/controlling.
A Quality Assurance department permanently monitors the production in order to meet the high quality requirements of the customers.
The main customers for our products are from the electrical industry, i.e. especially from the fields of energy distribution, household equipment etc., from the automotive industry and their sub-suppliers, and from the engineering industry.
At present, the enterprise has more than 120 employees. In the meantime, Lars Kerspe has entered the enterprise to represent the third generation in the company. Since high-performance sub-suppliers will also be needed in future, the enterprise is very confident with regard to further developments in the next years to come.