The story
Early history
In 1849, B. Schäffer patented the design of a diaphragm pressure gauge. The following year he formed a business partnership with his brother-in-law C.F. Budenberg, The Schäffer & Budenberg Machinery & Boiler Fittings Company, in the altstadt of the Prussian town of Magdeburg Germany. They began manufacturing pressure gauges and all items relating the steam industry. In 1858 they moved to purpose-built premises on Schoenebecker Strasse in the suburb of Buckau. The company became known by the shorter name of The Schäffer & Budenberg Manufacturing Company (S&B) "a special factory for the production of fine mechanical instruments". However, locally in Buckau they were always known as 'Schäffers'. Export success on the back of the ever increasing steam industry led to the formation of manufacturing and sales subsidiaries all over the world. In c1875 the company produced its first Bourdon type pressure gauges thanks to the expiry of patents. They opened American Schäffer & Budenberg office & factory in Brooklyn, New York in 1876, and briefly a second factory in Foxboro, Massachusetts. They had 5 factories, 4 depots, 25 offices and numerous agencies over five continents by the beginning of WWI employing nearly 8,000.
Later history
In 1961 the individual states agencies for Australia came back under Budenberg Gauge Co., and Budenberg Australia Pty Ltd was set up with a factory in Melbourne. Two years later a third factory was opened in Amlwch, Anglesey. Budenberg Gauge remained a family-owned company from its inception in 1850 until 1991 when it was sold to Burnfield plc.
In 2002 the company vacated its historic Broadheath factory and moved to Irlam, where it continued to manufacture pressure gauges and accessories until 2020. In 2020 Budenberg moved back to Broadheath, Altrincham after an absence of almost 20 years. Now housed in a purpose-built unit which includes a machine shop, assembly and calibration facilities and three new laboratories.
In 1996 DH-Budenberg was established from the merger of Desgranges & Huot from France (known widely as "DH") and the calibration division of Budenberg Gauge Co.
Budenberg had been manufacturing pressure calibration equipment - deadweight testers and calibrators - since the 1920s.
The newly formed company DH-Budenberg Group has since expanded the calibration equipment produced, to a wide range of primary standard & premium industrial pressure calibration equipment, which now includes: automated primary pressure standards, manual primary standards, differential primary standards, automatic pressure controllers, hydraulic, pneumatic, and portable deadweight testers, and a range of portable calibrators. Along with manufacturing bases in Manchester UK, Paris France & Rodgau Germany, recent DH-Budenberg expansion has included opening new offices in San Marcos - Texas, Dubai - UAE, Chennai - India, Singapore, & Perth - Australia.
From Wikipedia’s article on Budenberg Gauge Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3