Clouth Gummiwerke

On September 10, 1862, Franz Clouth founded the company with the name Rheinische Gummiwarenfabrik.

In 1864, the company was listed in the Cologne address book as Franz Clouth, Commissionsgeschäft in Gummiwaren zu technischen Zwecken (Franz Clouth, commission business in rubber goods for technical purposes); the company was still located at Sternengasse 3 in Cologne, where the Clouth family's home was also located. As the business grew, the company moved in 1868 to the Cologne-Nippes district on a site of initially 10,000 square meters. Carl Vorberg, who was appointed authorized signatory, rose to the position of co-owner in 1872 (until 1899), when the company was renamed Franz Clouth - Rheinische Gummiwaarenfabrik oHG (sic).

The first rubber products were household items such as milk bottle teats and suspenders, followed by industrial supplies such as roller coverings, conveyor belts or drive belts. In 1870, there were already 70 employees; a 50 m high chimney (1872) and a steam engine (1892) announced the beginning of industrial production. On September 14, 1891, the management of the company was transferred to the electrical engineer Georg Zapf. During this phase, the company diversified greatly, manufacturing diving apparatus (1882), which allowed the company to become the sole supplier of the Imperial Navy in 1887. In 1890, the Cable Works Department was founded, producing gutta-percha and fiber optic telegraph cables as well as telephone cables for the Imperial Telegraph Administration (1893), and the first knot-braided cables were used as city cables in Cologne (1895).

In 1901, the remaining company was transformed into a limited liability company (Rheinische Gummiwarenfabrik Franz Clouth GmbH), now owned by Franz and his son Max Clouth. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin visited the company in 1898, bringing with him an order for 18 large drum-shaped balloons to be attached to the skeleton of the first Zeppelin LZ1. Clouth also developed and produced rubberized silk for the outer envelope and delivered the fabric envelope for the LZ1 in July 1900. Balloon silk was also manufactured by the company, and eventually Clouth-Werke produced its own free balloons: "Clouth I" through "Clouth V." The balloon "Clouth I" was put into service in May 1908. On July 14, 1907, construction of an airship hangar began on the company grounds. It was 45 meters long, 29 meters wide and 17 meters high. The first company-owned airship, "Clouth I," was built here and put into service on May 1, 1908. The airship was 42 meters long, had a diameter of 8.25 meters and a gas volume of 1700 cubic meters, so it was relatively small. Franz Clouth's son Richard was instrumental in its development. On June 3, 1910, the "Clouth" landed on the square in front of the "Bickendorf military airship hangar". However, the rubber industry's affinity for airships was not unusual at the time. Clouth also manufactured tires, initially for bicycles and later also for automobiles. As a manufacturer of bicycle tires, the company initiated the founding of the Cologne Bicycle Club, which had the Riehl bicycle race track built in 1889, spurring the bicycle boom in Cologne as well.

The plant developed into a specialist for rubber multi-materials (composites), a combination of rubber and other materials. In addition to diving suits, rubberized fabrics for wagon and horse blankets, children's toys, suits for miners and sailors, aprons and rubber gloves, tents, inflatable boats, medical rubber articles and special products for defense technology were produced here. The wide range of products made the company the largest employer in the district with 680 employees (1910). After the death of Franz Clouth, his son Max took over the management of the GmbH in September 1910, which continued to belong to the widow and children of the deceased.

The core areas increasingly became industrial molded articles (for the automotive industry, for example) and conveyor technology. On April 22, 1920, the company was converted into an AG (Rheinische Gummiwarenfabrik AG Franz Clouth) with a share capital of 6.5 million marks. This was completely taken over by the competitor F&G Carlswerk AG in 1925. In that year, an extensive structural expansion of the factory took place (halls 17, 18b) with the pavilion (gate 2).