The story
Freidemir Poggenpohl established Poggenpohl as a furniture company in 1892. He successfully introduced ergonomic work-top heights and storage innovations that improved kitchens.
In 1923, Poggenpohl introduced a free-standing commodious cupboard called The Ideal, which American cabinet manufacturer Kitchen Maid adopted. The Poggenpohl cupboard was the forerunner of The Fitted Kitchen in the "Era of the Commodious Cupboard.”
The company continued to create new products and techniques. In 1928, it introduced the reform kitchen, an innovative design, and it created the “ten-layer polished lacquer technique” in 1930.
In 1950, Poggenpohl launched the first unit kitchen, which had a modern design, continuous counter-top workspace, and matching wall units. As the product line evolved, traditional wooden knob cabinetry handles were replaced with inset "strip" laminate handles.
From Wikipedia’s article on Poggenpohl, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4