ABOUT THE COMPANY
Since 1905, as a family-owned business in the fourth generation, we stand for expertise and reliability, offering our partners high-quality products for commercial vehicles, agricultural vehicles, and other industries.
Our expertise, passion for what we do, continuous process optimizations, access to an international network, and not least our ISO certification according to 9001:2015 are the pillars that support us in meeting the constantly growing market demands and ensuring sustainable customer satisfaction. At the heart of our efforts is always the goal to be that little bit better in every situation!
FROM THEN TO TODAY
1905
Our small company history begins with the founding of a small blacksmith and carriage forge in Düsseldorf-Eller by Karl Hildebrand Sr. in 1905At that time, the hoof parts were still made by hand. Tools like hammers, anvils, and bellows were primarily used here to shape and process various metals. In addition to horse hoof trimming, Karl Hildebrand Sr. specialized in the construction and repair of farm wagons and trailers. The small forge quickly developed into a respected master business.
Until 1947, there were times of war-related interruptions to the business, but in the following years, the forge expanded rapidly, especially due to the in-house development and manufacturing of closures for agricultural vehicles. Around 1955, the first cast parts made from malleable cast iron were produced, and swing latches like the H 110, H 109, and H 108 were developed, patented under the Rapid/Record brand, and mass-produced.
1963
Due to the increased manufacturing activities and the associated noise disturbance, the geographical location of the company became increasingly problematic, as it was located in the middle of a residential area.
A new location with a sufficiently large property was sought and was eventually found in 1963 in Erkrath-Hochdahl, a small industrial area at the time.
1972
In 1972, an additional large warehouse was built.
1988 , Siegfried Hildebrand (born 1947) took over the business from his father, Karl Hildebrand Jr. The product range was continuously expanded, and in addition to standard closures for various truck tailgates, custom parts from various industrial sectors were increasingly manufactured and supplied according to customer specifications. The office, as well as the production and warehouse hall, "burst at the seams" – it became necessary to enlarge the halls and build a new office block.
1995
In 1995, the expansion was finally completed, and the topping-out ceremony was held.
With the addition of Cyril Hildebrand (born 1972) to the team in 2001, a new chapter began for the company. With great personal passion, he has been working since the beginning on the development of ROTACHAIN, an automatic snow chain system for commercial vehicles, which enriched the company’s product portfolio with a new brand and today constitutes a very important part of our range.
2005
DThe 100th anniversary of the company was undoubtedly a joyous occasion for a wonderful celebration, which we had the privilege of hosting in 2005 at the historic locomotive shed in Erkrath-Hochdahl at Hopmanns Olive. Alongside culinary delights and stage-worthy anecdotes, there was much laughter and dancing to musical entertainment. This day is unforgettable!
To improve our company’s performance on all levels and document the quality of our supplied products, quality management according to DIN EN ISO 9001 was introduced in 2016, and the company was certified for the first time.
2018
The present-day Karl Hildebrand GmbH has been jointly managed by Siegfried Hildebrand and his son Cyril Hildebrand since 2018 – now in the fourth generation.