History
In the second half of the 19th century, with the emergence of the mechanical weaving loom the so-called ‚home-weavers’ in the Muensterland lost their jobs. Their previous clients who worked with the so-called ‚putting-out or workshop’ system, moved away from the rural regions into cities which were conveniently situated and built their own weaving mills.
As yarn supplier, Heinrich Karl-Georg Kettelhack was also affected by these changes. He took this opportunity and became a trader in the putting-out system himself and founded his own business on the 3rd of September 1874. He was supported by his nephew Heinrich Eduard. To be able to compete against the competition from industrially produced fabrics, which was in his opinion very price-aggressive, Heinrich travelled to Berlin, Southern Germany and to Switzerland, in order to sell his fabrics as ‘Westphalian Specialty’. He was so successful that he was able to start his own industrial production after just a few years.
In 1882 he built a mechanical weaving mill in Rheine. In the course of the next decades the company developed very positively. He soon had his own yarn dyeing mill and created ready-made products so that he was able to offer a wide selection of coloured fabrics for use in the house and the home.
As a reaction to the unreliable availability of yarns during the Korea-crisis it appeared to be profitable to build his own spinning department and thus be independent.
In the following years a homogeneous corporate design for the extensive production range was created and named HEIKE.
At the end of the 50ies the so-called „bartering“ of the German mechanical- and plant engineering businesses lead to literal market-flooding of Eastern European coloured fabrics. As an extreme reaction to this the colour-weaving was abandoned in 1960. The old colour-weaving looms were exchanged for modern Sulzer-projectile looms which had just been introduced into the market. With the development of cotton-/Polyester-blended fabrics the existing cotton programme was supplemented by special qualities for hotel- and hospital use. Through concentrating on colouring and fitting its own raw fabrics Kettelhack´s competence as specialist for solid colour textiles was founded.
In 1982 Kettelhack had to abandon its facility’s location in the city of Rheine because of urban development restrictions. Despite this general sense of crisis in the textile industry at that time, Kettelhack decided for relocating and building a new plant. This relocation was connected with a structural change from the mechanical and personnel intensive production to highly automated money- and energy intensive one.
Our proficiency as specialists for solid-colour textile was used from 1986 on, in order to supplement our line by fabric for work wear. Through permanent investments into machinery and technical equipment the fully integrated production was pursued successfully for a further 25 years on an international, competitive level.
The HEIKE line with bed linen for the private customer – once the core business of the company- did not fit into the product portfolio any longer. The qualities had shifted from woven to knitted fitted sheets. That’s why production in an own plant was not possible. Additionally the market demanded to combine sheets with fashionably printed bed linen. The end of the classic bed linen specialised retail, the concentration of corporations and purchasing associations and the dominance of cheap imports offered no satisfactory perspective for our company with its great production potential. As a consequence Kettelhack parted with this business field and sold it to a newly founded trade company in 2007.
This work relief was used to concentrate exclusively on the more and more demanding field of corporate textiles and high-grade hotel- and hospital bed linen. The line was expanded and the design became more attractive.
In many areas fabrics made of high-grade rotor spun yarn are appreciated because of their specific characteristics. However, with the trend for lighter and finer fabrics and the increasing demand for ‘soft feel’, fabrics made of rotor spun yarns reached their limits. That’s why Kettelhack started to purchase raw fabric made of finely combed ring yarn in addition to its own production of rotor spun yarn. In order to use the potential of these new fabrics optimally the pre-treatment station in the finishing department was completely renewed and additionally a mercerising line was put up.
In the economic- and financial crisis 2008/09 which had led to a drop in revenue of 30% and more, it became obvious which great demands are placed on the flexibility of a company which produces with high technical complexity. The growing workload fluctuations, caused by economic influences and the fast paced market changes are in marked contradiction to the requirements of a producer of the conventional textile industry which is targeted to productivity and efficiency.
Once again Kettelhack was faced with the question as to which strategic direction to take. The alternatives were on the one hand to continue the production oriented path which had been very successful in the past or on the other hand a consistently future oriented way. It was tested as to how far this concept that had been successful in the past could be our concept for the future. Not only tradition alone but especially convincing results had to be the guide line for a meaningful business concept and for sustainable safeguarding of the company’s success.
Next to this production oriented approach all the company’s potentials and their relevance for the market were put to test. Alternatives had to be developed and in the future those departments and activities have to be promoted which possess sufficient operating efficiency and flexibility. Our considerations in this direction and the consistent requirement to orient towards the market have led to giving up the production of textile basics in the middle of 2011 and in future concentrate on finishing fabrics. In the past Kettelhack bought additional raw fabrics which couldn’t be produced in its own company due to the technical capabilities. The network of Asian and European weaving mills which we have set up in the meantime offers the possibility to procure fabrics of a multitude of variations and properties all according to the Kettelhack standards. Our own dyeing plant and finishing department have turned out to be the deciding step of the textile value chain when it comes to quality and performance. Thus it is ensured that the much appreciated Kettelhack quality is guaranteed in future with an even more attractive and more comprehensive range.
