Bremer Woll-Kämmerei

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• Günther Beier, CEO
• Charles E. Bright, Chairman of the Board

The Bremer Woll - combing AG (BWK ) was a major global player in the wool textile industry, with operational headquarters in Bremen Blumenthal. She was the world for a long time the largest company of its kind, had offices in Istanbul ( Turkey), in Australia and New Zealand. The company's activities included both the processing of raw materials such as wool and synthetic fibers as well as trade in semi-finished goods.

• 5.1 Cleaning System
• 5.2 EC Eco-Audit

History

Foundation

The company was founded in 1883 as a public company. Founders and investors were the consuls George Albrecht, Weinlich and Delius, and the merchants H. Claussen, J. Fritze, J. and C. Hachez Kulenkampff. Of these founders Ferdinand Ullrich became the commercial and Paul Zschörner determined as technical director. At the suggestion Zschörners the choice of location was given for the work on a 500,000 square meter area between the floodplain and the river Weser in his time to the Prussian province of Hanover and since 1939 belonging to Bremen county town Blumenthal. The site has, thanks to its size, good transport links and adequate, good water resources (own deep wells ) were found to be viable by the end of 2008. On September 11, 1884, the production began with 150 workers. Already 1896 2000 workers were employed, including many from Poland, Silesia, East and West Prussia, Saxony and the Rhineland. 1897 was carried out on the railway network with the Farge Vegesacker the railway connection. By 1930, the number of employees rose to 3,700, which is why the BWK also built residential complexes. She was supported by the then District Administrator Paul Berthold.

As the first industrial enterprise in the rural town BWK changed the structure Blumenthal comprehensively. In addition to population growth, housing and rail connections, the construction of schools, churches and the district hospital as well as street lighting and general power supply to 1904 are due to the influence or promote the BWK.

World War II

During World War II, the company employed a large number of forced laborers, in 1944 there were 1198 people. The houses in which they were housed, still exist today on the nearby Bahr Plate was a now demolished housing stock. In June 2000, visited former forced laborers BWK.

Development after the Second World War

The development of unit labor costs, exchange rates and liberalization of imports threatened the competitiveness of combing the early 1960s against foreign competition. As a result, the company was restructured and became the world's largest of its kind in one location. The capacity is sufficient for processing of wool from 20,000 sheep per day. Caused by the structural changes in international trade in wool and woolen products, the company took place since the 1980s, the shift from the hitherto dominant product orientation to the now decisive market orientation. The former wage combing, the producer for the account of others, has been a provider of slivers of wool, man-made fibers and blends.

Development in the 21st century

The company had a major role in the development Blumenthal. So were streets with houses built in the early 20th century to provide up to 5,000 workers a home. After rationalization due to the changed world market situation, the declining demand for wool textiles and technical progress it remained until 2006, only 260 jobs, including subsidiaries. In 2003 production began in a wool combing in Istanbul, where lower production costs incurred.

Since 20 March 2007, the company's stock is no longer traded on the stock exchange. The former major shareholder and investor Elders took over the joint-stock company to 100 %. So after 119 years was an important part of the Bremen market history to an end.

On 3 December 2008, the possible closure of the wool combing in Bremen was announced. The main reasons the high production costs for such products, the cost of transporting wool from New Zealand or Australia and the sharp decline in demand for wool tops during the financial crisis have been specified. The processing of raw wool at the Bremen plant was discontinued after 125 years on 27 February 2009.

Subsidiaries

In 1992 in Australia, the main producing country of wool, a 100 % owned subsidiary under the name GWC - Geelong Wool Combing Ltd. built in Corio, which until 2003 had stock.

1993 acquired the BWK three trading companies, thereby expanding their business base in relation to the product offering - the trade in raw wool, scoured wool and combings was added - and new markets.

BWK Elders Australia Pty. Ltd.. , Adelaide, Australia, one of the leaders of the Australian wool exporters and deals with raw wool, scoured wool and wool top.

Since February 2001, the combing Australia Topmaking Services Ltd belonged. ( Austop ), Parkes, Australia, a 100% subsidiary of the BWK. In the course of the capital increase resolved by the Annual General Meeting on 9 August 2000, the combing was introduced by the Australian Wool Holding in kind. This company was sold to an Australian company as part of a restructuring plan.

With JSB -. JS Brooksbank & Co (Australasia ) Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand New Zealand wool, the largest trading house to BWK group belonged. This company was sold again in 2005.

Evaporation and combustion plant (EFA )

For the disposal of the wool wash water an evaporative and combustion plant (EFA ) was built on the site of the wool - combing, which is operated by the BREWA Umwelt-Service GmbH. In this plant, and liquid waste such as landfill leachate and wastewater from the cosmetic industry are evaporated and burned. Since closure of the wool combing in 2009 wool wash water is not processed since 2010. The plant was taken in 1987 with funds from the Federal Environment Agency as an example of cutting-edge environmental technology in operation. Were against the operation of the plant and there is resistance from the population, which are organized in the Independent Citizens Movement Blumenthal and to eV.

Operations and products

The combing is the first industrial stage in the wool processing. Here shorn from sheep wool is washed in a highly automated process sequence, combed and placed in tape form. The thus prepared for further processing raw wool is called in the jargon textile sliver. The mills produce from worsted yarns, from those in other stages of processing - created garments in pure new wool or wool-containing mixtures - weaving, knitting, equipment, and eventually clothing. The combed in Verkämmungsprozess short fibers called noils. They are used in the carded and in the felt industry. About 10 percent of the wool tops produced in Bremen were equipped felting. Cellulosic and synthetic fibers were processed into a spun sliver at BWK similar to the wool, which is used as a precursor in the worsted spinning. The chemical fiber processing industry has become a second important pillar of the BWK in Bremen. Unkempt, washed wool comes in finer qualities in the carded and coarser in the carpet industry. Mostly these wools are washed already in the countries of origin and exported as such.

Environmental aspects

The washing of wool requires a lot of water, so that large amounts of waste waters. These contain substances that have been washed down from the raw wool, such as sand and earth, wool wax, sweat salts, other organic compounds and substances with which the sheep are treated in order to protect them from pests. BWK headed until well into the seventies their wastewater untreated into the river Weser.

Cleaning system

BWK developed a novel method for wastewater treatment in collaboration with university institutes, an engineering company and the Federal Environmental Agency. This method consists of a combination of a biological wastewater treatment plant with an evaporation and combustion plant (EFA ) and was commissioned in 1987. The peculiarity of this three-stage method is the treatment of wool scouring water by evaporation, recovery for the production and burning of residues.

Evaporation: By heating the wool wash water is separated into steam and in an energy-rich concentrate. In the condensation of water vapor occurs again for the production of usable water that is used for the Woolies.

Burn: The concentrate produced in the evaporation is fired at 1200 ° C, whereby any organic constituents and contaminants to be destroyed. The released energy is converted into steam and electricity for operation. From the dust filter of the furnace ash was recovered for re-use in the wool wash.

By the method the amount of sewage sludge in a sewage treatment plant anaerobbiologischen is reduced by 75%. The Federal Environment Agency has the process of evaporation of wool wash water classified as trend-setting for identical and similar problems and encouraged the investment financially. Meanwhile, the plant is burned, however, no more wool wash water, but only other liquids.

EC Eco-Audit

The Bremer Woll - combing AG has built the first wool combing the world in its plant in Bremen -Blumenthal an environmental management system according to ( EC Eco- Audit Regulation 1836/93 ). The audit was carried out in each case by an independent appraiser approved by the EU. Following a successful audit the Bremen Chamber of Commerce, has registered as a Commissioner of the European Commission, the BWK in the location register of the EU. The first entry was made on 11 November 1996, the last on 27 January 2006 (valid until 31 July 2008). After that the company no longer received the certificate.

An essential part of the audit process was the environmental statement with which the environmental corporate guidelines, all ecologically relevant data as well as the catalog of measures for achieving the environmental objectives pursued further documented.

However, this eco-audit was only for the business location in Bremen.

After the end of Wollkämmerei

From BWK AG, two companies were spun off, which have their headquarters at the old site:

• Bremer Woll trade Kontor GmbH
• BWK GmbH chemical fiber

The BREWA wte GmbH operates on the site of the substitute fuel cogeneration plant Blumenthal, an evaporation plant for waste water and water-containing waste, a high-temperature incinerator for liquid waste and a biological wastewater treatment plant.

The city of Bremen has taken over large parts of the former BWK - premises, in order to develop an industrial park.

Conservation

2012 were asked as an ensemble and three buildings as individual listed building parts of the site.