History of Kettlitz Chemie GmbH & Co. KG
2024
The relocation of truck registration logistics, goods acceptance and main reception to Industriestrasse 8 expands the company premises by an additional 4,000 m² and a logistics offer that is structurally new for the region.
The export business of the Medialub brand is expanding to France, Austria, Switzerland and South Korea.
2022
Ms. Christa Ischwang-Kettlitz dies as a shareholder in August 2022. Her husband, Mr. Ludwig Ischwang, succeeds the company.
The municipality of Rennertshofen was supported in the construction of a new sports field including a sports center, which will open in July 2022 under the name KETTLITZ-Sportpark.
2021
Ms. Karin Eleonore Kettlitz passed away in 2021 after 34 years as managing director.
2018
Mr. Maximilian Hoppe, son of Christian Hoppe, joined the company in 2018. The company, which now has 97 employees, is represented in over 56 foreign markets with a large number of partner companies.
The lubricant brand Medialub is establishing itself on the German market with a high-quality product range of operating materials and cleaning agents for the forestry and gardening industry.
2016
The company KETTLITZ-Chemie GmbH & Co. KG is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
By founding its own lubricant brand "Medialub", the company is trying to assert itself as a competitor in a market environment in which it had previously only operated as an OEM supplier. In the following years, intensive advertising campaigns through live events on site (Lumberjack Cup 2018 and 2019), professional sponsorship and social media engagement enable the development of a Germany-wide dealer network. The Medialub homepage with its own web shop is launched.
2015
The company's management is continuing to focus on healthy expansion until 2015. To ensure this, additional land was purchased last year, which became available in the following years. The local sports field adjacent to the company premises is purchased, thereby increasing the size of the company premises to almost 73,000 m². The expansion and conversion of the new central production administration and the connected social rooms are completed.
2009
In 2009, the year of the crisis, the planning of a 2,300 m² logistics center with additional office space was completed.
The business success in 2011 and 2012 and the associated sharp increase in sales volume showed that the measures implemented were urgently needed for the company's further expansion. Further construction work was also carried out in these years, which was due not only to attend the needed additional production facilities but also to the increasing number of employees, which now stands at 84.
2008
In 2008, negotiations over additional usage areas, which had lasted several years, were finally concluded. The company premises were expanded from the original 40,000 m² to 48,000 m². The newly available space enabled comprehensive and future-oriented planning of storage facilities and factory roads, including the associated environmental protection facilities.
2005
In 2005, over 20,000 tons of Kettlitz products were produced and sold for the first time. The production lines have been modernized and improved over the years. The sales volume now achieved could be produced without any problems. However, the company's internal infrastructure was reaching its limits.
1997
In 1997, Mr. Christian Hoppe was officially appointed second managing director. In the following years, the "Kezadol" product range set the company apart from the competition. The continuous development of the production lines as well as the quality and function of the products led to market leadership. The export share grew to 60% and the company's products were now sold in more than 40 different countries. In addition to the European markets, which were considered fully developed, and the Asian markets, the South and North American markets also grew.
After the turn of the millennium, it became clear that if the company continued to grow at a similar rate, further expansion on the company premises would have to be carried out more cautiously in the future. However, negotiations about the free area behind the company's own premises had not yet led to the desired success at this time.
1996
In 1996, the company took another important step to meet the growing demands of its industrial customers by having its quality assurance system certified. The company's reputation grew. The volume of business developed so well that capacity expansions could be carried out continuously in almost all areas.
1993
In 1993, after 27 extraordinarily successful years, Mr. Jürgen Hoppe retired from the management of the company. Mrs. Karin Eleonore Kettlitz took over the management with the support of her son, Mr. Christian Hoppe.
1988
In 1988, the main shareholder, Mrs. Gerda Kettlitz, died. Her two daughters, Mrs. Karin Eleonore Kettlitz and Mrs. Christa Ischwang-Kettlitz, took her place.
Mrs. Karin Eleonore Kettlitz was appointed to the management team on May 11, 1988. The decision to concentrate more on products for the rubber and plastics industry proved to be the right one. The first processing aid, called "Dispergator," was so successful that other product variants, as well as activators, moisture absorbers, reinforcing additives and release agents, were soon developed and introduced. At the same time, the development of synthetic lubricants and, later on, the development of biodegradable lubricants based on vegetable oil were successfully advanced.
Over the years, a special product portfolio was developed that, with targeted application-related customer advice, could be marketed well not only domestically but also increasingly internationally.
1984
Mr. Christian Hoppe, the son of Mrs. Karin Eleonore Kettlitz and Mr. Jürgen Hoppe, joined the company in 1984.
1981
Until 1981, the administration offices were still located in rented premises in Ingolstadt. The final step was to build a new administration building in Rennertshofen, which made it possible to centralize all business operations at this location.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the company invested in its own rubber technology laboratory in order to further accelerate the development of new products and to be able to provide customers with even better support in solving their production problems.
1969
In 1969, it was decided to move the company headquarters to Rennertshofen, and the first preparatory work for the move began. The entire move took place over a period of three years and was completed in 1971. The existing tanks and production facilities in Ebenhausen were dismantled and rebuilt in Rennertshofen.
By the end of the 1970s, a successful breakthrough into the Asian markets had already been achieved, which meant that Kettlitz's products were now available in almost all Asian countries.
1966
On July 1, 1966, Ms. Gerda Kettlitz and Mr. Jürgen Hoppe founded Kettlitz GmbH with the intention of producing and selling extender oils for the rubber and plastics industry. The company started its business activities under the guidance of Mr. Hans Joachim Kettlitz, an outstanding mineral oil expert and former owner of a refinery in Freital near Dresden. The company initially began its activities in rented offices and production facilities in Ebenhausen, south of Ingolstadt.
Thanks to Mr. Hans Joachim Kettlitz's experience in the mineral oil industry, the production and trading of synthetic lubricants and components was choosen as a second business area. In 1967, Ms. Karin Eleonore Kettlitz, the daughter of Ms. Gerda Kettlitz and Mr. Hans Joachim Kettlitz, joined the company as a partner.
The first successes came in the area of extender oils in the plastics industry. However, it soon became apparent that the technology of the plastics industry was changing rapidly and that the future of the young company did not seem to be secured with extender oils alone. It was therefore decided to develop processing aids for the rubber and plastics industry. Mr. Jürgen Hoppe contributed the necessary know-how from his previous work in these industrial sectors.