100 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. AND ALWAYS ONE STEP AHEAD.
GKD combines experience with a pioneering spirit and develops solutions throughout the world that improve processes, conserve resources, and make the future possible.
GKD Group – Technical weavers for industry and architecture
Solutions made of mesh. For 100 years.
What started out as a small wire weaving mill in Düren back in 1925 is now an international technology leader with locations on five continents. As a fourth-generation family-owned company, we create solutions made of technical meshes and spirals – for industry and architecture, for clean processes, safe systems, and sustainable applications.
Our vision FOR A HEALTHIER, CLEANER, SAFER WORLD defines what we do and how we do it. Whether microplastics filtration, green energy, or resource efficiency: GKD stands for solutions that make an impact – technologically leading, entrepreneurially independent, and focused on long-term success.
It is not the quick fix that drives us, but the sustainable impact - for a century and into the future.
The Management Board of the GKD Group introduces itself
“Born and raised in Germany” – GKD is still, to this day, entirely family-owned. The company is led by Lara Kufferath in the fourth family generation, Dr. Daniel Holstein and Ilonka von Bodman. Since July 2024, they form the three-member executive board
of the GKD Group with clear division of responsibilities, which takes into account the strategic priorities and thus the future viability of the board, as well as aspects such as process orientation and a clearer allocation of responsibilities.
The beginnings of GKD
WITH COURAGE!
How it all started – the story of Josef Kufferath and the founding of GKD.
MILESTONES AND MOMENTS
1925 TO 2025 IN TIME LAPSE
From a small industrial enterprise to international technological expertise: GKD has stood for innovation, pioneering spirit, and continuous development since 1925. What started out as a wire weaving mill has developed over decades into a global solution provider – with products and systems that set new standards across a wide range of industries worldwide. This path has been characterized by courageous decisions, visionary thinking, and a firm belief in the power of change.
The timeline helps visualize this development. It shows the stages of an eventful century – from the first successes to global milestones. What becomes clear: Progress comes from the interplay of deliberate action and fortunate circumstance. The timeline tells the story of GKD in a compact overview – chronological, concise, and full of defining moments.
The early years of Gebr. Kufferath prove to be a constant rollercoaster for founder Josef. Although success comes quickly, the economic crisis then nearly led to bankruptcy. This was followed – before the great catastrophe – by an almost explosive surge in growth.
- 1925
- 1929
- 1932
- 1935
- 1938
Josef Kufferath and his brother Richard found the wire weaving mill “Gebr. Kufferath” on Wednesday, June 17, 1925. Unlike the family business “Andreas Kufferath”, the new company does not specialize in the paper industry, but rather manufactures screens and filters for coal slurry dewatering.
Josef Kufferath and his brother Richard found the wire weaving mill “Gebr. Kufferath” on Wednesday, June 17, 1925. Unlike the family business “Andreas Kufferath”, the new company does not specialize in the paper industry, but rather manufactures screens and filters for coal slurry dewatering.
A global economic crisis and, to make matters worse, an accountant embezzling funds: Insolvency proceedings are opened against the assets of Gebr. Kufferath in order to avert bankruptcy. An out-of-court settlement then ultimately brings salvation. In February 1933, the proceedings are annulled.
Josef Kufferath has his staff test and tinker. And is successful. The wire mesh developed by his weavers is ideal for sealing cylinder heads. New possibilities are opening up for machine and engine construction.
Growth, Düren‘s destruction, new beginnings. Josef Kufferath navigates the company through challenging times. When he dies in 1967, the company has 225 employees and generates a profit of 1.2 million German Marks. But: What will the family business do now?
- 1940
- 1942
- 1944
- 1949
- 1957
- 1967
Gebr. Kufferath is classified as a “company important to the war effort”. That same year, the company boss joins the party, albeit comparatively late. Josef Kufferath is exempted from military service, as he is indispensable in Düren. He has to manage growth, which is heavily dependent on war production.
More and more men are being called to serve in the armed forces. The missing staff members at Gebr. Kufferath are now also replaced by forced laborers from the Ukraine, later also by German women, who are forced to work in the company.
The company grows and builds a two-story administration building. Further land is also purchased in the surrounding area.
Josef Kufferath dies on February 6. Widow Aline adopts her cousin Karl Kassner, who has worked in the company since the end of the war, and thereby secures the future.
With Karl Kufferath-Kassner, the second generation takes over the fortunes of the company. And how! New looms, new weaving techniques, new materials, and thereby also new products such as process belts and meshes for belt presses ensure that the oil and economic crises do not affect the company.
- 1968
- 1971
- 1973
- 1975
- 1976
Karl Kufferath-Kassner succeeds in weaving stable wires with flexible cables. Thanks to the flexibility of the cables, the belts run around rollers without breaking. For the company, this ingenious idea allows us to develop a completely new market: Conveyor belts that contribute to the process, dubbed “process belts” by the company.
Things are now starting to become really modern. Gebr. Kufferath purchases a Nixdorf computer to process payroll accounting.
Customers are loyal, growth continues, and the company needs more space: Hall 8 is constructed. Two years earlier, another hall for the coarse weaving shop had already been completed.
They are only in their mid-20s when Karl Kufferath-Kassner brings his two sons Ingo and Stephan into the company. And in their very first decade of management, they experience all the ups and downs that come with running an enterprise.
- 1982
- 1983
- 1984
- 1992
They come across like yin and yang, as if Karl Kufferath-Kassner had carved his two sons specifically for their life’s work: Ingo, the technician, joins the company on January 1. Stephan, the marketer, follows four months later. A perfect match.
Good times, bad times. The Soviet Union collapses: While the rest of the world is breathing a huge sigh of relief and the Cold War comes to an end, GKD is in the red. Stephan and Ingo Kufferath experience their first full-blown crisis. The way out of the crisis then comes from a creative Frenchman with some crazy ideas.
More international, more professional, larger, more diverse, more focused, more innovative, more sustainable. Ingo and Stephan Kufferath continue to develop the company consistently and drive growth. But the DNA of the family business remains.
- 1993
- 1996
- 1999
- 2001
- 2014
- 2017
- 2018
It is pure coincidence that this small magazine advertisement is seen in Düren. An architect named Dominique Perrault is looking for a metal mesh manufacturer capable of producing large quantities for an architectural project. The rest is history.
The strategy and organization no longer fit the current challenges the business is facing. GKD is repositioning itself, focusing on three business segments: Filtration and separation technology, process belts, and architecture.
Aline Kufferath dies. In the previous year, she proceeded to transfer shares to Karl Kufferath-Kassner, his sons Ingo and Stephan, as well as Rosemarie Treuling and her sons Ulrich and Walter who are the descendants of Josef Kufferath’s first marriage.
International recognition: The VOLUMETRIC mesh filter mesh receives the American Filtrations & Separations New Product Award.
Products and solutions for sustainable business are becoming increasingly important. GKD is working with the Technical University of Berlin, among others, to develop a solution for capturing microplastics released by tire abrasion—preventing them from entering the environment.
GKD purchases Nextwire. The process belt specialist from Arkansas is a perfect addition to the portfolio, making GKD-USA the Group’s highest-revenue foreign subsidiary.
The fourth generation joins the company and once again far-reaching changes are on the horizon: strategic, organizational, personnel-related, and cultural.
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
Giving the world more than we take from it – this becomes GKD’s mantra from now on. Captured in the ever-present vision FOR A HEALTHIER, CLEANER, SAFER WORLD.
1925 – 1939
The early years of Gebr. Kufferath prove to be a constant rollercoaster for founder Josef. Although success comes quickly, the economic crisis then nearly led to bankruptcy. This was followed – before the great catastrophe – by an almost explosive surge in growth.
1925
Josef Kufferath and his brother Richard found the wire weaving mill “Gebr. Kufferath” on Wednesday, June 17, 1925. Unlike the family business “Andreas Kufferath”, the new company does not specialize in the paper industry, but rather manufactures screens and filters for coal slurry dewatering.
1929
Josef Kufferath and his brother Richard found the wire weaving mill “Gebr. Kufferath” on Wednesday, June 17, 1925. Unlike the family business “Andreas Kufferath”, the new company does not specialize in the paper industry, but rather manufactures screens and filters for coal slurry dewatering.
1932
A global economic crisis and, to make matters worse, an accountant embezzling funds: Insolvency proceedings are opened against the assets of Gebr. Kufferath in order to avert bankruptcy. An out-of-court settlement then ultimately brings salvation. In February 1933, the proceedings are annulled.
1935
Josef Kufferath has his staff test and tinker. And is successful. The wire mesh developed by his weavers is ideal for sealing cylinder heads. New possibilities are opening up for machine and engine construction.
1938
1940 – 1967
Growth, Düren‘s destruction, new beginnings. Josef Kufferath navigates the company through challenging times. When he dies in 1967, the company has 225 employees and generates a profit of 1.2 million German Marks. But: What will the family business do now?
1940
Gebr. Kufferath is classified as a “company important to the war effort”. That same year, the company boss joins the party, albeit comparatively late. Josef Kufferath is exempted from military service, as he is indispensable in Düren. He has to manage growth, which is heavily dependent on war production.
1942
More and more men are being called to serve in the armed forces. The missing staff members at Gebr. Kufferath are now also replaced by forced laborers from the Ukraine, later also by German women, who are forced to work in the company.
1944
1949
1957
The company grows and builds a two-story administration building. Further land is also purchased in the surrounding area.
1967
Josef Kufferath dies on February 6. Widow Aline adopts her cousin Karl Kassner, who has worked in the company since the end of the war, and thereby secures the future.
1968 – 1981
With Karl Kufferath-Kassner, the second generation takes over the fortunes of the company. And how! New looms, new weaving techniques, new materials, and thereby also new products such as process belts and meshes for belt presses ensure that the oil and economic crises do not affect the company.
1968
Karl Kufferath-Kassner succeeds in weaving stable wires with flexible cables. Thanks to the flexibility of the cables, the belts run around rollers without breaking. For the company, this ingenious idea allows us to develop a completely new market: Conveyor belts that contribute to the process, dubbed “process belts” by the company.
1971
Things are now starting to become really modern. Gebr. Kufferath purchases a Nixdorf computer to process payroll accounting.
1973
Customers are loyal, growth continues, and the company needs more space: Hall 8 is constructed. Two years earlier, another hall for the coarse weaving shop had already been completed.
1975
1976
1982 - 1992
They are only in their mid-20s when Karl Kufferath-Kassner brings his two sons Ingo and Stephan into the company. And in their very first decade of management, they experience all the ups and downs that come with running an enterprise.
1982
1983
They come across like yin and yang, as if Karl Kufferath-Kassner had carved his two sons specifically for their life’s work: Ingo, the technician, joins the company on January 1. Stephan, the marketer, follows four months later. A perfect match.
1984
1992
Good times, bad times. The Soviet Union collapses: While the rest of the world is breathing a huge sigh of relief and the Cold War comes to an end, GKD is in the red. Stephan and Ingo Kufferath experience their first full-blown crisis. The way out of the crisis then comes from a creative Frenchman with some crazy ideas.
1993 - 2018
More international, more professional, larger, more diverse, more focused, more innovative, more sustainable. Ingo and Stephan Kufferath continue to develop the company consistently and drive growth. But the DNA of the family business remains.
1993
It is pure coincidence that this small magazine advertisement is seen in Düren. An architect named Dominique Perrault is looking for a metal mesh manufacturer capable of producing large quantities for an architectural project. The rest is history.
1996
The strategy and organization no longer fit the current challenges the business is facing. GKD is repositioning itself, focusing on three business segments: Filtration and separation technology, process belts, and architecture.
1999
Aline Kufferath dies. In the previous year, she proceeded to transfer shares to Karl Kufferath-Kassner, his sons Ingo and Stephan, as well as Rosemarie Treuling and her sons Ulrich and Walter who are the descendants of Josef Kufferath’s first marriage.
2001
2014
International recognition: The VOLUMETRIC mesh filter mesh receives the American Filtrations & Separations New Product Award.
2017
Products and solutions for sustainable business are becoming increasingly important. GKD is working with the Technical University of Berlin, among others, to develop a solution for capturing microplastics released by tire abrasion—preventing them from entering the environment.
2018
GKD purchases Nextwire. The process belt specialist from Arkansas is a perfect addition to the portfolio, making GKD-USA the Group’s highest-revenue foreign subsidiary.
2019 - 2025
The fourth generation joins the company and once again far-reaching changes are on the horizon: strategic, organizational, personnel-related, and cultural.
2019
2020
2021
Giving the world more than we take from it – this becomes GKD’s mantra from now on. Captured in the ever-present vision FOR A HEALTHIER, CLEANER, SAFER WORLD.
2022
2023
2024
GKD Group – Responsibility in family hands
What began in Mariaweiler with a brief entry in the commercial register has grown into a family business with a global presence united by a living intergenerational legacy.
On August 7, 1925, the general partnership Gebr. Kufferath is entered in the commercial register. Over time, it has grown into a corporate group that is now active through six companies spread across five continents – all under the umbrella of Düren-based company GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG.
The stock corporation is wholly family-owned. Three branches of the family jointly hold ownership. Each of these branches is represented by its own family company, and each has one seat on the six-member Supervisory Board. The majority of the Management Board is made up of external experts.
The Chair of the Supervisory Board is Heike Hermann, CFO of the Butting Group. The common objectives of all stakeholders are to secure entrepreneurial freedom, spread responsibility across many shoulders, and strengthen long-term prospects – in the interests of the business, its employees, and the next generation.
GKD is one of Germany’s TOP 100 innovators
Continuous innovation work, which we have been doing every day for over 100 years with our 800 employees around the world, coupled with the other components of our DNA tradition and sustainability – this is what makes us one of the most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany, as has now been confirmed by the TOP 100 seal.
Innovation has been a crucial element for us since our company was founded in 1925, helping us to realize our vision FOR A HEALTHIER, CLEANER, SAFER WORLD.
Read more about GKD as a TOP innovator
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