DFT presents its new logo and new external appearance. After the takeover by Knapp AG, the Duerkopp Adler logo continued to be used with the addition of "conveyor technology". With this change on June 14, 2023, DFT is sharpening its profile as an independent employer in OWL region.
After almost two years of development, DFT presents the AutoPocket®. A transport pocket based on hanging conveyor technology with an automatic opening mechanism for eCommerce and flat goods sorting.
Managing Director Sigurd Völker: “Ten years ago no one would have expected this development.” Now DFT is experiencing significant growth and has more than doubled its workforce. DFT now has a turnover of over 100 million euros per year with 330 employees and benefits from online clothing trading.
The Austrian warehouse logistics and automation provider Knapp has taken over Bielefeld-based Dürkopp Fördertechnik with around 160 employees and an annual turnover of around 30 million euros from the ShangGong Group. Thanks to the DFT takeover, Knapp will be able to offer complete solutions for all types of clothing in the fashion segment - both hanging and lying down.
EcoPocket® is presented on the adapter for transporting flat goods. In the future, flat goods will be transported in bags. The pocket sorter was drilled. EcoPocket® can be combined with EcoFlow® to form a hybrid system that transports flat and hanging goods equally.
DFT presents the transport adapter with RFID. The clothes hanger will be replaced as a transport medium and will in future be navigated through the system using the roll adapter. The advantage: a significant reduction in errors and more standardization in warehouse engineering.
The Chinese ShangGong Group has acquired 94.9 percent of the German sewing machine manufacturer Dürkopp Adler AG from FAG Kugelfischer. ShangGong, like Dürkopp, produces industrial sewing machines and is one of the largest manufacturers in China.
Dürkopp Fördertechnik is spun off as a GmbH and remains as a 100% subsidiary of Dürkopp-Adler AG on the company property in Bielefeld-Oldentrup.
In 1978, DFT presented the Trolleyboy at the Hanover Fair. Trolleyboy, an electrically powered towing device (380 V). enabled the automatic coupling of several transport trailers (trolleys) to form a train,
DFT presents the first system without a trolley. Garments on hangers (GoH) can be managed as blocks or as individual items in the system and in this way sorted for store delivery. A groundbreaking innovation for eCommerce order processing, which emerged around 40 years later.
DFT invents the Class 763 ("Trolley") sleigh suspension railway consisting of rails, arches, switches and crossings. The first trolley system was operated manually, later powered and sold into new projects by 2023.
The majority of shares in Dürkoppwerke AG are taken over by FAG Kugelfischer. When, around 25 years later, the Kugelfischer Group also took over the majority of shares in Kochs Adler AG, the way was paved for the merger of the two competing sewing machine factories. Since 1990 they have been operating as Dürkopp Adler AG in the new company buildings in Bielefeld-Oldentrup.
Dürkopp conveyor technology is set up as a specialist department within Dürkoppwerke AG. The first product to be presented was the timing belt (Class 713) with a synchronous timer and feed counter for the sewing thread processing industry.
After the Second World War, the production of motorized two-wheelers was resumed and continued until 1961. The successful models of the post-war period included motorcycles such as the Dürkopp MF 100, MF 125, the Fratz and Dianette models and the Diana scooter, which was sold throughout Europe.
The Dürkoppwerke were involved in armaments production for the Wehrmacht's rearmament from an early stage, and in the mid-1930s the workforce grew again to over 2,000 people. At times, Dürkopp employed over 3,000 forced laborers and prisoners of war, mostly from the Soviet Union. The company was destroyed in heavy bombing raids on Bielefeld in 1944 and shut down on March 31, 1945. The factory premises were only rebuilt after the end of the war.
By 1930, Dürkopp's sewing machine production continued to decline and was ultimately taken over by Kochs Adler. Dürkopp's workforce shrank to 700 employees.
From January 15, 1897, Nikolaus Dürkopp took part in the Styria-Fahrradwerke Johann Puch & Comp. KG in Graz, Austria. In February 1897 it was renamed after Johann Puch & Compagie Styria-Werke. Johann Puch left on July 13, 1897 with a non-compete clause. In 1908 the Styria-Werke was completely taken over and renamed Styira-Dürkopp-Werke. A.-G. continued.
In 1894, Dürkopp laid the foundation for car production. However, he failed at the first attempt and paid 2 million marks from his private assets until 1897, when he did manage to finance construction attempts. Truck production was added in 1906. From 1927 onwards, car construction and truck construction in 1929 were abandoned in favor of other branches of production due to the global economic crisis.
The company was converted into “Bielefelder Maschinenfabrik AG, formerly Dürkopp & Co.” and listed with a share capital of 2,250,000 gold marks.
In the 1880s there were economic difficulties and Nikolaus Dürkopp looked for new sales markets. Dürkopp was one of the first German companies to begin mass production of bicycles. This example was soon followed by Koch & Co. and others; A new, successful economic sector developed in Bielefeld.
Carl Schmidt left with a severance payment, which he later used to found Anker-Werke. In the course of the name change to Dürkopp & Co., Ferdinand Kaselowsky, director of the Ravensberger Spinnerei and at the time one of the richest men in Bielefeld, became a new business partner and financier.
On October 22, 1867, Nikolaus Dürkopp founded his own sewing machine repair shop together with Carl Schmidt under the name Dürkopp & Schmidt. Dürkoppwerke AG later developed from this foundation with sewing machine production.
