Hugo Kern KG starts production of knitting elements.
In the postwar period, knitters and knitting machine manufacturers in the west increasingly suffer from a shortage of knitting elements. Hugo Kern KG, a small company with its origins in the production of tension springs for the watchmaking industry going back to 1888, rises to the challenge and adds a new product range to its portfolio – the manufacture of knitting elements for textile machinery, with the aim of further diversifying its product range and supplying the ever-growing textile market with high-quality replacement parts.
Expansion of knitting element production.
In the years that follow, the company grows rapidly and continuously. The expertise acquired through the production of knitting elements enables the expansion of the product range to fineblanked and stamped parts with the highest precision standards, along with expertise in the field of hardening. In addition to developing the domestic market, the company continues to push forward with internationalization.
Dr. Kurt-Steim sets the course for the future.
By the late sixties, there are 720 people working at Hugo Kern. It is producing 35 million springs and 147 million knitting elements, with 66% already exported to 57 countries. Dr. Kurt Steim takes a number of important decisions for the future. He appoints his son-in-law, business graduate Robert Drosten, to the management team, while at the same time entrusting his son, engineer Dr.Hans-Jochem Steim, with the development and management of the research