History

SCHOLLGLAS GmbH was originally founded as C.H. Scholl KG when Günter Weidemann took over the Bielefeld-based glass wholesaler, allowing him to purchase glass directly from manufacturers of basic glass.

The new company’s next step was to relocate its headquarters from Bielefeld to Hannover. It was initially based at Alte Celler Heerstrasse before moving to Bödekerstrasse. At that time, the premises were rented, not owned.

The company’s headquarters were again relocated, this time from Hannover to Barsinghausen, a small town some 30 km away. The initial premises, at Landstrasse, were also rented; the business subsequently moved into its own newly constructed building at Hermann Bahlsen Strasse – today Schollstrasse. Thanks to the new building SCHOLLGLAS not only had modern offices to function as its headquarters but also, and far more important, a large warehouse to serve as the basis for future activities in all segments.

Prior to this, the production and wholesaling activities of the long-established company Brüder Fischer, founded in 1867 and held by a distant family member, had been relocated to Isernhagen/Altwarmbüchen in 1971.

Glass Fischer followed the other companies from its old premises at Sodenstrasse in Hannover to the new purpose-built complex with its adjacent “Glashaus” showroom, allowing both companies to be reunited at one location.

Günter Weidemann also acquired Glass Fischer, a glazing company, and glass wholesalers Brüder Fischer, including a factory making insulating glass (today’s SCHOLLGLAS Technik GmbH in Isernhagen). The structural glazing company with its adjacent “Glashaus” showroom bears the tradition-conscious name GLASFISCHER GLASTECHNIK GmbH.

Following the reunification of Germany many other companies were quickly opened in former East Germany to meet increased demand for glass products.

The first business to be established, on 10.04.1990, was a trading company in Leipzig. This company was relocated to a new building in Gerichshain just outside the city in 1992. Today the site produces insulating glass and is also home to a trading operation.

On 21.12.1990 a further company also moved into a new building, this time in Glauchau, near Zwickau (Saxony).

Another trading company was set up on 21.12.1990 parallel to the site in Glauchau, this time in Berlin. In 1991 it moved to a new administrative building with adjacent factory located in Dahlwitz-Hoppegarten, just outside Berlin’s city boundaries.

Since SCHOLLGLAS already had the required know-how in the structural glazing segment thanks to its existing operations in Hannover a second glazing company was set up in Dahlwitz-Hoppegarten in 1992 – GLASFISCHER Berlin.

Also in 1992 SCHOLLGLAS also established a presence in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The site was initially located in Waren before subsequently moving to Röbel after a new building had been completed in 1995. This factory also manufactures insulating glass.

On 01.06.1992 Günter Weidemann acquired a former mirror factory in Lommatzsch, in the Dresden conurbation, and began in-house production of finished glass. Whereas the factory had once manufactured mirrors for the automotive industry, it now began to make toughened safety glass. Today the Lommatzsch site produces toughened safety glass as well as sand-blasted glazing and screen-printed products.

A new production facility with adjacent office building began operations in Lübben (Brandenburg), also manufacturing insulating glass. Since Lübben is only 90 km from Berlin, the integrated insulating glass production site originally still located in Hoppegarten was subsequently moved to Lübben, which offered better manufacturing facilities. The trading company and glazing business remained in Hoppegarten.

SCHOLLGLAS Polska was founded in the Warsaw (Poland) region to satisfy increasing demand for glass in Poland.

Since 2001 SCHOLLGLAS has also been operating a manufacturing facility in Sandomierz (Poland) to supply large-scale production demands in the country.

The acquisition of a company from basic glass manufacturer Pilkington which was located on the same site as the seller made it possible to manufacture toughened safety glass in small dimensions; in large batches and for the household appliance industry; the furniture industry and the bathroom segment.

In response to increased space requirements and to facilitate optimized procedures, in 2017/2018 work commenced to build a new factory on a “green field” site in Tarnobrzeg, near Sandomierz. It was completed in the second quarter of 2018.

A further new building was also constructed in 2001/2002 in Nossen, not far from the existing site in Lommatzsch. The new factory manufactures toughened safety glass; laminated safety glass and insulating glass for the building and façade segment as well as special solutions for customers in the interior design and transportation segments.

The comprehensive finishing facilities in Nossen enable SCHOLLGLAS to manufacture glazing for numerous large projects.

SCHOLLGLAS took over Hansaglas GmbH in Herford, changing the company’s name to SCHOLLGLAS Technik GmbH Herford. The site manufactures toughened safety glass and glazing primarily for the furniture and kitchen segment.

The company Glass Blessing, headquartered in Ravensburg and Lindau, was taken over. Glass Blessing, now renamed SCHOLLGLAS Technik GmbH Ravensburg, manufactures toughened safety glass; insulating glass and laminated safety glass.

In order to meet the increased space requirements and optimized processes in our location in Poland, a new plant was built in Tarnobrzeg near Sandomierz in 2017/2018 on the "green meadow". This operation was completed during the second quarter of 2018.

At the beginning of 2018 Energy Glass GmbH, located in Wolfhagen near Kassel, became a member of the SCHOLLGLAS group. The company manufactures insulating glass and the site also has a toughened safety glass production line and facilities for tempering toughened safety glass from 2 millimetres thickness.

The Weidemann group of companies has grown substantially since its birth as a one-man operation in 1969. Today it has approximately 1 400 employees at 13 sites in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.

As a free, independent corporate group SCHOLLGLAS has commercial relationships with all leading glass manufacturers and, together with its own manufacturing facilities for customers, supplies a wide range of products.

This success would surely not have been possible without the willingness of the employees to put all their energy into the company.