REDECKER – A FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY
How it all began
Friedrich Redecker slowly lost his eyesight in the course of his childhood. Treatments and even surgery did nothing to change this. As a teen, he attended the school for the blind in Soest, where he learned one of the common trades for the blind at the time: the brush maker‘s trade.
Being an entrepreneurial person, „Friedel the Boss“ quickly built his own company after finishing his training which enabled him to maintain himself, his wife, and their three sons. Bürstenhaus Redecker was born. His customers were farmers and local households, and most sales happened at the door or from his workshop. Friedrich was an alert and highly disciplined man who continued to ply his trade until his death at the age of 72. A passionate chess player, he was active in the North Rhine-Westphalian association and also internationally.
The end to brush making?
„The boss“ lamented that none of his sons wanted to continue his trade and his company at first. They all took different career paths. When Friedrich died in 1986, Gernot Redecker, the youngest son, and his wife, decided to finish up the materials still in stock and to continue Bürstenhaus Redecker on their own for a short time. Therefore, they set up an additional market stall on the Köhlerfest in Borgholzhausen in 1987 to sell off the completed brooms and brushes. They never expected the success they had. All products were sold within the first weekend. The Redeckers ordered more materials …
The company continues after all:
There were more markets and sale success, more and more on good craftsmen‘s markets, and soon also beyond the region. They produced in their own basement, converting a living room into their office. The first employees came, joining them for lunch in their own kitchen.
The market-goers turned into a small wholesale company in the late 1980s. Step by step, the basement rooms were replaced by a converted barn at first, before the company moved into a new building in the Mid-1990s. Storage buildings were added, and the company kept on growing.
Participation in specialist trade fairs, and also international ones, are still fuelling and fertilising not only business relationships but also ideas for new products and product areas. A true idea factory developed in Versmold, where new items are being developed continually as old ones are improved. A store in nearby Bad Rothenfelde and one on the island of Sylt have been added as well.
Today: A modern family-owned company run in the third generation
Change and constant development has always been a good company tradition at Redecker: In January 2009, the youngest son Felix Redecker and his wife Jana joined the company. With around 50 employees and the now multiple expansion of the storage and production capacities so far, Redecker has long become a German crafts brand that sells its high-quality products through retail and specialist trade.