Glashütte Gerresheim

The Glashütte Gerresheim was once one of the largest glas works in the world, employing more than 8000 workers and was in business for 141 years. 

Founded in 1846, the factory mainly produced bottles and jars and had large customers such as Coca Cola.

In 2004, the american company Owens Illinois bought the factory and closed it only 8 months later. Most buildings have now been demolished to make space for new flats.

Hermann Heye run the business between 1891 and 1941. As is father before, he was trying to find solutions to the economical and social problems of the time. 

In 1901, Michael Owen invented the first fully automated bottle blowing machine, making the profession of the gaffer redundant.

As a response Hermann Heye founded the "Europäischen Verband der Flaschenfabriken GmbH", which bought the European patent rights of the new machine. This enabled a controlled introduction of the machine into the market, avoiding mass layoffs around Europe.