History
Neuhof: The decisive years of a business with a long family tradition
The founder of our company was Karl Heinrich Neuhof, born on April 26, 1899 in the village of Bellersdorf. Great-grandfather to the current proprietors, he began an apprenticeship at the optics manufacturer Leitz in Wetzlar in 1913. He wanted to become an optician, but he had to end his training abruptly when war broke out in 1914. He then began a new apprenticeship as an engraver at Bömper Modellfabrik in the town of Herborn. Designing and creating art objects was at that time an integral part of the training he received.
After his apprenticeship, Karl Heinrich Neuhof assumed a supervisory position at Holler’schen Carlshütte in the town of Rendsburg. At that iron foundry he was able to put his knowledge to use and prove his mettle as well as implement new ideas.
Karl Heinrich Neuhof passed the examinations of the Chamber of Industry in Altona (today a borough of Hamburg) and was granted the title of master of his trade in February 1924.
The Neuhof family remained in Rendsburg until the devastation of the following war forced them to leave. The family then moved to Altenkirchen, only a few kilometers away from Karl Heinrich’s birthplace.
In the years that followed, Karl Heinrich Neuhof created small art objects for an art salon in the city of Kassel. Over time, the demand increased for cast iron and bronze decor and plaques. Karl Heinrich Neuhof accepted the challenge of meeting that demand, thus laying the foundations for our current enterprise and its core product.
In 1948 Karl Heinrich was finally granted permission to establish his own business as a master skilled craftsman. From then on, he specialized in the production of soap dies. The insert of these dies was of bronze. He created these dies in his own small smelting furnace. A large number of the resulting cast iron and bronze reliefs, stove plates and memorial plaques originating from his workshop have endured the test of time.
Peter Heinrich Neuhof, born on 27 January 1945, was 14 when he began his apprenticeship in his grandfather’s business. He passed his examinations and was certified in his trade in 1962. Soon thereafter, the small workshop outgrew its limited space in the basement of their home.
This was followed by the move to our current operating facilities in1963. Financial consolidation of the business was completed by the endof the decade.
After the death of his grandfather in 1968, Peter Heinrich Neuhof,together with his mother Liselotte, assumed control of the business.
Then, on 28 November 1970, he successfully passed the examination of
the Trades Council in Berlin and was granted the title of master
engraver. He continued to produce soap dies for globally renowned soap
and cosmetics companies. 1969 and 1975 witnessed further expansion of
the business, culminating in the construction of a foundry in 1976.
The number of employees rose steadily.
Following Liselotte Neuhof’s death in 1977, Peter Heinrich Neuhof
shared managerial responsibility with his wife, Karin.
Their sons, Mario and Christian, took over the business in 2005,
treading in their great-grandfather’s footsteps in the fourth
generation.
Both of them are accredited engravers. Proudly looking back on 60
years of the family’s business, they are well aware of being heirs to
their great-grandfather’s legacy, a man whose hard work and
perseverance laid the foundations of a family tradition. And of an
enterprise that is recognized worldwide for its quality workmanship and
dependability.