SEWERIN - A family on the road to success

The 1st generation - the founders ...

In 1908, Hermann Sewerin, then 24 years old, established a small fitters workshop in Gütersloh. At first, he manufactured door locks, door handles, nameplates and sculptures for grave sites. After the First World War, Hermann Sewerin produced milk centrifuges ("Gütersloh Sahna") and carburettors for cars and motorcycles ("Einhorn").

Together with his brother Fritz, Hermann Sewerin manufactured a tobacco pipe called "Sewerin`s Vulkan (Volcano)", developed and patented by another of his brothers, Wilhelm. Hermann Sewerin established Vulkan-Werk GmbH to manufacture these pipes. The company was entered in the commercial register on 9 October 1923.

The frequent mining disasters that took place at that time inspired Hermann Sewerin to develop a "gas indicator for indicating mine gases". The Reichspatentamt (State Patent Office) granted a patent for the gas indicator on 8 October 1931. This invention laid the foundation for the significance the company enjoys today.

The 2nd generation - from trade production to industrial operation …

The company founder`s three sons, Paul, Heinz and Willy Sewerin, joined the company in the early 1930s. In 1933 Paul Sewerin carried out the first systematic examination of a gas pipeline network by order of the Fulda Municipal Gas and Waterworks. The name "Sewerin" became well known among gasworks. For this reason, on 30 December 1936, Vulkan-Werk GmbH became the Hermann Sewerin Company.

When Hermann Sewerin died suddenly in 1941, his three sons continued to run the company. After the Second World War it developed from a trade production operation into an industrial company. The range of devices and services offered primarily to utility supply companies continued to expand as the years went by.

The 3rd generation - innovation and change …

From the mid-1960s to the 1970s, the third generation joined the company: Peter Sewerin, the son of Willy Sewerin, and Hermann Sewerin, the son of Heinz Sewerin (†1975). Paul Sewerin died in 1980.When the company moved in 1991 to its new location on Robert-Bosch-Straße, not only was its appearance rejuvenated, but its organization was realigned with respect to the requirements of the next millennium. In 1998, after more than 60 years of service, Willy Sewerin retired.

The 4th generation - globalisation and new markets ...

The rapidly growing Chinese market has definitely opened and Sewerin has positioned itself in the "Middle Kingdom" as a proven partner for gas and water suppliers. Dr. Swen Hermann Sewerin – son of Peter Sewerin and grandson of Willy Sewerin – has been with the company since July 2001 and became its CEO in August 2004. With the entrée of the 4th generation, the continuity of this family run company is assured.

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