This year marks the 100th anniversary of Christian Bürkert's birth. Since then the Bürkert company has gone from strength to strength. Here, we look at the man who started it all and ran the company for 25 years before a plane crash sadly cut his life short in 1971.
On May 4th 1915 in Ingelfingen, Germany, Christian Bürkert was born. Since that day a lot has changed, with his surname becoming a well-known business name.
Christian Bürkert grew up on a farm, whilst attending his local grammar school. When his father sadly passed away Christian undertook a course in electrical engineering at the Gauss Engineering School in Berlin after which he went on to work for Schuab Lorenz, a local appliance manufacturer.
When the war ended, Bürkert returned to the farm he had grown up on and began to manufacture incubators and hot plates. These products became very popular very quickly, thanks to the demand for poultry meat from the US occupation forces.
In 1954, Christian Bürkert began producing solenoid valves which are still extremely popular today. Three years later, these valves started to get produced on a mass scale as washing machine valves were needed. This was just the start of international success for the Bürkert brand.
A few years later in the late 1950s there was a need for regulating oil flow in room oil heaters, which Bürkert's oil controllers were perfect for. A huge drop in the purchasing of washing machine valves was also fixed by Christian Bürkert at this time, with his groundbreaking development of plastic-sheathed magnetic coils, which proved extremely popular and remain the first choice for many people today.
Given his great success to date, new factories were opened in Öhringen and Gerabronn in Germany, quickly followed by another in Triembach, France.
On the morning of 21st October 1979, Christian Bürkert boarded a new plane to the USA, but sadly never returned after being involved in a fatal crash. His wife, Dorothee Bürkert then took control of the business along with Gerhard Hettinger until 2004, with Gerhard Hettinger retiring in 2005. Since then the Bürkert group has been managed by Heribert Rohrbeck.
In the 61 years since Christian Bürkert produced his first valves, a lot has changed. The company he started is now a well trusted global leader in fluid control systems, which is just one reason Fine Controls are proud to be Burket distributors and supply these reputable, high-quality products.
If Bürkert products are a favourite of yours, or if you would like to see what all the fuss is about, be sure to check out our Burkert section for a great range of valves, flow control and accessories.
If you would like any help with selecting the right products for your needs, our friendly and knowledgeable team can advise and direct you. Give them a call on 0151 343 9966 or email them at sales@finecontrols.com.
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