Dürkopp Adler is a German manufacturer of material handling systems and industrial sewing machines that are used in the manufacture of garment and upholstery.[1] It is headquartered in Bielefeld, Germany. The firm is a result of a merger in 1990 between Koch Adler Nahmaschinenwerke and Dürkoppwerke. It has operations in nearly 10 countries and has 11 subsidiaries.[2]
The firm's equity is largely controlled by ShangGong Company of China.
History
The firm has a history of automobile, ball bearings and motorcycle production but both Kochs Adler and Dürkopp's history began with sewing machines. Dürkoppwerke's history began in 1867 when Heinrich Dürkopp, who had earlier completed building a sewing machine on his own co-founded Dürkopp and Schmidt with a colleague, Carl Schmidt.[3] The firm later dropped Schmidt from its name. Operating out of the backroom of a clock-maker's factory, the new firm made both household and industrial sewing machines. As the business profile became enhanced among local customers, the firm moved to a new building close to market street, Bielefeld in 1870. The company expanded sales to other regions in Germany and introduced specialized machines for shoe-making.