History
1873
- Established as razor blade manufacturer C. Friedrich Ern in Solingen by Carl Friedrich Ern
- One of the first companies in Germany offering health insurance to all employees from 1883
- Invention and patent registration of the steam engine groundwood mill („Hexe“) for the purpose of razor blade mass production in 1893
1900
- Ern-Gruppe takes over world market leadership from British competitors with more than 1,000 employees
- Establishment of the first real estate development company for the construction ofheadquarter and production facilities in 1897
- Construction of open air swimming bath („Freibad Ittertal“) for all employees in 1913
1925
- Otto Ern takes over the company in the 2nd family generation
- Extension of cutlery product line to clipping machines, knives and scissors
- Further growth of the company in number of employees and sales
1964
- Günther Herbert Ern joins the company in the 3rd family generation
- Re-construction of Ern-Gruppe headquarter in 1946 after the destruction in World War II
- Establishment of mail order business as additional business unit in 1964
- Development of multiple apartment buildings for Ern-Gruppe employees in Solingen in 1960s and 1970s
1985
- Wulf Rüdiger Ern joins the company in the 4th family generation
- Growth to over 1,000 employees and expansion of mail order business to various product lines
- Multiple residential real estate developments after the fall of the Berlin Wall, especially in Eastern Germany
2012
- Johannes Carl Friedrich Ern joins the company in the 5th family generation
- Sale of the last remaining mail order company
- 1a Ern Versand
- Addition of international focus and transaction business to the real estate development business
2017
- Alexander Ern joins the company as part of the 5th family generation
- Launching new company services
- Use of wooden construction
2022
- Residential development projects in NRW and greater Berlin
- Social Housing projects
- Transactions in NRW, Berlin and Saxony