Chemische Fabrik Kalk
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| GmbH | |
| Industry | formerly chemicals today wholesale of chemicals |
| Founded | November 1, 1858 |
| Founder | Hermann Julius Grüneberg, |
| Headquarters | Cologne, Germany |
| Website | www.cfk-gmbh.com |
Chemische Fabrik Kalk (CFK) (lit. Chemical Factory Kalk) was a German chemicals company based in Kalk, a city district of Cologne. The company was founded in 1858 as Chemische Fabrik Vorster & Grüneberg, Cöln by Julius Vorster and Hermann Julius Grüneberg and was renamed to Chemische Fabrik Kalk GmbH in 1892. At times the company was the second-largest German producer of soda ash and was, with almost 2400 employees, one of the largest employers in Cologne. For decades the chimneys and the water tower of the factory dominated the skyline of Cologne-Kalk.
In 1960 the company was acquired by the Salzdetfurth AG, which was later renamed into Kali und Salz (nowadays K+S) and became a subsidiary of BASF. All production facilities of the former Chemische Fabrik Kalk were closed in 1993, and the name Chemische Fabrik Kalk since then exists only as the name of a wholesale subsidiary of K+S. The factory was demolished and after the decontamination of the premises the new Cologne police departments headquarters and the Köln Arcaden shopping mall were built on the former factory premises.
On November 1, 1858 the merchant Julius Vorster and the chemist and pharmacist Hermann Julius Grüneberg, who was a doctoral student at that time, founded the Chemische Fabrik Vorster & Grüneberg, Cöln. Vorster, who had owned a chemical factory before, contributed 15,000 Thaler and Grüneberg contributed 5,000 Thaler. As a location for the new factory they chose what was then the small village of Kalk (incorporated into Cologne in 1910) on the right bank of the Rhine. After purchasing the premises of the former iron foundry Biber & Berger construction began and three months later, in February 1859 production started. The factory produced potassium nitrate and as a byproduct sodium carbonate (also known as soda ash). Potassium nitrate was used in food preservation and in the production of black powder. The potassium nitrate was produced from Russian potash and nitratine. From 1859 to 1864 production of potassium nitrate increased from 250 metric tons (280 short tons) to 2,400 metric tons (2,600 short tons). In the first year the factory employed ten workers.
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