Tente International
 |
|
| GmbH | |
| Industry | Manufacturer of castors |
| Founded | 1923 |
| Headquarters | Cologne, Germany |
| Products | Wheels, castors |
|
Number of employees
|
1,372 (2015) |
| Website | www.tente.com www.tente.co.uk www.tente.us www.tentecasters.ca |
TENTE International GmbH, based in Cologne, Germany, is the holding company of the TENTE Group. Castors and wheels are manufactured under the TENTE registered trademark.
The history of the company began in 1923 in the district of Wermelskirchen Tente with the sale of ball castors and castors for sliding cupboard doors. TENTE-ROLLEN GmbH in Wermelskirchen is the largest subsidiary of TENTE International GmbH. With the production of castors and wheels for hospital beds, shopping trolleys, furniture and transport trolleys, TENTE developed into the city's second largest employer in the following years.
Adolf Schulte founded TENTE-ROLLEN GmbH as a sales company in 1923. The range of products included cast iron castors, piano castors, furniture and sliding door castors, as well as tracks and fittings. The company began its own production from a garage ten years later. TENTE's product range grew continuously during the initial years of the economic miracle. From 1954, TENTE presented its products under the company logo with a Roman chariot at national and international trade fairs. Five years later, the company moved to new factory and offices in Tente-Herrlinghausen.
In 1963, the institutional castor with swivel brake was unveiled for the first time, an innovation that is known today as a directional lock. Internationalisation for TENTE began one year later with membership of European standardisation committees. With the move to the new offices in 1965, electronic data processing also found its way into TENTE. In 1968, castor production exceeded 10 million units for the first time. Two years later, one of Europe's first computerised high rack warehouses emerged at Tente.
TENTE South Africa, TENTE's first branch office, was founded together with the Protea Holding Group in South Africa in 1971. In 1973, TENTE-ROLLEN GmbH expanded and started to operate a second high rack warehouse. TENTE USA is situated in Hebron, Kentucky, and was founded in 1979. It develops and produces castors and wheels specifically for the US market.
In 1983, Raymond Schulte resigned as managing partner, and Dr Dietrich Fricke, who had been the managing director of TENTE in Wermelskirchen since 1958, acquired the partner's shares. The first steps to present the company with a new corporate identity as a global brand already began in 1985. TENTE acquired competitor 'Hufa-Rollen' a few years later and, thanks to Hufa's international subsidiaries, now has a stronger market presence in England, France, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Some of these companies were already agents of TENTE before the acquisition was made.
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Wikipedia