Langen & Sondermann GmbH & Co. KG – Tradition and Progress
Over 85 Years Steel Springs for Railway Vehicles and Machinery Industry
| 01.07.1922 | Foundation of the company by Johannes Sondermann and Martin Langen |
| 1927 | Patent for a new type of buffer spring |
| after 1945 | Uplift of the company due to substantial demands specially for leaf springs for freight wagons within the reconstruction in Germany and Europe |
| in the 60s | The successors of the founding generation, Adolf Langen and Dr. Karl-Josef Sondermann, take over the management in economically difficult times |
| 1963/1964 | Move out from the old factory building full of nooks and crannies at the Arndtstreet in central Lünen into the new build production building in Altlünen at the Haferkamp, the todays Bergkampstreet, which still today is the company´s seat. Conversion of the furnaces from coal to oil firing |
| 1967 | Dr. Karl-Josef Sondermann takes over the shares of Adolf Langen and becomes sole managing director |
| 01.07.1971 | Jürgen Kohl buys the shares of Dr. Sondermann and takes over the sole management as managing partner |
| 1972 | Beside the coil springs, conical springs and leaf springs for railway vehicles the production of heavy coil springs up to 80 mm bar diameter and of parts made from spring steel for the mining industry is established and so an additional mainstay is created |
| 1976 | Langen
& Sondermann as the second spring manufacturer gets the DB apprival for the delivery of the new parabolic springs. The approvals of the other European Railway operators follow afterwards. |
| in the 70s + 80s | Langen & Sondermann gets more and more market shares |
| 1989 | Due to the reunion the whole railway industry gets under high pressure as the DB and DR are merged and so there is a delay of investments. Difficult times also for Langen & Sondermann, but which have been survived by consequent quality policy and development work |
| 1994 | The QM-system of the company is certified according ISO 9001 |
| 1995 | Langen & Sondermann becomes Q1-supplier of the DB AG and still is until today |
| 1996 | Issue of thge European patent for the so-called TKS® spring, a sample of the successful development work of Langen & Sondermann |
| 1999 | Issue of the EBA approval for the TKS® spring for the use in the Y25 freight wagon bogie |
| 2002 | Dipl.-Ing. Dieter Schmidt is appointed as additional managing director beside Jürgen Kohl |
| 24.01.2006 | The managing partner Jürgen Kohl dies unexpected. Dipl.-Ing. Dieter Schmidt, in the meantime also partner of the company, takes over the sole management |
| 01.05.2007 | Dipl.-Ing. Dieter Schmidt buys the majority of the shares of the company, the other shares are transferred to the grandchild generation of the founders |
| January 2010 | Langen & Sondermann has been certified as one of the first companies according the new international quality standard for the railway industry IRIS Revision 02 |
| View into the future |
It is the most important goal of the company to consolidate and expand the leading position as manufacturer of steel springs for railway vehicles and machinery industry by consequent qualiy policy and high efforts in development also in the coming years and decades. Since more than 85 years counts and also will be valid in the future: FLEXIBILITY IS OUR BUSINESS |
