PURITY LAW

The very special affinity of Kaspar Pfaudler, the founder of the company, to the German purity law can probably be explained by the fact that he was a master brewer. It also explains why Pfaudler’s history of success started in the beer brewing trade and the food industry.
Pfaudler’s worldwide presence in all fluid processes up to ultra-clean segments today is just a consequence of uncompromising quality.

FROM THE “WOODEN BARREL” UP TO “HIGH-TECH”

Or “Why does some milk taste better?”

The fortunate combination of Pfaudler, steel and glass is owed to the beer. Yet it was not moodiness after a few beers but rather real far-sightedness that inspired master brewer Kasper Pfaudler in the last century to replace the wooden barrel with glassed steel tanks.

The superiority of the glassed steel material was obvious - but obviously not to everyone: Kaspar Pfaudler had to travel as far as North America in order to find financially strong and far-sighted supporters. In 1884, “The Pfaudler Co.” was founded in Rochester, New York state, which was the foundation stone for the story of success of Pfaudler, and thus of the glassed steel material.

After a few years, glassed steel had made its way to the entire beverage industry - the unique purity and easy maintenance of the smooth glass walls inside the tanks bore the chance of offering a homogeneous quality for the first time. And it is exactly this incorruptible quality that opened the doors to a new, fast-growing market for Pfaudler glassed steel - the chemical industry.

The significantly higher demands made by chemistry compared to the food industry on corrosion resistance, expansion behavior, adhesive strength, chemical resistance and mechanical strength, could only be truly satisfied by glassed steel.

Today, Pfaudler is further expanding its leading position in process equipment and plants. Glass lined apparatus, components, reactor systems, know-how and the invaluable service reliability of Pfaudler have made glassed steel into a really “valuable material”!

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA ...
The history of Pfaudler Werke in Germany

1884
The German master brewer Kaspar Pfaudler establishes ”The Pfaudler Co.” in Rochester and starts producing glassed steel reactors in Rochester.

1907
The idea of glass lined vessels meets with great interest in Europe, but the freight charges for the bulky, heavy apparatus are extremely high. The solution to the problem: to set up production facilities in Europe!
Due to its central location, Germany is chosen - and Schwetzingen, a town in the industrial center of the Rhine-Neckar region, turns out to be the most favorable spot.

1908
Production starts at Pfaudler Schwetzingen - as a glassing factory for the time being.

1910
The carcass construction hall and workshops are built - Pfaudler Werke AG produces independently with approx. 120-150 employees.
There is great interest in steel tanks coated with Pfaudler glass - the order lists of the first year include not only renowned German breweries, but also companies from all over Europe.

1916
World War I: The world holds its breath - production stops.

1921
Production is resumed. Figures rise rapidly. The glassing technology is optimized and enables an increasingly better adaptation to the customers’ individual requirements. Enlarging the kilns means that bigger vessels can be glass lined in a single piece.
In the course of very few years, the vessels coated with Pfaudler glass make their way to the whole beverage industry.

1926
Other segments of the food industry start getting interested in the glass material - but not primarily for storage tanks, but rather for production plants. The heatable reactor coated with Pfaudler glass becomes the foundation stone of subsequent success in the chemical industry.

In the 1930s, the chemical industry already accounts for one third of overall sales.
The high and differentiated demands made by the chemical industry, e.g., as regards corrosion resistance, expansion behavior and adhesive strength could only be truly satisfied by fundamental research of the glassed steel material.

1972
Pfaudler builds the world’s largest glass lined polymerization tank.

1982
The main kiln is enlarged to accommodate a maximum tank volume of 120,000 liters.

Today, Pfaudler is further expanding its leading position in process equipment and plants. A worldwide net of production, sales and service centers is the guarantor for our customer proximity to the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industry. But it is thinking along that same lines that makes it possible to find complete solutions to complex tasks - “Pfaudler Reactor Systems” is the answer to the process challenges of the future.