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PETER GREV<strong>EN</strong><br />
100 YEARS OF<br />
COMPANY HISTORY<br />
1923-2023
PETER GREV<strong>EN</strong><br />
100 YEARS OF COMPANY HISTORY<br />
1923-2023
2
3
For reasons of better readability, the masculine form is mainly used for personal designations and<br />
personal nouns in this book. Corresponding terms generally apply to all genders in terms of equal<br />
treatment. The shortened form of language is for editorial reasons only and does not include any<br />
rating.<br />
Introduction Imprint:<br />
© 2023 Peter Greven GmbH & Co.KG<br />
Peter-Greven-Str. 20-30<br />
D-53902 Bad Münstereifel<br />
Production: Westkreuz-Verlag GmbH<br />
12309 Berlin<br />
This work is protected by copyright. Any use outside the limits of the copyright law is illegal and<br />
punishable by law without permission from Peter Greven GmbH & Co.KG. This applies in particular<br />
to reproductions, translations, microfilming and storage and processing in electronic systems.<br />
Translation from German to English by Sue Manderfeld – „English Rose, English with a smile!“<br />
and Kern AG, Bonn
CONT<strong>EN</strong>TS<br />
FOREWORD 7<br />
THE 1920s FOUNDATION PHASE 11<br />
THE 1930s START OF FATTY ACID PRODUCTION 21<br />
THE 1940s TRANSITION FROM THE SOAP FACTORY TO OLEOCHEMICALS 29<br />
EXCURSUS OILS AND FATS 30<br />
THE 1950s START OF METALLIC SOAPS PRODUCTION 39<br />
THE 1960s THE 2ND G<strong>EN</strong>ERATION TAKES OVER THE LEADERSHIP 53<br />
EXCURSUS SOAPS AND METALLIC SOAPS PRODUCTION 58<br />
THE 1970s EXT<strong>EN</strong>DED CAPACITY 67<br />
THE 1980s ARRIVAL OF AUTOMATION 77<br />
EXCURSUS THE DEVELOPM<strong>EN</strong>T OF PROFESSIONAL SKIN PROTECTION 78<br />
THE 1990s NEW TECHNOLOGIES 89<br />
EXCURSUS APPLICATION OF METALLIC SOAPS & ESTERS 92<br />
THE 2000s INTERNATIONALISATION 105<br />
THE 2010s COMPANY’S DEVELOPM<strong>EN</strong>T INTO THE US 117<br />
EXCURSUS CATASTROPHIC FIRE AT PETER GREV<strong>EN</strong> ASIA 122<br />
EXCURSUS FOCUS ON ESTERS 128<br />
THE 2020s OUTLOOK 131<br />
EXCURSUS FLOOD DISASTER IN JULY 2021 132<br />
EXCURSUS PETER GREV<strong>EN</strong> GROUP AS AN EMPLOYER 138<br />
GLOSSARY 161
FOREWORD<br />
The Peter Greven company was formed by my<br />
grandfather 100 years ago, in 1923, as a ‘soap<br />
and glycerine factory’. Many companies, even<br />
those considered to be modern and innovative,<br />
enjoy success only for a limited period of time<br />
and often survive for only a few years. As with<br />
many mid-sized, family-owned businesses –<br />
which are especially important for growth and<br />
job security in the overall economy, especially in<br />
Germany – we have also managed to survive a<br />
number of difficult periods and crises over the<br />
last few decades.<br />
Why is it that family-run companies often manage<br />
to hold out (and stay independent) for longer<br />
than large, listed corporations? As I see it, two<br />
aspects are particularly relevant here.<br />
Firstly, family-run businesses are almost always<br />
oriented towards the long term. Management<br />
rarely obsesses over quarterly results and even<br />
annual figures are not considered critical as<br />
long as medium- and long-term development is<br />
proceeding smoothly towards company targets.<br />
Many studies have shown that this is a reason<br />
why family-run businesses are often more successful<br />
in the long term. And it was certainly very<br />
far-sighted of our management to decide to start<br />
production of metallic soaps in the 1950s, thereby<br />
opening up an entirely new business segment<br />
for the company. Although our major source of<br />
Peter Greven<br />
income until that time, bar soap manufacturing<br />
is now no longer relevant – with metallic soap<br />
production being far and away our most important<br />
segment worldwide.<br />
Secondly, company management and company<br />
ownership are normally one and the same thing<br />
at family-run businesses. This avoids a number<br />
of typical problems from the outset. Company<br />
founders must always weigh up opportunities<br />
7
and risks very carefully, since their entire capital<br />
will be on the line in the event of a miscalculation.<br />
During the 1950s and 1960s, our company<br />
could certainly have experienced rapid growth<br />
if we had decided to concentrate on only a<br />
few major customers and industries. However,<br />
this would have run counter to the principle of<br />
spreading risk – which is why my father and my<br />
uncle decided at the time to focus on a slower<br />
rate of growth with fewer risks. In a large corporation,<br />
where managers typically spend only<br />
a few years in top-level positions, are not personally<br />
liable and are largely shielded from risk,<br />
a quite different decision would probably have<br />
been made. In the past, this separation of entrepreneurial<br />
risk and personal liability has led<br />
to a number of cases of extraordinary business<br />
misconduct.<br />
On the other hand, family-run businesses also<br />
have their disadvantages and unique sets of<br />
problems. The biggest disadvantage is that conflicts<br />
within the family can have a direct and<br />
far-reaching impact on the business itself. Fortunately,<br />
our family members and shareholders<br />
have always been able to see eye to eye with<br />
one another in the past, and able to agree on a<br />
solution quickly and without rancour. Decisions<br />
have almost always been unanimous on issues<br />
put to the vote in the shareholders’ meetings I<br />
have attended. Where conflicts have arisen, everyone<br />
has focused on the well-being of the company<br />
first and foremost, and been able to prioritise<br />
finding an amicable solution over personal<br />
interests. We have now formulated these kinds<br />
of ideas in our official Family Charter, which codifies<br />
the principles that guide the actions of our<br />
shareholders and our entire family, with the aim<br />
of ensuring the continuation of our business in<br />
the future.<br />
In this timeline, we have tried to record the most<br />
important developments in the company from its<br />
formation to the present day. In putting together<br />
this information, we have noted major transformations<br />
in technologies and production facilities,<br />
markets and competition, customers and suppliers,<br />
laws and general conditions, and much more<br />
besides. Yet despite these changes, the underlying<br />
principles of our corporate governance and<br />
teamwork remain the same, even today.<br />
We hope you enjoy reading about our company!<br />
Peter Greven<br />
8
Partners’ Meeting 2019
THE 1920s<br />
THE FOUNDATION PHASE<br />
Enthusiasm for the company, holding on to visions<br />
and appreciation of employees are now,<br />
as then, the pillars of the family business, which<br />
enables us now to look back on 100 years of<br />
company history.<br />
Peter Greven must have also had this enthusiasm<br />
and vision when, in 1923, at the age of 37 he<br />
saw more than a ruin in the remains of a small<br />
wood-shavings factory by the river Erft in Bad<br />
Münstereifel-Iversheim. Here, ropes, wood shavings<br />
and other products had been produced since<br />
1883.<br />
Also the ideal location at the river Erft as an important<br />
source of raw materials led Peter Greven<br />
to put forward his request to the mayor, to set up<br />
a chemical plant, as, the area at the Erft included<br />
the water rights - which were very important to<br />
his plans - and the location provided space for<br />
future expansion.<br />
Iversheim had been an independent municipality<br />
since 1816 however with municipal reorganisation<br />
in 1969 it joined Münstereifel, which since<br />
1967 was called Bad Münstereifel.<br />
through self-study and as a guest student and<br />
intern at the chemical-technical Institute of the<br />
RWTH Aachen University. Here he studied, as<br />
well as other things, organic chemistry and the<br />
methods of lipolysis, glycerin extraction, hydrogenation<br />
and distillation.<br />
Peter Greven was born in Eschweiler near Aachen<br />
in 1886. He completed his commercial apprenticeship<br />
at the age of 17 with distinction. The<br />
Dalli company in Stolberg near Aachen was his<br />
employer for the next 20 years.<br />
Peter Greven increased his knowledge of the science<br />
of chemistry and its industrial applications<br />
Company founder Peter Greven<br />
In his role in operational management at Dalli<br />
in Stolberg he could be a part of the company<br />
transition, from a craft business to an industrial<br />
company. For this reason, he was well prepared<br />
for starting his own business.<br />
11
Letter from the company Mäurer & Wirtz from 1913<br />
12
The first hand-drawn map of the factory from 1923<br />
13
14<br />
The foundation<br />
application from<br />
1923
THE 1920s<br />
On the 30th June 1923, the official day of foundation<br />
of the family business, Peter Greven applied<br />
for the establishment of a „soap and glycerin factory.“<br />
On 23rd December 1924 concessions for its<br />
construction were granted.<br />
The family had purchased the land with the<br />
buildings and other pieces of land. Cauldrons,<br />
compactors and all the equipment that Greven<br />
required for the production were transported by<br />
hand winches and pulleys and erected by hand.<br />
The cauldron was heated with anthracite coal<br />
and was initially filled by means of a shovel.<br />
Job offers were available, throughout the country,<br />
experienced, „diligent and unmarried“ soap makers<br />
and master soap makers were sought. These<br />
professionals were also sought after abroad.<br />
After several renovations and additions, soap<br />
and glycerin production began.<br />
It often smelt of Seef (Eifel dialect for „soap“)<br />
now, in Iversheim. And the residents called out<br />
Seefe – Pitter, to the chemist, businessman and<br />
factory owner Peter Greven when he was riding<br />
his bicycle. The front of which had a bicycle rack<br />
with a crate attached where Peter Greven kept<br />
his product samples for sale across the country.<br />
Initially, a few employees produced curd soap,<br />
household soap, soda and simple washing powder<br />
from animal fat in Iversheim.<br />
The fats were boiled with sodium hydroxide solution<br />
to curd soap and glycerin was created as<br />
Elisabeth and Peter Greven<br />
a byproduct. The fully cooked soap mass was<br />
pumped in to shallow tubs on a frame, which<br />
could be cooled. After cooling, the plates were<br />
taken as soap components out of the tubs. These<br />
were about eighty centimetres square in size,<br />
four inches thick and were cut into small pieces<br />
with thin wires. The pieces were pressed into<br />
shape in hand presses – this was mainly done<br />
by women.<br />
Also, Peter Greven’s wife Elisabeth, whom he<br />
married on 14th May 1912 in Stolberg, worked in<br />
the fine soap department or helped with the bicycle<br />
for the soap deliveries. Until then, she had<br />
worked as a teacher in the city.<br />
Jakobus was born in 1913, the first of six children,<br />
followed by Marie-Louise in 1914, Heinz in 1916,<br />
Marianne in 1917, Günther in 1918 and Gisela in<br />
1921.<br />
Elisabeth Greven was known by her family to<br />
have a very strong personality. Many years later<br />
15
THE 1920s<br />
one remembers a saying that makes her stance<br />
clear: At that time the production was fraught<br />
with strong odours. Often it was said that it<br />
“stinks again!” But she replied that it would be<br />
better if it would stink a little more. More odour<br />
meant more production which was a sign for her<br />
that the business was successful.<br />
The product range was continuously extended<br />
and was soon supplemented by toilet soap, special<br />
soaps for various applications, washing powder<br />
and detergent.<br />
Greven didn’t sell the finished products directly<br />
to end users, but to dealers and shops that were<br />
supplied in the local area with the hand cart or<br />
Family Greven<br />
Above - from left to right: Peter Greven, Gisela, Günther<br />
Below – from left to right: Marie-Louise, Heinz, Marianne, Elisabeth Greven,<br />
Jakobus<br />
Elisabeth<br />
Greven<br />
16
icycle. For transport further away, a horse and<br />
cart was specially purchased.<br />
Soon the excellent quality of the soap and detergent<br />
became well known far beyond the Eifel<br />
region, customers from Cologne, Aachen, and<br />
Trier sent their orders. Multi-day delivery trips<br />
sometimes heading to Leipzig or Dresden were<br />
soon on the agenda.<br />
The proximity to the mining area and the Ruhr<br />
district turned out to be advantageous, as the<br />
workers had an agreed entitlement to a bar of<br />
soap per day, which Greven enjoyed delivering.<br />
In order to be able to spend more time with his<br />
family, Peter Greven built a house on the company<br />
grounds, on which the office was also located.<br />
He strengthened his interest in his homeland<br />
through membership in various clubs and always<br />
had very good relations with his neighbours.<br />
On the company premises there was also a large<br />
garden with a small pond. On an extensive fifty<br />
acre site, Peter Greven invested in a fish pond.<br />
The family kept chickens and had a greenhouse.<br />
The purchased fatty acid which was essential<br />
for the production, caused strong odours during<br />
processing, therefore the understanding of the<br />
population in the immediate vicinity was of major<br />
importance.<br />
The family home on the company grounds<br />
Environmental protection and concern for the<br />
welfare of employees and the neighbourhood,<br />
were then and remain to the present day the<br />
principles of the company.<br />
In 1928 Peter Greven was personally invited by<br />
the mayor to ensure that when waste water from<br />
the „chemical plant“ returns to the Erft that it is<br />
completely treated and harmless.<br />
With increasing demand, production in the „soap<br />
and glycerin factory“ grew continually, technical<br />
development and increased mobility made possi-<br />
17
THE 1920s<br />
ble the development of a growing sales territory.<br />
The world economic crisis also hit the Eifel at<br />
the end of the 20s. It was increasingly difficult to<br />
obtain sufficient raw materials of good quality at<br />
good prices. Indeed, fatty acid as the main raw<br />
material was still available in sufficient quantities,<br />
but was more expensive.<br />
To avert economic damage to the company, to<br />
remain independent of market conditions and<br />
to ensure the production site in Iversheim, Peter<br />
Greven made the decisive and visionary decision<br />
to build its own fat hydrolysis plant, in order, in<br />
the future, to be able to produce the main raw<br />
material for soaps, fatty acid itself.<br />
18
THE 1930s<br />
THE START OF FATTY ACID PRODUCTION<br />
Putting this plant into operation in 1934 for the<br />
extraction of fat hydrolysis and glycerin is still<br />
regarded today as one of the milestones in the<br />
company‘s history.<br />
In Iversheim many oils and fats were processed<br />
from both animal and vegetable origin: beef fat,<br />
whale oil, palm oil, castor oil, soybean oil, peanut<br />
oil, and others. The raw materials were tested<br />
in the laboratory and analysed after arrival,<br />
subjected to a cleaning process in the factory,<br />
and a little later split under pressure and high<br />
temperatures into fatty acid and glycerin.<br />
The byproduct glycerin was refined and used for<br />
industrial purposes or resold as a raw material.<br />
Originating from fatty acid and after saponification<br />
with sodium hydroxide solution, depending<br />
on the additives and the type of further processing,<br />
toilet soap, curd soap or industrial soap were<br />
created. In toilet soaps various additives, including<br />
colours and fragrances and the soap dough<br />
were added. The final composition was the shaping<br />
of the material by soap mills and extrusion<br />
presses. The soaps shape and imprint varied according<br />
to the type, purpose and requirements<br />
of the recipient country – as did the packaging,<br />
which completed the manufacturing process.<br />
In addition to the above mentioned soaps, washing<br />
powder, scouring powder, washing soda,<br />
head washing powder and liquid soap were also<br />
produced. Also here, the filling and packing of<br />
cartons, cans or bottles made up a significant<br />
share of the production work.<br />
The growing demand for fatty acids for the production<br />
could now be operated continuously and<br />
the operation also achieved greater independence<br />
from national and international commodity<br />
markets.<br />
Production and trade expanded and the raw fatty<br />
acid and glycerin could not only be used by the<br />
company but was now for sale.<br />
With Germany‘s economic development after<br />
overcoming the global economic crisis, the demand<br />
for washing powders and soaps of all kinds<br />
increased, and the need for soap grew continually,<br />
especially in the mining regions.<br />
In 1936, LIGA and LIGANA toilet soap bars were<br />
Peter Greven’s first legally protected brand<br />
names. The broad product range now also included<br />
household and industrial soaps of all<br />
kinds, soap powder, detergent and fatty acid,<br />
glycerin, soda and chemical-technical products.<br />
21
Application for a licence from 1927<br />
22
23
Building planning is determined today, as in the past, by the river Erft, as an important source of water<br />
24
THE 1930s<br />
The company also benefited from scientific advances<br />
in the field of chemistry for detergents<br />
and the ever-increasing sales of glycerin.<br />
Peter Greven continued to invest in his company<br />
and paved the way for innovation. New steam<br />
boilers could be purchased and the necessary<br />
expansion of the soap works could be tackled.<br />
Ensuring the water rights from the Erft running<br />
through the plant was confirmed by the district<br />
president by obtaining new water drainage and<br />
sewage discharge rights on 23rd September<br />
1939.<br />
The first coal-fired steam boiler<br />
The beginning of World War II on 1st September<br />
1939 had initially no effect on the production and<br />
business activities of Peter Greven in Iversheim.<br />
Nevertheless, an air-raid shelter had to be built<br />
on the premises, parallel to extensions and conversions<br />
of production plants.<br />
At the time, Peter Greven, now 53 years old, was<br />
also concerned with the question of succession<br />
in the company directorship, and this he wanted<br />
to keep in the family.<br />
The first-born son Jakobus held a degree in economics<br />
was devoted to scientific work at the University<br />
and achieved his doctorate in 1936. His<br />
dissertation, „The dynamic monetary theory of<br />
A view of the soap works with a boiler in the background<br />
25
THE 1930s<br />
The plan for the construction of an air -raid shelter on the company grounds<br />
26
Soap bar production at the end of the 1930s<br />
mercantilism. A study of John Law” was cited in<br />
1971 and even 1989. But he did not return to the<br />
family business.<br />
Instead, Dr. Jakobus Greven joined the executive<br />
board at the Frankfurter Metallgesellschaft. This<br />
later became a major customer, and belonged to<br />
the Metallgesellschaft subsidiary company Lurgi,<br />
which was a major technology supplier.<br />
At the end of the 30s, Peter Greven’s two sons<br />
Heinz and Günther Greven were ready to move<br />
on to the executive board to succeed their father,<br />
after successfully completing practical training<br />
in various companies in the chemical industry.<br />
Their knowledge and experience gained would<br />
be of great benefit for further development of<br />
the paternal company.<br />
27
THE 1940s<br />
THE TRANSITION FROM THE SOAP FACTORY<br />
TO OLEOCHEMICALS<br />
Some of the Peter Greven company products<br />
were well known during the war, such as, the<br />
washing powder and scouring agent LIGA BLITZ.<br />
A sand soap was produced according to the rationing<br />
measures which was suitable for cleaning<br />
the hands in order to remove tough dirt stains<br />
and heavy soiling.<br />
Over time the raw materials became scarcer.<br />
Even animal fats that were actually substandard<br />
and were not used in normal times for human<br />
consumption were now coveted food stuffs.<br />
Peter Greven has always been a staunch opponent<br />
of the measure, „the German fat gap“, that<br />
is, due to the lack of suitable fats for human consumption<br />
to produce coal-derived butter.<br />
As „the German fat gap“ was promoted, Peter<br />
Greven immediately began to fight against the<br />
thesis “butter produced from coal.” He was of<br />
the opinion that this „butter“ was very dangerous<br />
for public health and the oxidation products<br />
obtained from coal should only be used as fatty<br />
acids for technical purposes.<br />
After 1945 Peter Greven even wrote a treatise<br />
on the subject and submitted his explanation to<br />
various committees. He proved that the „butter<br />
produced from coal“ was an economic and nutritional<br />
failure and that there wasn’t even enough<br />
glycerin available for its production.<br />
After the end of the war in 1945 Germany and<br />
the world lay in ruins, and economic life were<br />
virtually at a standstill. Iversheim was now in the<br />
British occupation zone.<br />
As like everywhere else, mainly women worked<br />
in the Peter Greven factory, as so many men had<br />
been killed, were missing or still in captivity.<br />
People were cold and hungry and there just<br />
wasn’t enough of anything. The black market<br />
flourished, and everyone had to somehow provide<br />
for themselves and their family. For Peter<br />
Greven it was also difficult to resume production<br />
in full.<br />
Despite this, Peter Greven additionally devoted<br />
himself to the management of the company and<br />
many public functions.<br />
As the community and district mayor, and member<br />
of the county council and official to the head<br />
of the maintenance community of the upper Erft<br />
committee, as well as the reallocation committee,<br />
he assumed a lot of influence on institutions<br />
of public welfare in the region. He was also a<br />
member of the Advisory Board of the Association<br />
of German Soap Manufacturers. For several dec-<br />
29
EXCURSUS<br />
FOCUS ON OILS AND FATS<br />
We are all very familiar with the natural oils and fats present<br />
in our food. The oils most commonly encountered<br />
here are sunflower, soybean, rapeseed and olive oil, although<br />
more unusual oils such as linseed oil, nut oils or<br />
pumpkin seed oil are now increasingly used. Apart from<br />
butter, fats of animal origin do not tend to play much of<br />
a role as food products any more – although fans of lard<br />
(whether used as a spread or for frying, for example) and<br />
beef tallow (traditionally used on French fries in Belgium)<br />
can still be found.<br />
In contrast to their use as foods, the use of natural oils<br />
and fats in chemical or technical processes is not so wellknown,<br />
although large volumes of these substances have<br />
been used in this way for many years. Their use here is now<br />
becoming more important due to the trend towards the<br />
use of renewable raw materials. In the chemicals industry,<br />
tallow and palm oil are important raw materials.<br />
While the production of tallow as a meat industry by-product<br />
has remained virtually constant for many years, palm<br />
oil production has expanded rapidly:<br />
As in the food sector, technical processes also depend<br />
heavily on the difference between saturated and unsaturated<br />
fatty acids, since this strongly affects the properties<br />
of the oil or fat in question. While unsaturated fatty acids<br />
and oils with a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids<br />
are liquid at room temperature, saturated fats and fatty<br />
acids are solid. Although extremely popular for food use,<br />
unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in technical<br />
applications often have the disadvantage of tending<br />
towards discolouration or even decomposition when exposed<br />
to heat. Saturated fatty acids are more stable in this<br />
respect. To obtain these stable, saturated fatty acids, fats<br />
or fatty acids are commonly hydrogenated (hardened). This<br />
process – which is a matter of some concern from a nutritional<br />
point of view and therefore often<br />
the subject of heated debate (regarding<br />
trans fatty acids), is very useful and often<br />
indispensable for technical applications.<br />
Quelle: https://de.statista.com/infografik/19707/entwicklung-des-weltweiten-palmoel-konsums/<br />
Alongside the distinction between saturated<br />
and unsaturated fatty acids, chain<br />
length (i.e. the number of carbon atoms)<br />
is another decisive criterion. As the chain<br />
length increases, the melting point rises.<br />
As a result, long-chain fatty acids tend to<br />
have better lubricating properties, while<br />
short-chain fatty acids tend to exhibit better<br />
solubility. The correct distribution of<br />
fatty acids can therefore be determined<br />
for the specific application. The overview<br />
shows the most important fatty acids and<br />
their origin.<br />
30
Most oils and fats are found only in certain regions of the<br />
world, since their cultivation requires specific climatic conditions.<br />
The world map shown below offers a rough guide<br />
to the most important production regions:<br />
31
The demand for natural oils and fats has risen continuously<br />
over the last few years. The primary reasons for this<br />
include:<br />
– Rapidly increasing demand for food products in Asia’s<br />
fast-growing national economies, especially China and India<br />
– Rapid expansion of the biofuels sector<br />
While the proportion of biofuels is relatively low on a<br />
global scale, biofuel manufacturers are already the biggest<br />
buyers of palm oil in Germany, for example:<br />
In Western Europe, the rapidly expanding cultivation of<br />
palm oil – especially in Indonesia and Malaysia – and<br />
its associated negative environmental impact is now attracting<br />
increasing criticism. A palm oil boycott would not<br />
help the environment, however, since all other oils require<br />
significantly more land per litre of oil. Replacing palm oil<br />
with other oils would therefore require even more land<br />
for cultivation – thereby generating new environmental<br />
problems.<br />
Source: WWF study from 2016<br />
32
A better approach ist to use sustainably grown palm oil.<br />
RSPO (Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil) is the leading<br />
certification system here. We have been member of RSPO<br />
for many years now, and we support the use of certified<br />
palm oil and its intermediate products. This certification<br />
ensures that rainforest is not cleared or wetlands drained,<br />
for example, and that human rights are not abused during<br />
palm oil production.<br />
There are many challenges involved in the transition to a<br />
carbon-neutral economy and the associated switch from<br />
fossil to renewable raw materials. However, these challenges<br />
can indeed be overcome if the sustainability criteria<br />
for all raw materials are fully documented and priced<br />
accordingly.<br />
33
THE 1940s<br />
ades he served as advisory and assembly member<br />
with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry<br />
of Bonn, in 1958 he was made an honorary<br />
member.<br />
After Heinz and Günther Greven had returned<br />
from the war, they began their work in the factory<br />
and soon took over the running of the company.<br />
Günther Greven was a classic businessman and<br />
his focus was always based on cost reduction,<br />
productivity, profitability and growth for the<br />
benefit of the family business.<br />
However, Heinz Greven had an enormous amount<br />
of chemical- technical knowledge and practical<br />
skills, including abilities in the field of pneumatics<br />
and conveyor technology. This was of great<br />
benefit, especially with the constant construction<br />
and expansion of production facilities, also<br />
new facilities could be assembled using cheaper<br />
individual components which they assembled<br />
themselves. The combination of the two brothers’<br />
widely differing abilities secured the company’s<br />
dynamic and stable development.<br />
Elisabeth Greven with her sons Heinz, Jakobus and<br />
Günther (left to right)<br />
Nevertheless, this classic constellation with a<br />
commercial and a technical leader at the helm<br />
also resulted in some conflict during its decades<br />
of joint management. In their discussions with<br />
opposing viewpoints Heinz and Günther Greven<br />
would always agree on one point: both thought<br />
and acted in the interest of the company. On<br />
this basis, the brothers always found a common<br />
path and a satisfactory solution for the company.<br />
34
„We all live from the company. We need to maintain and cultivate it<br />
and then we will always have work.“<br />
Quote: Heinz Greven, late 1940s<br />
35
THE 1940s<br />
Every now and then Jakobus Greven also helped<br />
either from Frankfurt or directly in Iversheim to<br />
balance the different interests and conflicts of<br />
his younger brothers. This defined the second<br />
generation within the company. Günther and<br />
Heinz Greven always did what they could - for<br />
the company and for their employees. But even<br />
later Heinz Greven is cited by a former employee.<br />
During his speech at the Christmas party, the<br />
technical director regretted not being able to<br />
give a lot of Christmas money – but hoped that<br />
the situation would soon improve.<br />
With the currency reform of 1948, the German<br />
Mark was introduced in the three western zones<br />
of Germany on 21st June 1948. This was one of<br />
the most important economic policies in postwar<br />
German history. In the middle of the fiscal<br />
year, the Peter Greven company had to create a<br />
conversion balance sheet in which all company<br />
assets had to be converted into the new currency.<br />
A conversion balance<br />
sheet to mark the currency<br />
reform of 1948<br />
36
THE 1950s<br />
THE START OF METALLIC SOAP PRODUCTION<br />
Delivery of raw materials in the 1950s<br />
39
THE 1950s<br />
After the war, the economic situation improved<br />
slowly.<br />
Many of the 300 soap factories in Germany were<br />
shut down or taken over by corporations. Major<br />
efforts and rationalisation were also necessary at<br />
Peter Greven if it wanted to operate successfully<br />
as a medium-sized business against the threat of<br />
competition from international corporations.<br />
As before, the focus was on the production of<br />
high quality soap and detergents. The products<br />
sold under the brand names LIGA and LIGANA<br />
had achieved nationwide reputation. The proportion<br />
of alkali soaps at the time made up 50 %<br />
of the total company sales.<br />
The in-house laboratory not only analysed the<br />
raw materials and finished products, but also<br />
mixed fragrances and other essences. Some<br />
combinations of essential oils from around the<br />
world are a closely guarded trade secret.<br />
Through experimentation, new recipes have<br />
been developed and tested. Our own formulations<br />
were tailored to customer needs and were<br />
stored individually for production.<br />
In addition to the soaps for major customers in<br />
the mining industry, the all-purpose and industrial<br />
soaps, which as technical soaps represented<br />
special products, increasingly gained in importance,<br />
for example, as a base for grinding pastes,<br />
a dry lubricant in metal forming or as a stabiliser<br />
in the chemical industry.<br />
In the mid-fifties the foundations were laid for<br />
the realignment of the family business: the transition<br />
from being purely a soap factory to a producer<br />
of oleochemical additives and derivatives<br />
was completed. At the same time, on July 1st<br />
1955 the individual enterprise became a limited<br />
partnership.<br />
In the now increasingly important plastics industry<br />
a need for metallic soaps developed, and<br />
here the Peter Greven Company, rightly, as it<br />
later turned out – saw an interesting and new<br />
business opportunity. However, the beginning of<br />
the metallic soap production was not easy and<br />
A view of the laboratory of the 1950s<br />
40
Article from the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper from 19.01.1954<br />
41
THE 1950s<br />
not achievable in the short term because the development<br />
of a completely new production technology<br />
was necessary. The product properties of<br />
the metallic soaps, e.g. calcium, magnesium, zinc<br />
and aluminum were different from those of previously<br />
produced sodium and potassium soaps,<br />
since they are not water-soluble and tend to<br />
have a waxy character.<br />
Therefore in 1955, the Greven brothers were in<br />
search of more knowledge than was available in<br />
the company itself. Barely five weeks after the<br />
job vacancy from 5th July was placed in a chemist<br />
newspaper, the engineer/chemist Erwin Elsner<br />
got in touch.<br />
He presided at the time over a larger production<br />
department with a number of inorganic and organic<br />
products, had extensive knowledge in the<br />
field of metallic soaps and textile facilities and<br />
was very knowledgeable in the production of<br />
physically varying measured qualities.<br />
This was compatible with the Peter Greven company<br />
and its new goals. The man wanted change<br />
and was looking for a lifetime post - but Erwin<br />
Eisner was still working in a nationally owned<br />
enterprise (GDR), a chemical plant Greiz- Döhlau,<br />
he lived in the German Democratic Republic<br />
(GDR). Here, they were more intensively involved<br />
in the production of metallic soaps and already<br />
had gained expertise in various processes.<br />
Due to the political conditions however, contact<br />
between East and West needed to remain secret,<br />
just the job application could be dangerous for<br />
the sender and his family.<br />
Decades later, the conspiratorial plans on both<br />
sides were still spoken about with respect and<br />
acknowledgement, as the engineers escape from<br />
the GDR to Iversheim was known as a cloak and<br />
dagger operation.<br />
The Greven family then helped him to settle in<br />
West Germany and later to be joined by his family.<br />
Together with Heinz Greven they developed the<br />
new production technology and soon the first<br />
production line went into operation.<br />
The importance of this step is obvious from a<br />
strategic perspective when one is aware that<br />
metallic soap is the fastest growing segment of<br />
the last decades and the company’s most dominant<br />
business division to this day.<br />
Realisation that plastics would greatly expand<br />
in the future came from Dr. Jakobus Greven from<br />
the Board of the Metallgesellschaft in Frankfurt<br />
a company that was already, at that time preoccupied<br />
with the production of stabilisers for<br />
PVC processing. Metallic soaps, in those days<br />
predominantly stearate, were required for their<br />
production.<br />
42
In 1956 metallic soaps production began in Iversheim.<br />
The first product was made using improvised<br />
production at existing facilities and was mainly<br />
sold to the Metallgesellschaft. The metallic<br />
soaps production initially developed slowly and<br />
in the 50s only represented a small share of the<br />
total production volume. Nevertheless, the development<br />
of new products and production technologies<br />
was a landmark for the company.<br />
The tranquil location on the Erft soon lacked sufficient<br />
space for necessary expansion.<br />
In 1956 they started to open up and build on the<br />
neighbouring area. In 1957, the new plant for<br />
stearate was built.<br />
Stearate was produced by the so-called melting<br />
process, i.e. in a stirred reactor stearic acid and<br />
lead oxide were converted into a molten mass.<br />
Thereafter, the product would be sprayed in order<br />
to bring it to the desired powder form.<br />
During the search for additional components<br />
for expansion, Heinz and Günther Greven found<br />
what they were looking for in neighbouring Holland,<br />
where they bought a used spray system for<br />
the production of lead stearate. Two fitters from<br />
Heinz Greven cut the plant there into transportable<br />
individual parts. These were welded back<br />
together again in Iversheim, and the plant was<br />
constructed.<br />
More and more factories were built, most of<br />
them second hand. Their adaptation and modernisation<br />
was carried out according to their own<br />
plans and under their own direction.<br />
Later, alongside stearate, zinc, calcium and magnesium<br />
stearate were produced. These were<br />
then produced using the so-called precipitation<br />
process, i.e. stearic acid, sodium hydroxide and a<br />
large amount of water are converted into sodium<br />
stearate, and then precipitated in a second step<br />
with the addition of the appropriate metal salts<br />
Administration in the late 1950s<br />
43
Registration of the trademark from 1954<br />
44
View of the company’s premises in the early 1950s<br />
45
46<br />
The first brochure for the<br />
new hand cleaning agent<br />
business in the late 1950s
THE 1950s<br />
such as calcium chloride in an agitator tank. This<br />
costly and energy-intensive method is still widely<br />
used today where it depends on special metallic<br />
soaps properties, such as achieving a very<br />
high specific surface area. By way of example the<br />
use of zinc stearate is used for a water-repellent<br />
effect on external rendering.<br />
Another new development was the so-called<br />
drawing agent for producing (the „drawing „) of<br />
steel wires. Also, these products, based on soap<br />
or metallic soaps fit well to the Peter Greven<br />
program. Small pilot plants were built for the<br />
production of drawing agents. Production was<br />
manual and had little to do at that time with<br />
modern chemical production. The products were<br />
„baked“ in pans with lids and the finished „cake“<br />
was crushed and ground. The products were<br />
brought to the respective wire-drawing factory<br />
and tinkered and experimented with to achieve<br />
the best recipe.<br />
The drawing agent proved itself in the application,<br />
the demand grew and larger facilities had<br />
to be built. The stearate was melted in a copper<br />
pot and poured into a sheet metal trough to<br />
cool. These chunks of stearate were crushed and<br />
ground for use.<br />
The plants took on a more complex structure<br />
and were supplemented by automatic extractions<br />
and silo stockpiling.<br />
The original business, skin cleansing products<br />
had not been forgotten about. In addition to<br />
the expansion of the stearate plant, from 1958<br />
onwards systematic development of a modern<br />
skin cleanser in a dosing dispenser, soap-based<br />
and with wood-flour as an abrasive agent took<br />
place. These products cleaned more effectively<br />
than soap and could be used sparingly. In the industrial<br />
sector the bar of soap was increasingly<br />
replaced by a cleanser in a dosing dispenser.<br />
On 2nd November 1958 the company Peter Greven,<br />
the Metallgesellschaft in Frankfurt and Borax<br />
Consolidated in London founded a joint venture,<br />
the chemical factory Iversheim. As the skin<br />
cleansing agent previously used in the industry<br />
was mostly sand hand washing pastes, among<br />
other things, this had the disadvantage of blocking<br />
the factory drains due to their high sand content.<br />
A new development was required.<br />
Borax, a water-soluble mineral that was mined<br />
in the opencast mine of the Borax-Consolidated<br />
London company was sold by the Metallgesellschaft<br />
Frankfurt and was the key to producing<br />
47
THE 1950s<br />
View into the soap works of the 1950s<br />
Soft soap filling<br />
water-soluble skin cleanser for industrial use in<br />
Iversheim.<br />
The products were later marketed under the<br />
brand name IVRAXO ®.<br />
Parallel to the expansion of production they proceeded<br />
to sell skin cleansers and dispenser products<br />
only directly to the industry.<br />
From this point in time the way was paved for<br />
withdrawal from the sale of soap to the end consumer,<br />
this represented a major decision. There<br />
were still plenty of soap factories, which had to<br />
discontinue at some point or were bought because<br />
the large corporations marketed with such<br />
extensive advertising budgets that smaller producers<br />
could no longer withstand the economic<br />
pressure in the end consumer field.<br />
48
Elizabeth and Peter Greven (below, centre) at a company party<br />
49
50
At the meeting of the Shareholders’ Committee in 1956, the important decision to expand the business in the direction<br />
of fatty acid and metallic soaps production was established here, a milestone in the company history<br />
51
THE 1960s<br />
THE 2ND G<strong>EN</strong>ERATION TAKES OVER<br />
THE LEADERSHIP<br />
The second generation of owners also lived, at<br />
the outset, very closely linked with the company<br />
– they lived and worked under one roof for many<br />
years.<br />
Günther Greven, for example, still lived in this<br />
house until he got married and then moved to<br />
the Alte Landstraße, where Heinz Greven also<br />
lived. But that was only a few hundred metres<br />
from the farm on the other side of the street.<br />
Until this time, the employees could hear when<br />
he got up from the breakfast table and walked<br />
down the wooden stairs. That was the sign for<br />
them to work extra hard.<br />
Development opportunities within the company<br />
were everywhere: Collaboration was more about<br />
existing knowledge and proven skills and less<br />
about certificates and diplomas. It wasn’t unusual<br />
for an assistant to work as a foreman. People<br />
Heinz and Günther Greven<br />
53
THE 1960s<br />
Acquisition of the new steam boiler 1 with heavy fuel oil operation<br />
were pleased with the good collaboration with<br />
their bosses and were proud to have been part<br />
of the company’s development – for some it was<br />
over forty or even fifty years.<br />
Also in this second generation of the family business<br />
they worked according to fixed principles.<br />
These proven principles hardly changed over the<br />
decades and they still remained the guideline for<br />
decision-making and the standard of conduct.<br />
With hard work, solid product- management and<br />
ingenuity the foundation for lasting economic<br />
success could be recognised.<br />
The Peter Greven Company was and remained<br />
a family business, which always appraised all<br />
its possibilities realistically and decisions were<br />
made together.<br />
While the technical director Heinz Greven cared<br />
mainly for the construction and renovation of<br />
production facilities, Günther Greven as the commercial<br />
director kept his eye on the finances. His<br />
motto was: Only buy what you can directly pay for.<br />
Together they were mindful of independence and<br />
autonomy, measured the development stages of<br />
the operation so that all investment was without<br />
credit, debt or even external owners. Instead, a<br />
high proportion of the profits were always reinvested<br />
in the company.<br />
There were always opportunities for cooperation<br />
with large companies and corporations. But<br />
there was a lot of skepticism, even against the<br />
banks.<br />
54
larger competitors maintained its independence<br />
with confidence.<br />
Construction of the autoclave splitting<br />
The family unit, however, has always preferred to<br />
develop the operation gradually and slowly, and<br />
to keep everything in their own hands.<br />
With this clear policy of consistently taking small<br />
logical steps the continuity of the solid Iversheimer<br />
soap and glycerin factory was ensured.<br />
The company faced attempted takeovers by<br />
In the meantime, Germany‘s economy grew rapidly.<br />
More new products were invented for the<br />
affluent society, technological progress favoured<br />
consumption and short-lived products. More and<br />
more plastics came on the market, new technologies<br />
also made the use of metal or alkaline<br />
soaps necessary in other industries.<br />
During the 1960s and 1970s there was a lot of<br />
construction work in Germany. Due to their water-repellant<br />
qualities, zinc and calcium stearates<br />
opened new opportunities in the field of building<br />
materials, building facades could now be better<br />
protected against external moisture and thus<br />
also against frost damage and loss of energy.<br />
The need for materials from the Greven Company<br />
grew steadily during this period, also because<br />
the applications covered a lot of different<br />
industries. Metallic soaps were not only used in<br />
the paper industry as lubricants and separating<br />
agents, but also for use in the construction industry.<br />
Fatty acids -based collector chemicals of<br />
waste paper were introduced in the processing<br />
and de-inking of waste paper.<br />
Metal stearates were used in the production of<br />
lubricants, and in the rubber industry.<br />
On 16th June 1962 Peter Greven died at the age<br />
of 76. All his life, his employees had respected<br />
him and held him in high esteem and affection,<br />
55
THE 1960s<br />
as an individual as well as an employer. Before<br />
his funeral, he was laid out in front of the new fat<br />
splitting plant, so that all the employees could<br />
say goodbye.<br />
This era was also shaped by a more fundamental<br />
change:<br />
In 1962, a new fat splitting plant was built and<br />
the first from 1934 was simultaneously shut<br />
down, because they had to give way to the new,<br />
more powerful high-pressure splitting plant<br />
for fatty acid extraction. Now, more and more<br />
glycerin water was being produced, which was<br />
pumped into large containers and then sold. But<br />
they didn’t want to confine themselves to the<br />
sale of glycerin water. For further processing<br />
Heinz Greven bought a used evaporation plant<br />
in the Netherlands for the production of highly<br />
concentrated glycerin.<br />
Unlike the large-scale chemical industry it<br />
wasn’t possible to rely on existing large-scale<br />
systems and processes in order to produce the<br />
oleochemical products that were considered specialties.<br />
One had to rely on product know-how<br />
and their in-house production processes. Many<br />
of the individual appliances or process steps<br />
were also introduced in other related industries,<br />
such as the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry<br />
and dairy processing. Therefore, this deep<br />
knowledge of processes, methods and apparatus<br />
technology was essential for the economic suc-<br />
Peter Greven, † 16.6.1962<br />
cess of the company. So we repeatedly reverted<br />
to the various components, as they were used in<br />
the industries, and used them to build our own<br />
customised production facilities.<br />
In 1964, „Peter Greven soap and glycerine“<br />
changed under the leadership of Heinz and<br />
56
Works outing in the 1960s<br />
The new autoclave splitting<br />
57
EXCURSUS<br />
SOAPS AND METALLIC SOAPS<br />
Soaps are one of the oldest chemical compounds to be<br />
manufactured by humans. Soaps are thought to have<br />
been invented by the Sumerians and date back to the 4th<br />
millennium BC. As later practised in Arab countries, the<br />
Sumerians boiled plant ash with natural fats to make their<br />
soap. What is not so clear is how these soaps were used<br />
– these early products were probably not used for cleaning<br />
but for medical purposes instead. Only in the second<br />
century AD are the Romans known to have used soap for<br />
washing clothing and for bodily hygiene. Today, this use of<br />
soap is an indispensable part of our day-to-day activities.<br />
Things are a little different with metallic soaps. While we<br />
do make use of their properties in many aspects of our<br />
daily lives, we don’t realise that we do so directly. Used<br />
in the exterior render of our residential buildings, they<br />
have a water-repellent effect and therefore help to save<br />
energy. Metallic soaps also give greases their consistency,<br />
and their chemical and mechanical stability. They are an<br />
indispensable part of paper manufacturing as well, and are<br />
also used in the production of wire and piping. Metallic<br />
soaps ensure plastic window frames stay weather-resistant,<br />
while their pharmaceutical qualities are fundamental<br />
to the rapid production of tablets.<br />
Metallic soaps are not only less familiar in terms of their<br />
product categories, they are also very different to everyday<br />
soaps in terms of their chemical and physical behaviours.<br />
Metallic soaps are insoluble in water, waxy and have good<br />
properties as release agents and lubricants, while standard<br />
soaps are water-soluble and good surfactants. The two<br />
types do have one thing in common: their oleochemicals<br />
raw material base.<br />
Raw materials<br />
Both, soaps and metallic soaps, use natural oils and fats<br />
as their starter materials. The primary materials used are<br />
tallow or palm oil, with castor oil also playing an impor-<br />
Direct process Precipitation process Fusion process COAD ® process<br />
Reactor Reactor Reactor Dosing<br />
Downstream agitator<br />
Buffer<br />
Reactor<br />
Filtration/washing Flaking/spraying Spraying<br />
Drying<br />
Grinding Grinding Grinding or Shaping Grinding<br />
Siloing Siloing Siloing Siloing<br />
Filling Filling Filling Filling<br />
58<br />
Flow diagram for metallic soap production
Nachmischer<br />
Downstream agitator<br />
Puffer<br />
Buffer<br />
Mill<br />
Mühle<br />
tant role here. Occasionally, other vegetable oils such as<br />
rapeseed, sunflower, olive or soybean oil will also be used.<br />
During processing, the fats and oils are split into their<br />
fatty acid and glycerine components (see page 30–33,<br />
‘FOCUS ON oils and fats’ ). The fatty acids thereby obtained,<br />
such as tallow or palm oil fatty acid, are commonly<br />
used in standard soap production. To use the fatty acids<br />
as a raw material for metallic soaps, they are typically hydrogenated,<br />
which transforms an unsaturated fatty acid<br />
into a saturated fatty acid. The hydrogenation process is<br />
also used to manufacture margarine, for example, so as<br />
to turn a liquid vegetable oil into the spreadable consistency<br />
required for this food product. At the same time however,<br />
this also increases the chemical and physical stability<br />
of the products, which offers additional benefits for the<br />
technical applications in which metallic soaps are used.<br />
The primary component within the saturated fatty acids<br />
is stearic acid, which is also used to manufacture stearin<br />
wax candles.<br />
Alongside fatty acids, alkaline reaction partners in the<br />
form of metals are also used for the production of soaps<br />
and metallic soaps. Water-soluble standard soaps are obtained<br />
by combination with metals such as sodium or potassium,<br />
although other alkaline substances such as ammonia<br />
may also be used. For the manufacture of metallic<br />
soaps, metals such as calcium, zinc, magnesium, aluminium<br />
or lithium are used.<br />
Manufacturing process<br />
Soaps have been made from fats or oils for many hundreds<br />
of years. Early on, simple substances such as washing soda<br />
were boiled up into a soap product, with caustic soda or<br />
potash being used later. After several hours of boiling, this<br />
reaction produced a pearly-coloured emulsion, also known<br />
as glycerine soap. The next step is to add common salt:<br />
this separates the emulsion out into a solid and liquid part.<br />
The solid part – termed curd soap – can then be formed<br />
into soap bars and used as toilet soap. In many cases, additives<br />
such as perfumes and colourings will be added –<br />
these products are then known as fine soaps.<br />
59
Soap production from fatty acids was also dominated for<br />
many years by conventional batch production in open<br />
boiling kettles. The term ‘batch production’ refers to the<br />
processing of a specific quantity of material in a single<br />
reaction process. The boiling kettles used are typically<br />
equipped with an agitator system, and are heated by<br />
steam to temperatures between 60 °C and 95 °C. To manufacture<br />
a soap product, water and lye are piped into this<br />
vessel. The fatty acid is then added step-by-step, so as to<br />
induce the saponification process. Water content must be<br />
kept above 35%, because the soap mass would otherwise<br />
become too viscous for the agitator system. Following the<br />
reaction, chemical and physical parameters are configured<br />
precisely and other additives are dosed in as necessary.<br />
Liquid or semi-solid soaps can then be decanted directly<br />
from the boiling kettle. Solid soaps, which may be used in<br />
powdered laundry detergents, for example, must first be<br />
dried and transformed into their corresponding physical<br />
state. Since the drying process involves an additional input<br />
of energy, boiling kettles are now primarily used for the<br />
production of liquid or semi-solid products.<br />
Modern, continuous production methods facilitate the<br />
significantly more efficient manufacturing of solid soaps.<br />
The centrepiece of a continuous production facility is the<br />
reactor: this is pressurised and heated to temperatures of<br />
over 110 °C. Dosing pumps are then used to feed raw materials,<br />
lyes and fatty acids continuously into this reactor.<br />
Since raw materials continue to be fed into the reactor,<br />
new saponification reactions are also initiated. As a result<br />
of the high temperatures used, the reaction proceeds more<br />
quickly and the soap itself is more liquid, so that less water<br />
is required. While a downstream drying step is still necessary,<br />
the continuous method offers further advantages<br />
for this last process step, in addition to the reduced water<br />
content: the product energy and the heat released during<br />
the reaction can be utilised for drying, which results in additional<br />
savings on energy consumption.<br />
For the production of metallic soaps, four important largescale<br />
industrial methods are used:<br />
• Precipitation process<br />
• Direct process<br />
• Fusion process<br />
• COAD® process<br />
The precipitation process – also known as double decomposition<br />
– is the oldest method used for manufacturing<br />
metallic soaps. As a first step, water, caustic soda and fatty<br />
acids are mixed together in a reactor at around 60 °C to<br />
80 °C. The caustic soda and the fatty acid react to form<br />
a conventional soap solution, and the water serves as a<br />
diluting agent that keeps the mixture liquid. The second<br />
step is then to add a metal salt solution. A chemical re-<br />
60
action takes place that causes the metal component to<br />
form a compound with the fatty acid. This creates a metallic<br />
soap that precipitates out as a solid and is deposited<br />
on the floor of the reactor. This is then filtered out and<br />
washed by a filter press, so as to remove residues of other<br />
reaction components. The next step is to dry the metallic<br />
soap, so as to remove any moisture still present in the<br />
solid. Typically, parallel-flow drying will be used, whereby<br />
the warm air and the product both flow in the same direction.<br />
This type of drying takes just a few seconds. The last<br />
step in the process is product pulverisation. Precipitated<br />
metallic soaps are typically characterised by their extreme<br />
fineness. However, they still undergo a final pulverisation<br />
step, so as to break up any product clumps. The precipitation<br />
process produces very fine and effective products.<br />
Compared with precipitation, the direct process consists<br />
of just one reaction step rather than two. Here, the melted<br />
fatty acids are brought directly into contact with the<br />
metal component in a reaction mixer. Typically, only small<br />
quantities of water are used to control the reaction. Unlike<br />
precipitation, the drying step is not necessary in the direct<br />
process. However, pulverisation is more important here,<br />
since this step is required to give the product its required<br />
degree of fineness. The direct process results in products<br />
that are very easily dosed, which are primarily utilised in<br />
plastics manufacturing.<br />
The fusion process also starts with a liquid fatty acid, to<br />
which the metallic component is added. The basic principle<br />
is therefore the same as for the direct process, but no<br />
additional water is present and the temperature at which<br />
the reaction takes place is kept above the melting point of<br />
the metallic soap. Some metallic soaps cannot be manufactured<br />
using this process, however, since the metallic<br />
soaps of some metals are too viscous when molten to be<br />
properly processed by facility equipment. Yet this process<br />
does offer certain advantages, since combined products<br />
can be very easily manufactured in this molten (fused)<br />
state. These combined products may consist either of two<br />
separate metallic soaps or mixtures of metallic soaps and<br />
other additives, such as waxes. The metallic soaps manufactured<br />
using the fusion process typically exhibit good<br />
dosing properties and a clear molten mass that indicates a<br />
complete conversion.<br />
As with standard alkaline soaps, modern continuous production<br />
methods are also used for metallic soaps. Unlike<br />
the variants required for making standard soaps, however,<br />
the metals needed to produce metallic soaps are only present<br />
as solids, which makes precise dosing in the reactor<br />
as required by the formulation considerably more difficult.<br />
The COAD® process developed and patented by our US<br />
subsidiary resolves these difficulties, facilitating the highly<br />
energy-efficient production of various types of metallic<br />
soaps. In a similar way to the continuous process used for<br />
standard soaps, the heat of reaction is used directly in the<br />
process. The process is also characterised by a high conversion<br />
rate as well as excellent facility output. Products<br />
manufactured using the COAD® process are especially<br />
suitable for use within specialist applications in plastic<br />
manufacturing.<br />
61
THE 1960s<br />
Start of the construction of the metallic soaps department<br />
Günther Greven to „Peter Greven Fett-Chemie.“<br />
At the time, already one hundred employees<br />
worked for the company.<br />
In order to serve customer needs even better on<br />
site and to expand the service further, from 1964<br />
in addition to the employees in the office there<br />
were now five sales representatives travelling all<br />
over Germany who sold both products from the<br />
chemical factory Iversheim and from Peter Greven<br />
Fett-Chemie.<br />
In 1965, the offices were spread throughout the<br />
entire company, because the building was used<br />
as such. Elizabeth Greven also still lived on the<br />
premises.<br />
The purchasing department was located directly<br />
above the entrance. From there you could always<br />
see who arrived at the plant. Heinz Greven had<br />
an office in the middle of the building, so that<br />
the employees could always come directly to him<br />
with their problems.<br />
Where the commercial administration was located,<br />
was later used for production. Therefore,<br />
a new wing to the existing office building, the<br />
former home of the family, was built. Until 2013<br />
the entire commercial administration and technology<br />
was in this building.<br />
A former apprentice recalls the beginning of his<br />
training in 1965: Günther Greven said to him that<br />
from the two apprentices, he looked a bit more<br />
of a commercial type and therefore should work<br />
in the purchasing department. Thus, began the<br />
two-pronged training course as an industrial<br />
clerk in the HR department and the purchasing<br />
department. That was varied work: writing orders,<br />
filling pay packets and if necessary helping<br />
out in production.<br />
In 1967 all invoices were still typed using a typewriter,<br />
the sales were transferred to accounts by<br />
hand. A calculating device from Rheinmetall, a<br />
62
kind of computer - precursor, calculated, a short<br />
time later on its own. But printing an invoice<br />
could take up to ten minutes.<br />
It was a veritable revolution in the office when<br />
in 1968 a system with magnetic accounts was<br />
introduced from the company Kienzle. All data<br />
was stored and imported at the end of the month<br />
for the monthly ledger. This could often take up<br />
to two days, but all monthly values could be<br />
seen at one go.<br />
Production planning took place on a DIN A5<br />
sheet. Then in the evening all the orders of the<br />
day were written down. In the morning the warehouse<br />
was first checked to see what was available<br />
from the goods ordered.<br />
The department head was informed about anything<br />
which was missing, he/she then took care<br />
of the rest up to the delivery.<br />
In 1968, the first esterification plant was built<br />
at Peter Greven and thus the production of fatty<br />
acid derivatives was expanded to include another<br />
interesting group of substances, the esters.<br />
Especially the increasing plastic and rubber<br />
industry fields were target groups for the sale<br />
of these esters. The products were also largely<br />
made on the basis of their own fatty acids and<br />
supplemented the sales of metallic soaps very<br />
well, as, in the plastics industry they have, e.g.<br />
been used as so-called lubricants for extrusion<br />
of PVC profiles. Customers could be offered a<br />
broader product portfolio from a single source.<br />
Installation of a storage tank<br />
63
View of the business premises at the end of the 1960s, where the building development follows the course of the river Erft<br />
64
THE 1970s<br />
THE EXPANSION OF CAPACITY<br />
Despite the oil crisis, which in 1973 would put<br />
the global economy to the test, for the Peter Greven<br />
Company, this decade was especially characterised<br />
by further diversification of the product<br />
range.<br />
The plastics industry continued to expand and<br />
accounted from year to year for increased production.<br />
Growth and expansion also earmarked<br />
other industries - for example, mechanical engineering,<br />
automotive, food, textile, paper and<br />
cosmetics industries. This development resulted<br />
in a continued high growth potential for the sale<br />
of oleochemical products.<br />
Whoever saw the company in Iversheim as a soap<br />
and glycerin factory with an individual side production,<br />
now had to recognise the fundamental<br />
changes which would initially shape the 1970s<br />
but also later the 1980s. Under the direction of<br />
Heinz and Günther Greven the company finally<br />
developed into a chemical engineering company<br />
which flexibly met market demands and the individual<br />
needs of the customers and thus was able<br />
to stand out from most of the major providers of<br />
that time.<br />
They placed great value on the protection of inhouse<br />
product development and quality control.<br />
Also, products that were in use by various customers<br />
were investigated in the company laboratory<br />
at Iversheim. Quite often they were able<br />
to amend specific qualities that resulted from<br />
customer feedback.<br />
The laboratory was housed in part of a production<br />
plant. Five employees worked alternately<br />
here, they also took care of the specialist technical<br />
operation.<br />
Heinz Greven led both, the laboratory work as<br />
well as the technology and production plant.<br />
An attempt with the least possible outlay, and<br />
often with minimal initial quantities was made,<br />
in order to inspect the technical requirements for<br />
production on a larger scale. At the same time, it<br />
was examined whether these newly developed<br />
or adapted qualities could be reproduced on a<br />
permanent basis.<br />
Expansion of the metallic soaps production<br />
67
The new laboratory<br />
The administrative wing was attached to the existing house<br />
68
THE 1970s<br />
In addition, samples of metallic soaps were created<br />
in the laboratory. These were used as samples<br />
in the sales department for customer acquisition,<br />
and, the field sales force were also able to<br />
win over customer on-site.<br />
A good example of this came from the paper industry,<br />
where the otherwise mostly powdered<br />
metallic soaps had been used in liquid form<br />
(as a so-called dispersion) among other things,<br />
as a coating agent for surface preparation and<br />
smoothing of different kinds of paper.<br />
In 1971 a suspension containing 50% water and<br />
50% calcium stearate was successfully produced.<br />
After positive results in the laboratory, the first<br />
major tests in the plant and also later by the customer<br />
were successfully carried out.<br />
Of course, for such experiments, new apparatus<br />
was not bought directly. Firstly, it was first tested<br />
to discover, in which of the existing facilities<br />
the suspension could be produced. Initially, production<br />
took place in a plant where two stirring<br />
tanks had just become free. The technical equipment<br />
and the procedure were modified and then<br />
the suspension was produced in these boilers.<br />
These experiments and technical modifications<br />
required a lot of handwritten records and calculations,<br />
as calculators were not yet widespread.<br />
Calculations took place either by using a slide<br />
rule or with logarithm tables.<br />
With the production of the dispersions, there<br />
were now five production areas / departments<br />
at Company Greven where further refinement of<br />
their own fatty acid took place:<br />
- Soap (also called alkaline soap)<br />
- Metallic soaps<br />
- Drawing agents<br />
- Esters<br />
- Dispersions<br />
To this day, these five areas constitute the foundation<br />
of production orientation.<br />
The ever increasing production and expanding<br />
delivery quantities in international markets attracted<br />
increasing sales. Administrative tasks<br />
were more extensive, the demand for office<br />
space grew parallel to production.<br />
In 1973 a new office building was planned and<br />
built – a commercial department, sales, accounting,<br />
marketing and HR department were now<br />
working under one roof.<br />
This new administrative building was built next<br />
to the old house so that the offices which previously<br />
were scattered throughout the plant could<br />
now be centralised, this also simplified communication<br />
between the individual departments. In<br />
addition, the old office site was needed for further<br />
production plants.<br />
At the same time the chance arose to vacate the<br />
packaging area in the warehouse for specific<br />
soap packaging.<br />
This was the opportunity to rebuild the building<br />
and set up a larger and more modern laboratory.<br />
69
THE 1970s<br />
Construction of the first continuous lipolysis (tower splitting)<br />
The experimental and analytical requirements in<br />
this new laboratory adapted itself to the growing<br />
needs in product development – as an almost<br />
independent field within the company.<br />
Innovative products were developed and researched<br />
in the company and because this often<br />
involved new areas of application, there was<br />
mostly no experience here.<br />
Also, product control was developed further.<br />
During the manufacturing process, the intermediates,<br />
finally the finished products were accurately<br />
tested with different chemical and physical<br />
processes to ensure consistent quality. The Peter<br />
Greven Company was particularly well-regarded<br />
for its meticulous, ongoing quality assurance and<br />
thereby deserved its reputation as a supplier of<br />
quality products.<br />
On 12th March 1975 Elizabeth Greven, the senior<br />
partner dies at the age of 88.<br />
In 1975, the second major metallic soaps plant,<br />
working according to the direct method was put<br />
into operation. Thus, the company had a considerable<br />
capacity for efficient production of high<br />
quality stearate.<br />
In order to meet the rising demand for fatty acids,<br />
due to the ever growing metallic soaps production,<br />
it was decided to completely renew the<br />
fatty acid production.<br />
The enormous investment in the factory with fat<br />
splitting towers, distillation and hydrogenation<br />
plants for several million Marks was primarily<br />
funded from their own resources.<br />
The splitting tower continuously operating as<br />
a high pressure reactor since 1978 replaced the<br />
70
previously used splitting autoclave system which<br />
worked in batches and had a significantly lower<br />
performance level. In this, 48 tons of fat per day by<br />
adding water were continuously being split. During<br />
the splitting process besides the fatty acid,<br />
also glycerine water is obtained as a byproduct.<br />
The glycerine water was concentrated („evaporated“)<br />
and then through distillation and refining /<br />
bleaching reaches the final product quality. Glycerine<br />
is still an essential raw material for chemistry<br />
and is also used in many products for daily<br />
needs (e.g. in cosmetics as a humectant). The<br />
cleaved fatty acid was first distilled (to remove<br />
colour and odour compounds) and could then be<br />
used either as a distillate fatty acid in the soap<br />
area or was hydrogenated to stearic acid.<br />
Due to the manufacturing of its own fatty acids<br />
as a raw material for the production, independence<br />
from the commodity markets was developed.<br />
In addition, a consistent high quality raw<br />
material was achieved and guaranteed.<br />
For the constructive planning, the authorisation<br />
process and the establishment of the financial<br />
and technically very complex investment, two<br />
years were required.<br />
The rather complex infrastructure of the location<br />
is supplemented by the characteristics of the<br />
Erft to swell very quickly, as groundwater flow<br />
during intense rainfall. This is enhanced by the<br />
steady rise of mountains towards the Eifel, from<br />
where the water is pushed down. The situation<br />
Toilet soap production, bars of soap were cut from the soap strand here<br />
View of the soap press<br />
71
72<br />
Delivery and installation of a fatty acid distillation
THE 1970s<br />
improved radically, when in 1978, about eight<br />
kilometers above the company, in Eicherscheid,<br />
a rainwater retention basin with a volume of one<br />
million cubic meters was built.<br />
Determined by the river Erft on one side and the<br />
mountain on the other, spatial extensions were<br />
not possible. The only viable solution was the<br />
expansion of the industrial area over the Erft.<br />
The gardens that were there belonged to a large<br />
number of local residents. Until the mid-1970s,<br />
the Greven Company acquired these individual<br />
plots for the planned expansion.<br />
Another essential condition for building the extension<br />
of the fat processing was the relocation<br />
of the original soap factory, which was located<br />
on the premises where the new fatty acid plant<br />
should end up.<br />
A technical challenge was the piping installation,<br />
all parts had to be connected together and had<br />
to be heated even when cold and frosty, when<br />
73<br />
The company’s premises in the 1970s
Heinz & Günther Greven<br />
the fats are processed and pumped through the<br />
plant, the material needs to remain liquid.<br />
The hall for soap production was built on the<br />
other side of the Erft, the relocation of the soap<br />
production. They needed a storage tank to keep<br />
resources available in order to store intermediate<br />
and final products before they were loaded into<br />
tankers. Also, earlier no space had been available<br />
in the old company.<br />
A pipe bridge connected both operating parts for<br />
the transport of energy, raw materials and consumables.<br />
With the construction of a bridge over the Erft<br />
it enabled the company to have good transport<br />
connections from a second side. There was also<br />
the possibility to reach the company via the<br />
Bendenweg and the Peter-Greven-Straße.<br />
74
THE 1970s<br />
The first powder dispenser for<br />
hand cleaning powder<br />
LIGAFIX brochure from the 1970s<br />
75
THE 1980s<br />
THE ARRIVAL OF<br />
AUTOMATION<br />
In the 80s fundamental changes took place in<br />
the managerial structure of the company.<br />
In 1981, Ewald Beier – a very experienced and<br />
long-time employee received the authority to<br />
act as a (non-managing) director. Thereby, the<br />
first authorised representative outside the Greven<br />
family. He held joint procuration with the<br />
former sales manager Alfred Lachnit, who was a<br />
nephew of Günther and Heinz Greven.<br />
On 31st December 1984 Heinz Greven resigned<br />
as managing director of the company. But in the<br />
years that followed he still worked in the company<br />
in an advisory capacity.<br />
After the departure of his brother, Günther Greven<br />
had been sole director until 1986, until<br />
Ewald Beier was named as the commercial director.<br />
With Dr. Jochen Billecke there was also<br />
an experienced manager from the industry – he<br />
came from the Dalli-Werken – he was engaged<br />
as the technical director. The company management<br />
was completed by Alfred Lachnit .<br />
In addition to expanding and further automation<br />
of the fatty acid plants they also continued<br />
working on the development of the second business<br />
mainstay, industrial skin protection products,<br />
although the developments were much<br />
slower here and the production and sales volume<br />
couldn’t reach anything like the products of<br />
fat chemistry. Nevertheless, this was still a highly<br />
lucrative business because the products were<br />
View from the metallic soaps department to the splitting tower<br />
less exposed to fluctuating commodity prices<br />
and the broad product range brought some planning<br />
certainty.<br />
After the powder soap for heavy soiling of the<br />
hands, for which Greven also offered a dispenser<br />
system, liquid hand soaps and washing pastes<br />
were developed. The materials contained in the<br />
soap powder were not suitable for skin-friendly<br />
washing of the hands.<br />
The development and production of hand cleaning<br />
cream on the basis of friction elements<br />
equaled a revolution in industrial skin cleansing.<br />
It enabled efficient but gentle cleansing.<br />
A program with a variety of applications was also<br />
offered for the liquid soap dispensers.<br />
Ever more, bars of soap for everyday use disappeared<br />
in the industry. But it was still produced<br />
for the Ruhr Coal AG because they had no way<br />
77
EXCURSUS<br />
THE DEVELOPM<strong>EN</strong>T OF PROFESSIONAL SKIN CARE<br />
IN THE 20 TH C<strong>EN</strong>TURY<br />
Until the 30s<br />
In the early days of industrialisation, most companies create<br />
their hand cleaners themselves. Until well into the<br />
30s, for example, soft soaps are mixed with sand, pumice<br />
powder or crushed feldspar for this purpose. The single<br />
criterion is quick and effective cleaning. Also, the first industrially-manufactured<br />
products follow this principle and<br />
use sand, pumice powder and feldspar as abrasives. Skin<br />
protection or care products are used at most on private<br />
initiative – there is no awareness of their necessity.<br />
In addition, bars of soap (toilet soap) are mainly used in the<br />
mining industry, where allocation is made on a person-byperson<br />
basis. In the middle of the 1930s, the cumulation<br />
of eczemas leads to the demand for soap-free products.<br />
New surfactant-based soap-free cleaning lotions come on<br />
the market.<br />
The 50s<br />
In the 50s, the idea of skin protection gains in popularity.<br />
In addition to cleaning agents, protection and care products<br />
are now used for the first time, to prevent occupa-<br />
tional dermatitis. Skin protection products are applied before<br />
and during work. Their purpose is to prevent the entry<br />
of potentially harmful substances into the skin. Hand care<br />
products are used after stressful work or cleaning. They<br />
compensate for the loss of moisture and fat, the skin is<br />
affected by being exposed to stress, water, detergents and<br />
degreasing agents. Unlike protection products that are intended<br />
to act as an external protective layer, care products<br />
penetrate into the skin.<br />
In the field of hand cleaning, the first dispensing systems<br />
allow for an effective and user-friendly application. They<br />
offer a decisive advantage, especially with regard to the<br />
hygienic conditions in damp washrooms. Since individual<br />
dosing from a closed dispenser prevents direct contact<br />
with the cleaning agent, germs can be reduced.<br />
The 60s<br />
In the 60s, the demand for less skin-irritating and gentle<br />
skin cleansers leads to an increased production of cleansing<br />
products without mineral-oil-based solvents. Instead,<br />
more skin-friendly solvents and surfactants are used. In<br />
the field of abrasives, wood powder replaces the former,<br />
highly-abrasive scrubbing agents. Wood powder is not<br />
only more skin friendly, it also does not clog the drains.<br />
However, in addition to the lower cleansing power, the<br />
disadvantages of wood powder are a high allergenic potential<br />
and severe restrictions for the formulation of skin<br />
cleansers due to the risk of microbial contamination and<br />
the swelling properties of wood.<br />
From the 60s, the variety of products in the field of protection<br />
and care products increases enormously. Reason<br />
for this great variety is the assumption that the effect of<br />
a product crucially depends on galenics. Therefore, a special<br />
product is provided for each area of application, whose<br />
carrier substances and excipients are adapted to exactly<br />
78
the harmful substances, the user comes into contact with<br />
during his work.<br />
The 70s<br />
Since the 70s, plastic scrubbing agents made of PE or PU<br />
become more and more established as an alternative to<br />
wood powder. They are characterised by simple processability<br />
without formulation restrictions, as well as by low<br />
abrasive effects, with a nevertheless good cleaning effect.<br />
Thanks to modern sewage treatment plants, their limited<br />
biodegradability does not pose a problem.<br />
The 90s<br />
From the 90s, the variety in the field of protection and care<br />
products decreases, after realizing that galenics are not<br />
crucial for the effect of a product. Emulsions break on the<br />
skin and their ingredients work together with the horny<br />
layer of the epidermis to provide protection. These findings<br />
make it possible to combine preparations for numerous<br />
application areas into a clearer product range. In addition,<br />
progress and increasing automation have changed<br />
the type and extent of occupational skin exposure. Extreme<br />
and constant stress on the skin, which was common<br />
in many professions in the 30s, is now only an exception.<br />
Pearls® (ASP): wax pearls made of hydrogenated castor<br />
oil, which are characterised by a soft, smooth surface.<br />
ASP do not support the cleaning process like conventional<br />
abrasives purely by mechanical abrasion, but primarily<br />
through their lipophilic surface structure, which is able to<br />
bind oily dirt particles.<br />
The 2010s<br />
Recent scientific research proves that free radicals play an<br />
important role in the formation of irritant and allergic contact<br />
dermatitis. In order to effectively counter aggressive<br />
oxygen radicals, ingredients with antioxidant properties<br />
are used. The patented flavonoid extract of reseda luteola<br />
(luteolin) reduces the risk of inflammation, which is caused<br />
by the formation of free radicals. The combination of luteolin<br />
with the body’s own antioxidants vitamin E and coenzyme<br />
Q10 is used exclusively by PGP in the innovative<br />
skin protection cream PROTEXSAN®.<br />
Natural scrubbing agents, such as walnut shell powder,<br />
take the increasingly important environmental aspect into<br />
account. Their production from renewable raw materials<br />
and their complete biodegradability play a crucial role in<br />
allowing the abrasives walnut shell powder and corncob<br />
meal to gain acceptance, even though they impose restrictions<br />
on the formulation of cleaning agents.<br />
Since 2007<br />
The demand for more skin-friendly products finally leads<br />
to the use of waxes as “dirt-removing agents”. Peter Greven<br />
Physioderm (PGP) develops the innovative Active Soft<br />
79
As it is as friendly to the environment as it is gentle to<br />
the user’s skin, in 2016, the cleansing lotion ECOSAN® is<br />
awarded the EU Ecolabel. In the following year, the product<br />
is the first rinse-off cosmetic product being awarded the<br />
prestigious BLUE ANGEL environmental label. A further<br />
step in the effort to create environmentally-friendly and<br />
ecologically-compatible products is the definite replacement<br />
of plastic abrasives (microplastics) by olive seed powder.<br />
The renewable raw material - which is a waste-product<br />
of olive-oil production - has some advantages, especially<br />
in comparison with other alternatives: good biodegradability<br />
and sufficient availability on the European market. In<br />
the following years, further skin cleansing products with<br />
and without abrasives are awarded the EU Ecolabel.<br />
The 2020s<br />
At the beginning of the decade, the rapidly spreading COV-<br />
ID 19 pandemic leads to shortages in the supply of disinfectants,<br />
which also affects PGP. However, those who want<br />
to protect themselves in their professional environment<br />
can do so without disinfectants - just by washing their<br />
hands regularly and correctly. This leads to unprecedented<br />
sales volumes and corresponding sales figures at PGP.<br />
Digitization in the prevention of occupational skin diseases<br />
is making progress in great strides. In addition to the introduction<br />
of an online tool for the creation of hand-care<br />
plans at the end of 2018, those responsible for skin care in<br />
companies are provided with a further online tool for skin<br />
care training in 2020. This means that training sessions no<br />
longer have to be held in person, but can be passed individually<br />
on a computer or mobile devices.<br />
80
Five years after the inauguration of the new logistics center,<br />
the production site in Euskirchen is further upgraded with<br />
a new extension at the end of 2020. The complex, which<br />
costs around two million euros and covers 825 square meters,<br />
houses laboratory as well as washing, changing and<br />
social rooms for the employees. The extension brings the<br />
development department - previously located at the headquarters<br />
of the Peter Greven Group in Bad Münstereifel -<br />
closer to the sales and production departments.<br />
Sustainability is a key aspect of the construction project.<br />
For example, a very powerful photovoltaic system with<br />
320 kWp (kilowatt peak) is setup on the roof of the existing<br />
part of the building. The system produces 289,000 kWh<br />
of electricity annually - equivalent to the average energy<br />
consumption of around 72 four-person households. Among<br />
other things, the electricity flows into 2 double charging<br />
stations so that electric and hybrid company vehicles can<br />
be charged in a completely CO2-neutral manner.<br />
81
THE 1980s<br />
Cleaning products alone were not enough for the<br />
industrial applications range. The range was extended<br />
to include numerous protection and care<br />
products.<br />
The administrative office in the late 1980s<br />
The mid-eighties a competent partner, the<br />
Penaten Company was found, with specific experience<br />
in the areas of skin protection and skin<br />
care. Penaten delivered two protective and two<br />
care products which Peter Greven could sell<br />
exclusively in the industrial sector. This ideally<br />
complemented the self-produced cleaners. The<br />
enormous popularity of the Penaten brand name<br />
was also very helpful in developing a good market<br />
position in skin protection and skin care.<br />
of working with dispenser systems underground.<br />
The Ruhr Coal AG received separate bars with<br />
their own stamp: RAG. Miners who worked above<br />
ground, received six bars of soap in cellophane<br />
for a week, the miners working underground<br />
received eleven bars. Quality Toilet soaps were<br />
also commissioned by some well-known brands,<br />
such as Fenjala and Eubos.<br />
The company supplied a wide range of customers<br />
the product range was designed deliberately<br />
in this way and expanded with custom-made developments.<br />
New technologies also entered the administration.<br />
Many transactions were still dealt with by<br />
telex. An order form was sent to the customer,<br />
which he/she then signed and returned.<br />
Although quite a few things were already done<br />
by fax, the authenticity of the documents was<br />
not considered safe as they darkened or the writing<br />
faded when using thermal paper.<br />
Initially, account cards with a magnetic strip were<br />
still used in the office. In about 1989 electronic<br />
data processing systems were increasingly being<br />
introduced into the Peter Greven Company.<br />
82
Range of toilet soaps in the 1980s<br />
Dispenser for hand cleaning cream in cans<br />
Bottling device for liquid and pasty hand cleaning agents<br />
83
THE 1980s<br />
Although some of the company departments<br />
were already working with computers and a<br />
central computer, an IBM/36-System. The first<br />
computer systems were set up in the commercial<br />
administration department. Gradually, each<br />
department had established its own data processing<br />
systems, as well as in the laboratory, for<br />
example.<br />
The conversion of the manually controlled systems<br />
to computerised processes in the production<br />
process characterises the 80s at Peter Greven.<br />
Modern technology in the 1980s<br />
In 1989 a fat purifier was built, in 1989/1990<br />
the metal working shop and social rooms were<br />
thoroughly renewed and planning began for a<br />
new central warehouse. The existing warehouse<br />
and logistics capacity was far from sufficient for<br />
the sharp rise in production output. That had to<br />
change.<br />
It began with the construction of a computerised<br />
high-bay warehouse. 3000 storage positions in<br />
various sizes were now available for a variety of<br />
packaging units - depending on the product, for<br />
example, on pallets, drums or sacks.<br />
84
The end of the 1980s planned central warehouse after completion<br />
Due to increasing quantities, many raw materials<br />
and products were now being transported<br />
in tankers and silo-vehicles and no longer as<br />
packed, palletised goods.<br />
Technical progress in the form of automation resulted<br />
between 1980 and 1989 in the construction<br />
of eight silos in the metallic soap department,<br />
the introduction of automatic packaging<br />
machines (1987/88), robotic palletising (1988)<br />
and an automatic film winding system, and the<br />
establishment of modern big-bag filling (1985<br />
to 1989) . Hence, the growing needs of the market<br />
and the increasing diversity and quantity of<br />
production were met. At the same time, the demand<br />
for packaging materials was considerably<br />
reduced, as well as the machining costs. For 20<br />
years this technique would perform a reliable<br />
service.<br />
85
86<br />
Peter Greven company brochures: In addition<br />
to metallic soaps, which have become<br />
the leading product segment, in the 1970s<br />
and 1980s an extensive program of cleaning<br />
agents was produced and distributed
THE 1990s<br />
NEW TECHNOLOGIES<br />
The construction of silo-trailer filling equipment<br />
completed in 1992 to optimise the entire logistics<br />
of the company Peter Greven.<br />
At this time about 50 tons of metallic soaps in a<br />
continuous shift operation were being produced<br />
without the production volume from the dispersion<br />
system and powder mixtures. The metallic<br />
soaps processing plants produced on week days,<br />
in the shifts around the clock, and at the weekend,<br />
depending on orders.<br />
It didn’t take long for the splitting tower with a<br />
capacity of almost fifty tons daily could no longer<br />
sufficiently meet the continuous needs of the<br />
fatty acid production. In 1992, another plant was<br />
built with a daily processing capacity of 100 tons<br />
of tallow.<br />
More fatty acid and glycerol from the splitting<br />
required larger curing units, more powerful distillation<br />
plants and much more, for the increasing<br />
product amounts even more tank volume<br />
was needed. Complete processing lines had to<br />
be enlarged.<br />
View of the plant in the 1990s<br />
89
THE 1990s<br />
As one of the first companies in the industry, the<br />
family Peter Greven decided in 1992 to make the<br />
switch from conventional batch saponification to<br />
fully automatic continuous saponification.<br />
With the previous method, in which also a drum<br />
dryer was integrated, water repellents, de-inking<br />
soaps and soaps for the detergent industry were<br />
reliably and persistently produced, but not in sufficient<br />
quantities. So part deliveries were common.<br />
Since 1993, the fully automatic saponification<br />
continuously processed a mixture of fatty acid<br />
and suds. Up to twenty tons, around the clock,<br />
seven days a week could now be produced daily.<br />
The manufacture of bars of soap and liquid soaps<br />
looks back on a centuries-long tradition. The<br />
product knowledge, their production and raw<br />
materials was compiled at a time when it was still<br />
far away from the modern chemical industry with<br />
its current quality standards. It was so much more<br />
old craftsmanship. Soap making experts were responsible<br />
for the preparation of the soaps, they<br />
monitored their quality, and the craftsman’s techniques<br />
were utilised. Thus, the transparency and<br />
consistency of soft soap was assessed by spreading<br />
on glass plates. It was scrupulously paid attention<br />
to that during saponification not too<br />
much excess solution was used. This was done by<br />
so-called „tongue tapping” i.e., the soap making<br />
expert tasted the soap, and his trained tongue<br />
could perceive traces of excess water.<br />
The continuous saponification plant<br />
For each product there was a well-defined specification<br />
with standardised test methods. From<br />
now on, product clearance and quality management<br />
was centrally responsible and analyses<br />
were performed by trained laboratory technicians<br />
and tested according to these accepted<br />
test methods. This meant a huge change for<br />
many of the long-established soap makers and<br />
was initially met with skepticism. Here again employee<br />
flexibility is illustrated. In the end, the<br />
new methods and procedures were quickly and<br />
completely adopted.<br />
The extensive building work was financially well<br />
planned and implemented entirely without debt.<br />
Financial independence was important for the<br />
executive board and was only possible on the<br />
basis of sound economic management.<br />
90
The executive board to Günther Greven was<br />
supported from the other family members, who<br />
since 1955 (founding of the limited commercial<br />
partnership) as a general meeting and shareholders‘<br />
committee in the areas of investment<br />
and financing, co-determined the company’s financial<br />
investments.<br />
At the annual general meeting at that time, as<br />
today, there is also a family reunion, the balance<br />
sheets were discussed. Then the partners discussed<br />
proposals for the appropriation of profits.<br />
The need to release the generated money in a<br />
meaningful manner for further investment in the<br />
plant has been recognised and confirmed repeatedly<br />
by the shareholders to this day. Through this<br />
reinvestment of profits the company has generally<br />
been able to refrain from borrowing. Another<br />
important advantage of the structure of a family<br />
business over corporations was thus that longterm<br />
strategic planning was possible without<br />
having to worry that with a change of management<br />
the company‘s goals would be redefined.<br />
consistently high quality of the products from<br />
the beginning. Indeed, also the processing of<br />
customer orders and compliance with specific<br />
quality requirements was guaranteed, although<br />
a common quality standard was required.<br />
Therefore considerations started early to certify<br />
the quality management of the company in accordance<br />
with DIN ISO 9001.<br />
Such a system was not only new for the company<br />
but was not the norm for the production<br />
Heinz Greven dies on 24th December 1993 at the<br />
age of 77.<br />
At the beginning of the nineties the introduction<br />
of quality standards began, compliance with<br />
which was soon stipulated by the customer. At<br />
the Peter Greven Company, sophisticated, physical<br />
and chemical laboratory tests guaranteed a<br />
Heinz Greven, † 24. 12. 1993<br />
91
EXCURSUS<br />
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS FOR METALLIC SOAPS AND ESTERS<br />
Since our products are based on renewable raw materials,<br />
they are a very popular choice for use as natural additives<br />
in all areas of manufacturing.<br />
Metallic soaps and esters make up the majority of our<br />
product portfolio. Metallic soaps in particular are highly<br />
versatile materials, often referred to as ‘all-rounders’ for<br />
this reason. In fact, many people are unaware that metallic<br />
soaps are found in many everyday objects – so we actually<br />
encounter them in various formats on a day-to-day basis.<br />
The most common areas of application for our metallic<br />
soaps and esters are as follows.<br />
1. Plastics<br />
Most of the applications for our products are to be found<br />
in plastics: more than 25% of our revenue is earned here,<br />
with the industry using our products in the manufacture<br />
and processing of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene<br />
(PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene foam/expanded polystyrene<br />
(EPS) and many other types of plastics.<br />
Metallic soaps are probably one of the most important<br />
stabilisers, as they not only offer outstanding stabilisation<br />
but are also characterised by their good lubricating properties.<br />
Accordingly, calcium and zinc stearates plus various<br />
esters are utilised as stabilisers and lubricants for many<br />
kinds of plastic mixtures.<br />
92
One example that can be mentioned here is the use of our<br />
products in PVC window frames.<br />
A window frame is manufactured by extruding a mixture<br />
made from PVC powder, impact modifiers, stabilisers, lubricants,<br />
pigments and fillers (such as chalks, quartz or<br />
limestone). The use of metallic soaps as special stabilisers<br />
protects the window frame from degradation as a result of<br />
exposure to heat or light, while using esters as lubricants<br />
not only simplifies processing work but also optimises the<br />
surface gloss and the surface finish of the final products.<br />
Our products therefore improve the stability and the surface<br />
gloss of your plastic window frames.<br />
Alongside the PVC window frames mentioned above, our<br />
products are also used in many other types of plastic mixtures,<br />
which our customers then use to make items such as<br />
drinking water and wastewater piping, CD sleeves, films,<br />
plastic boxes, salad bowls, mobile phones and medical<br />
products such as blood bags or syringes.<br />
93
2. Construction<br />
An exterior render is not only used to improve the appearance<br />
of a building but also protects it from sun, rain, snow<br />
and mould formation. To achieve this, the render must be<br />
hydrophobic:<br />
making a building material hydrophobic means ensuring<br />
it is moisture-repellent or at least less able to absorb water.<br />
This is where our products come into play: products<br />
we make such as sodium oleate, zinc stearate or special<br />
combined products achieve this water-repellent effect in a<br />
wide variety of construction materials.<br />
3. Lubricants<br />
Greases and lubricating oils are solid, semi-solid or liquid<br />
lubricants that are used to reduce friction and wear<br />
at bearing and contact points on the one hand, while also<br />
providing protection from corrosion, ensuring the dissipation<br />
of heat and removing unwanted particles from the<br />
friction point.<br />
The lubricant products are then used for the lubrication of<br />
chainsaws, machine parts like rolling and plain bearings,<br />
conveyor chains and cables, and gearboxes.<br />
Although mineral oil is one of the best-known lubricants,<br />
94
we have developed a range of synthetic esters as alternatives<br />
to mineral oil. These esters contain no solvents or<br />
mineral oils and therefore offer an environmentally friendly<br />
alternative for use as hydraulic fluids, gear oils, engine<br />
oils, corrosion inhibitors and metalworking fluids. All of<br />
our esters are based on naturally occurring, renewable<br />
raw materials. Furthermore, these esters offer significantly<br />
better properties than mineral oils in terms of lubrication,<br />
viscosity, low-temperature behaviour, volatility and biodegradability,<br />
and are therefore ideal as an environmentally<br />
friendly option.<br />
95
4. Pharmaceuticals<br />
For the pharmaceutical industry, the plant-based magnesium<br />
stearate from our production facility in Venlo is<br />
indispensable: magnesium stearate is present in (almost)<br />
every tablet that we swallow. The substance is used as<br />
a lubricant, making the tablets themselves more stable<br />
while also ensuring that the tablets are released from the<br />
mould more easily during manufacturing, thereby achieving<br />
a higher level of production output. We are the market<br />
leader in magnesium stearate and supply it to all major<br />
pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide.<br />
5. Food and feed<br />
Plant-based stearates are also important additives for use<br />
in the food industry. Our magnesium stearate is used as<br />
a foaming agent and emulsifier in rusk and baking powder<br />
products, and as a lubricant for the tabletisation of<br />
pressed confectionary such as peppermint drops or glu-<br />
96
cose tablets. Calcium stearate is similarly used as an emulsifier<br />
and lubricant for almost every boiled sweet.<br />
Our stearates are also used as flow additives to make<br />
powdered food products such as spices easier to fill. They<br />
make these products easier to fill into small packaging<br />
units while also extending the product shelf life.<br />
Alongside magnesium and calcium stearate, sodium stearate<br />
also plays an important role in the food industry, offering<br />
excellent properties as a coating agent, emulsifier,<br />
anti-caking or gelling agent, and is used in chewing gum<br />
base materials and baking aids, for example.<br />
In the animal feed industry, sodium stearate is also used<br />
to improve flowability, so as to ensure that chicken feed<br />
(for example) does not clump together during production.<br />
97
6. Cosmetics<br />
Whether the sun is shining or it’s snowing outside, the use<br />
of our aluminium stearate in creams such as the famous<br />
Nivea cream in the blue tin ensures that these products<br />
retain their desired consistency. We have been the primary<br />
supplier of aluminium stearate to global cosmetic groups<br />
such as Beiersdorf for many years now.<br />
Nor is aluminium stearate the only product used in the cosmetics<br />
industry.<br />
Thanks to its outstanding gelling properties, sodium stearate<br />
is used in the production of deodorant sticks, while<br />
zinc stearate is indispensable for make-up, being used in<br />
powders, mascaras and eyeshadows as a water-repellent<br />
and protective agent.<br />
These are, in a nutshell, the most important applications<br />
in which our products are used. Thanks to their natural,<br />
environmentally friendly origin and their special product<br />
properties, our products are also a very popular choice as<br />
additives for use in many other areas of manufacturing,<br />
such as in paints and varnishes, textiles or seed and fertilisers.<br />
And new applications are constantly being discovered<br />
for our ‘all-rounders’.<br />
98
The Executive Board in 1999: Ewald Beier, Günther Greven, Peter Greven, Alfred Lachnit (left to right)<br />
and management of small and medium-sized<br />
businesses in the chemical industry to undergo<br />
such certification.<br />
In 1994, system structures and standardised control<br />
mechanisms were introduced at Peter Greven<br />
Fett-Chemie in Iversheim. Of these, not only<br />
the laboratory and production were affected, but<br />
all departments, including purchasing and sales<br />
now had to act according to established work<br />
instructions. This also gave the Peter Greven<br />
Company an advantage over competitors that<br />
had not yet implemented this. Soon, many buyers<br />
only accepted suppliers who could show appropriate<br />
certification.<br />
99
Through further production mechanisation the<br />
employees job requirements changed quite considerably.<br />
Now, among others, skilled chemical workers<br />
with adequate training were needed, a trained<br />
non-specialist employee was no longer sufficient<br />
to control the complicated production processes.<br />
Also, at the beginning of the nineties another<br />
company tradition continued - the third generation<br />
of the family joined the management team.<br />
Peter Greven, born in 1966, took on the position<br />
of executive assistant in Iversheim, directly after<br />
successfully completing his studies of Business<br />
Administration in Cologne.<br />
Peter Greven was one of the first medium-sized companies<br />
to receive certification according to DIN ISO 9001<br />
He was familiar with the company as an intern<br />
and later worked there as a student. Peter Greven<br />
was thus well acquainted with all operations<br />
and, like his father and uncle before him, grew<br />
into the company.<br />
Soon, he had acquired extensive knowledge in<br />
product chemistry, marketing and sales. Thanks<br />
to his keen technical interest and with the help<br />
of experienced staff he acquired within a short<br />
time, among other things, much knowledge in<br />
application engineering which was advantageous<br />
with the work with large customers.<br />
100
THE 1990s<br />
In 1993 Peter Greven became the managing director<br />
of Peter Greven Fett-Chemie GmbH & Co<br />
KG.<br />
By mutual agreement, the technical director Dr.<br />
Jochen Billecke retires from the company on 31st<br />
December 1994. After which, in the following<br />
years, the senior management consists of the<br />
two managing partners Günther and Peter Greven,<br />
a second CEO Ewald Beier and the authorised<br />
representative Alfred Lachnit.<br />
On an open day, two large halls on the premises<br />
were cleared out and a stage and seating were<br />
constructed. All the employees and visitors were<br />
able to help themselves to food and drink at the<br />
many stalls.<br />
In 1996, a further step towards computer-assisted<br />
processing of operations took place, with the introduction<br />
of the electronic order processing and<br />
production planning systems ProPlan and Pro-<br />
Store. Orders could now be completely tracked<br />
from their intake to production planning, warehouse<br />
management, batch tracking and posting.<br />
Every amount supplied to customers could now<br />
be assigned easily and clearly to the production<br />
batch and could be safely traced back to the raw<br />
materials. Even closer networking of all departments<br />
of the company was created.<br />
In 1998, 75 years of Peter Greven in Iversheim<br />
was celebrated in style with local residents, interested<br />
parties, and business associates. Similarly,<br />
the 80 year history of the company was<br />
celebrated five years later.<br />
Peter Greven<br />
101
Dr. Ingo Wolf, at the time Chief Administrative Officer, later Minister of the Interior<br />
NRW, presents Günther Greven with an application for a licence on the 75th company<br />
anniversary<br />
The company celebrations, organised since 1999<br />
are another contribution to the healthy work environment:<br />
Always alternating between a family<br />
festival with football tournaments for all employees<br />
and their family members held at the<br />
Iversheimer sports field one year and a festival<br />
held for the annual closure in the next.<br />
After several failed attempts to integrate external<br />
executives from other companies, there was<br />
a change of ideas, in which young people were<br />
sought out, straight from university or professionals<br />
who were looking for their second position<br />
were brought to the company.<br />
Hildegund Greven, Alfred Lachnit and Günther Greven<br />
For the first time, in 1999 three chemical technicians<br />
began their apprenticeships. Since then,<br />
many different professional groups, such as<br />
industrial clerks, mechatronic technicians, industrial<br />
mechanics, chemical technicians, electronics<br />
technicians, laboratory assistants and<br />
specialists in warehouse management have been<br />
trained, together with the Rhein- Erft Academy,<br />
which takes over part of the practical training,<br />
where excellent results are achieved. Thus, trainees<br />
from the company Peter Greven are already<br />
the best in Germany.<br />
102
Boiling plant<br />
viewed from the<br />
river Erft<br />
103
THE 2000s<br />
INTERNATIONALISATION<br />
The transition into a new millennium was associated<br />
with global speculation about possible<br />
problems, especially concerning computer-controlled<br />
processes. Thanks to good preparation<br />
and monitoring of all processes the new millennium<br />
proved to cause no problems at Peter Greven,<br />
as with most companies.<br />
The protection of people and the environment<br />
was for the Peter Greven Company, since its inception,<br />
a natural part of the work.<br />
With considerable expertise and decades of experience,<br />
safety precautions have been established,<br />
which alongside regular security analyses should<br />
exclude danger to employees and the neighborhood.<br />
The location of the facility in the scenic surroundings<br />
and proximity to the spa town of Bad Münstereifel<br />
were the natural requirement for effective<br />
safety and environmental management.<br />
The environmental management system was certified<br />
in 2000 according to DIN 14001 ISO, which<br />
regulates the standards regarding the use of the<br />
environment and its resources.<br />
The environmental certification was essential as<br />
was the implementation of quality standards according<br />
to DIN ISO 9001 at the beginning of the<br />
nineties, in order to demonstrate, at any time and<br />
without doubt, the company expertise to the customer.<br />
For many customers, this was a necessary<br />
condition in order to survive as a supplier.<br />
The environmental management system for all<br />
processes in the technical operation and the<br />
production is very extensive, with monitoring of<br />
about fifty individual plants and their linkages.<br />
Around the clock, seven days a week high temperatures<br />
and high pressure are in operation.<br />
Dust-like emissions, effluents, technical parameters<br />
- everything must be checked and recorded.<br />
With respect to the authorities, they must be<br />
shown at all times that the allowable values are<br />
observed.<br />
A closely networked monitoring system checks<br />
all parts of the given parameters, and records the<br />
measurement data. For each plant, a process control<br />
system registers all the essential parameters<br />
of the technical operation as a visual system. At<br />
the same time it functions as a control system. All<br />
important data - such as temperature, pressure<br />
or flow rates - are available to the operator to<br />
ensure a trouble-free production process.<br />
Completely unexpectedly Alfred Lachnit, who<br />
had for decades led the sales department, and<br />
had excellent contacts with all major customers,<br />
died in 2000 at the age of 59. Mr. Lachnit was also<br />
a member of the executive board, and as a member<br />
of the family also a shareholder. His sudden<br />
death left a big gap that could only gradually be<br />
filled by internal personnel.<br />
105
THE 2000s<br />
Alfred Lachnit, † 02.03.2000<br />
Mr. Werner Heiliger joins the company in 1999<br />
and works as head of controlling and financial<br />
accounting. On 26th July 2000 he is given procuration,<br />
and at the same time joins the executive<br />
board.<br />
The new decade should be characterised by expansion<br />
and transformation of the company. The<br />
current strategy was no longer limited to the expansion<br />
or upgrading at the traditional location.<br />
An additional aim, internationalisation of the<br />
company was now defined, which also required<br />
building new sites.<br />
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) hit the<br />
headlines in the late 1990s as „mad cow disease“<br />
and was a much-debated public issue. The reason<br />
was mainly the assumption that a new variant of<br />
the fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease caused BSE<br />
when humans ate infected beef.<br />
The domestic cattle prions, atypical proteins<br />
were blamed for the disease, and as a processor<br />
of beef tallow, Peter Greven also received many<br />
inquiries and visits from concerned customers.<br />
For the protection of consumers against this<br />
pathogen in the soap, the company published a<br />
double strategy: The company had to prove that<br />
the raw materials were derived from BSE-free<br />
cattle. Moreover, that if any pathogens were present<br />
that they were killed during the processing<br />
of beef tallow, under high temperatures and high<br />
pressure.<br />
But even if it was proved that no pathogen could<br />
survive the production process in Bad Münstereifel,<br />
many customers only wanted products<br />
from plant materials.<br />
For this, product manufacturing vegetable fatty acids<br />
from a palm oil base from Asia were used. But<br />
the questions and discussions didn’t end here. Because,<br />
what if the installation had previously produced<br />
a technical product made from animal fatty<br />
acid: How often was the plant cleaned? How many<br />
anticipated batches run that are not delivered?<br />
106
Production site in Venlo, NL<br />
Preparation area: Production in Venlo takes place under<br />
GMP conditions in strictly separated production plants<br />
107
THE 2000s<br />
Assembly of a new storage tank for fatty acid<br />
This connection revealed how important it was<br />
for certain customer groups and sales regions to<br />
have access to products from pure vegetable production.<br />
Peter Greven Fettchemie recognised the<br />
new needs as a promising new segment for the<br />
product portfolio.<br />
The first step was taken in the year 2000, when<br />
Peter Greven took the opportunity to take over<br />
operation of Akros Chemicals, a subsidiary of<br />
Akzo in Venlo (NL).<br />
Contrary to Bad Münstereifel where largely animal<br />
raw materials were processed which did not<br />
meet the quality requirements of several industries,<br />
production in this concern was based exclusively<br />
on vegetable raw materials. This was<br />
the perfect complement to the existing product<br />
range. The acquisition of new customers in previously<br />
inaccessible sectors, such as the pharmaceutical<br />
industry, was now made possible. The<br />
site also had logistical advantages for the purchase<br />
of raw materials and the shipment of the<br />
products due to its proximity to Rotterdam and<br />
Antwerp.<br />
Another argument for the take-over decision was<br />
the fact that the plant in Venlo which was integrated<br />
in the company group under the name<br />
Peter Greven Nederland CV was not too far from<br />
the main operation and could thus be easily controlled.<br />
With this site, Peter Greven is the world‘s leading<br />
manufacturer of vegetable magnesium stearate<br />
for the pharmaceutical industry. Its production<br />
according to Good Manufacturing Practice Regulations<br />
(GMP), serves as the basis for use in the<br />
pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industry. The<br />
product is used in the pressing of tablets, so that<br />
the tablet can be easily and quickly removed<br />
from the mould after pressing.<br />
A spin-off of processing exclusively vegetable<br />
fatty acids also opened the opportunity to develop<br />
critical markets because the products can<br />
108
e prepared in kosher quality. This is guaranteed<br />
by closed and separated production lines.<br />
This seal of quality has developed far beyond<br />
the religious aspect, a production standard for<br />
sensitive applications and thus a sales angle has<br />
developed.<br />
Parallel, at its headquarters in Bad Münstereifel<br />
reorganisation of the industrial skin protection<br />
business followed. The „Chemical Factory Iversheim“<br />
was renamed Peter Greven Hautschutz<br />
GmbH & Co. KG.<br />
In recent years, in addition to the demand for effective,<br />
affordable skin care products for industry,<br />
the health factor has increasingly become a<br />
strong influence factor. Occupational physicians<br />
and legislator developed skin protection programs<br />
for industrial enterprises. Skin protection<br />
plans where the use of products for each occupational<br />
group was exactly stipulated had to be<br />
created in collaboration with the customer.<br />
The operation of these two independent divisions<br />
was very demanding and there were even<br />
thoughts of separating from the skin cleaning<br />
business and focusing on oleochemicals.<br />
Restructuring, combined with massive conversions<br />
to the site, with the latest introduction of<br />
GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), which had<br />
also become necessary in this area, as the production<br />
plants were spatially very close to the<br />
plants for technical soaps. Modern requirements<br />
Dr. Manfred Matzel, Mayor Dr. Uwe Friedl and Peter Greven at the groundbreaking<br />
ceremony of Peter Greven Hautschutz GmbH & Co. KG in Euskirchen 2005<br />
109
THE 2000s<br />
for cosmetic products can hardly be met in an<br />
environment for chemical plants. Finally, the option<br />
of selling the business was rejected.<br />
Not least because as a mainstay in the course of<br />
the company history, it had always had relatively<br />
secure and predictable sales and earnings with<br />
which one did not want to do without.<br />
With an external consultant who was well versed<br />
in the industry through his previous work with<br />
a leading competitor, different strategies were<br />
evaluated. Finally, it was decided to completely<br />
re- establish the business as a separate unit and<br />
align for growth.<br />
This strategic course of action was a big step -<br />
and quite new for the company which had developed<br />
over decades, its development policy had<br />
been the step by step approach.<br />
Based on the positive and constructive cooperation<br />
and experience in this segment, the external<br />
consultant, Dr. Manfred Matzel was hired as<br />
managing director for skin protection to implement<br />
the jointly developed strategy.<br />
Restructuring also involved a change of location:<br />
The new line of business Peter Greven GmbH &<br />
Co KG was located in in an industrial area in Euskirchen,<br />
a nearby district town. A 16,000 square<br />
meter plot of land with a hall was purchased<br />
here, and completed with an extension to create,<br />
from the beginning sufficient space for planned<br />
expansion. After establishment of a new plant<br />
in 2006, the skin protection and skin care range<br />
was completely outsourced to Euskirchen. Meanwhile,<br />
35 people worked there and many new<br />
jobs were created.<br />
The economic situation forced other chemical<br />
companies to separate business areas. Peter<br />
Greven continued to expand and in 2005 took<br />
over the stearate business from the Total-Atofina<br />
company, a subsidiary of Ceca, a company in<br />
France.<br />
The sales volume could be integrated into the<br />
Bad Münstereifel production without having to<br />
take over the production in France. Ceca had decided<br />
to close the facility for safety reasons, so<br />
Peter Greven took over the list of customers, formulations<br />
and product manufacturing specifications<br />
and established a sales company in France.<br />
Through the acquisition, the product range was<br />
extended to include some specialties and the<br />
customer base was expanded. Peter Greven also<br />
strengthened its market position as a leading<br />
manufacturer of metallic soaps in Europe.<br />
Just a short time later Peter Greven Hautschutz’s<br />
first takeover was pending: In 2006 the sales of<br />
hand washing pastes from (Lordin and Cewipa), a<br />
competitor company was taken over and it generated<br />
considerable sales growth in skin protection.<br />
The additional revenue was very helpful to<br />
bear the higher costs of the new location.<br />
Gunther Greven was open to the work of the<br />
next generation, and contributed his thoughts<br />
and opinions, and took significant positions in<br />
110
Administration building and production for occupational skin care products<br />
the discussion. He sat on the shareholders‘ committee<br />
where he had an effect on major decision<br />
making. He also expressed concern when he had<br />
misgivings, and fought for his convictions when<br />
he did not agree with something.<br />
His experience contributed in making many upcoming<br />
decisions, to think through a process<br />
again and if applicable to clear one or the other<br />
problem out of the way.<br />
Like his brother Heinz, Günther Greven never really<br />
retired.<br />
Even at the age of 84 Günther appeared at the<br />
plant daily for four to five hours. Later, he always<br />
called on Fridays, when he requested a report of<br />
the orders on hand and asked, „How‘s it looking?<br />
Do we have enough to do? „<br />
In the old family business tradition Heinz and<br />
Günther Greven were familiar with the entire<br />
company, as it had also been with their father<br />
Peter Greven.<br />
Peter Greven had inherited this, because knowledge<br />
of these details is important for many business<br />
decisions.<br />
111
THE 2000s<br />
On 28th May 2006 Günther Greven dies at the<br />
age of 87.<br />
In September 2007, the Peter Greven Company<br />
had to cope with damage due to flooding,<br />
amounting to several hundred thousand euros.<br />
Also in 2007, Peter Greven founded the joint venture<br />
Peter Greven Asia, based in Penang / Malaysia,<br />
one of the leading palm oil and fatty acid<br />
producers.<br />
The cooperation of these two market leaders<br />
aimed to position itself in the next few years as<br />
one of the leading metallic soap suppliers in Asia.<br />
The main markets for the joint venture, in addition<br />
to Asian countries such as China, India, Japan,<br />
Korea and Taiwan were also the Middle East<br />
and the United States.<br />
The location of Malaysia offered several advantages<br />
in Asia. Firstly, Malaysia, along with Indonesia,<br />
is the world‘s largest producer of palm oil,<br />
fatty acid production in Malaysia is the largest<br />
in the world. This means that the supply of raw<br />
materials is very good. Malaysia is also a good<br />
location to supply the growing markets in Asia.<br />
Finally, Peter Greven and IOI agreed on a joint<br />
venture in which Peter Greven holds a 60 % stake<br />
and IOI holds 40 %. Peter Greven is responsible<br />
for the management and the production and distribution<br />
in Malaysia. IOI provides the main raw<br />
materials (fatty acids) and also provides services<br />
such as energy supplies but also IT and HR services.<br />
Peter Greven congratulates Ewald Beier to his 50th jubilee<br />
Again here, a company that was involved in the<br />
organisational structure of a large company had<br />
to be reorganised so that it smoothly blended<br />
into the structures of the medium-sized family<br />
business. Although, from the beginning it was<br />
clear that this would be no easy task, at least<br />
with the onset of the economic crisis and the<br />
rise of the Asian markets, it became clear just<br />
how important this project was for the future of<br />
Peter Greven. Despite, repeatedly occurring setbacks<br />
in the first two years and serious problems,<br />
112
Günther Greven, † 28.5.2006<br />
production was more than doubled in just three<br />
years. With the medium-sized company typical<br />
lean management structure this was only possible<br />
when the work was shared out and again<br />
support from Germany and Holland, was also<br />
achieved on site. Good cooperation between the<br />
individual plants was always essential.<br />
On 30th June 2008, after 30 years of service and<br />
many years as an authorised signatory and commercial<br />
director, Mr. Beier Erwald retires from the<br />
company. Flooding in September 2007<br />
113
THE 2000s<br />
In mid-2008, an opportunity arose to make further<br />
acquisitions in the skin protective field: Peter<br />
Greven Hautschutz was able to take over the<br />
industrial area of skin protection with the brands<br />
Physioderm and Faweco from the medium-sized<br />
company Wöllner. The business was incorporated<br />
in Euskirchen as far as possible. Production<br />
had to be expanded here because this acquisition<br />
represented about 70 percent of the existing<br />
business volume. Due to its outstanding importance<br />
it was also renamed Peter Greven Physioderm<br />
GmbH.<br />
After many years as a laboratory, quality and<br />
development manager, in August 2009, Dr.<br />
Hermann Josef Stolz is transferred to the head<br />
of production and development. At the same<br />
time he becomes a new member of the executive<br />
board.<br />
114
Joint-venture production plant in Penang, Malaysia<br />
115
THE 2010s<br />
COMPANY’S DEVELOPM<strong>EN</strong>T INTO THE US<br />
On 31st December 2011, Dr. Manfred Matzel, CEO<br />
of Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH, leaves the<br />
company and becomes self-employed.<br />
The Executive Board of the Peter Greven Group<br />
now consists of Peter Greven, Werner Heiliger<br />
and Dr. Hermann Josef Stolz.<br />
The start of a new decade in the company‘s history<br />
was hit by two major decisions, for Bad Münstereifel<br />
as a company location, as well as for the<br />
further claim as market leader in the oleochemicals<br />
field.<br />
During the review and development of the location<br />
concept for Bad Münstereifel it became<br />
apparent that meaningful areas of expansion for<br />
production plants with reserved areas, could, in<br />
the medium term, be moved to another location.<br />
This resulted in the first measure, relocation of<br />
the laboratory, all social areas and the administration<br />
building on the hillside above the current<br />
administration building in the area from the<br />
1900s development plans.<br />
The Peter Greven Group Executive Board 2013: Left to right: Dr. Hermann Josef Stolz, Peter Greven and<br />
Werner Heiliger<br />
117
The plant in Bad Münstereifel with the newly built administrative, laboratory and social area in the foreground, to<br />
the right, and the new esterification building in the middle of the plant.<br />
After the start of development work at the end<br />
of 2011, the administration department moved<br />
to the ultra-modern equipped premises in mid-<br />
2013. The laboratory moved end of 2013 where<br />
it could take on new challenges with its hightech<br />
equipment and larger development department.<br />
With the demolition of the old administration<br />
building, from which the company fortunes were<br />
directed for over 80 years, the course was set for<br />
a lift tower to connect the production site to the<br />
new administration department, laboratory and<br />
social building tract.<br />
118
The old administration building before and during demolition
2010ER JAHRE<br />
In 2016, the wash lotion ECOSAN® was awarded<br />
the EU ecolabel for protecting the environment<br />
just as well as the skin of its users. In the following<br />
year, the product was also the first wash-off<br />
cosmetic product to be awarded the prestigious<br />
BLUE ANGEL German ecolabel.<br />
Another step in efforts to produce environmentally<br />
friendly and ecologically compatible products<br />
was the substitution of olive stone flour<br />
for (micro)plastic exfoliants. This renewable raw<br />
material, produced during the manufacture of<br />
olive oil, has particular advantages when compared<br />
with other alternatives – namely good<br />
biodegradability and sufficient availability within<br />
Europe. In the following years, various skin<br />
cleansing products with and without exfoliants<br />
were awarded the EU ecolabel.<br />
DP-Plant Venlo<br />
We set ourselves the long-term strategic target of<br />
establishing fatty acid esters as our second major<br />
business segment alongside metallic soaps.<br />
To make this growth possible for our esters segment,<br />
we began construction of a new production<br />
facility in February 2012. With a height of<br />
34 m, only the fat splitting tower was taller than<br />
this facility at the time of its completion.<br />
Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH began trading<br />
under a new, independent logo in 2013.<br />
The successes of this year were then unfortunately<br />
overshadowed by the most serious industrial<br />
incident in the company’s history. In March,<br />
120
The construction of another new warehouse was<br />
completed in July 2015 to accommodate the continually<br />
increasing production volumes at Peter<br />
Greven Physioderm GmbH. Optimisation of the<br />
overall logistics infrastructure made significant<br />
efficiency gains possible in the work processes<br />
used to date, ensuring that we were best-placed<br />
to enjoy further growth.<br />
The newly built production facility for esters<br />
a serious accident occurred at our subsidiary Peter<br />
Greven Asia in Malaysia, brought about by an<br />
explosion and subsequent fire, which also tragically<br />
claimed the lives of three of our employees.<br />
We have provided further information about this<br />
incident in a focus article.<br />
In May 2013, we started production at the recently<br />
completed DP (direct process) plant at<br />
Peter Greven Nederland C.V., which represents a<br />
significant expansion of our production capacities<br />
for metallic soaps at the Venlo site. Compared<br />
with earlier facilities using the precipitation<br />
process, this technology offers considerably<br />
higher output and efficiency. The products produced<br />
at the new plant are primarily intended<br />
for the food and feed sector. We describe the<br />
different production processes used in our focus<br />
article ‘Soaps and metallic soaps’.<br />
The development of new products, research into<br />
additional areas of application and optimum<br />
adaptation to the requirements of our customers<br />
have always been the key drivers behind our<br />
overall entrepreneurial success. In Bad Münstereifel,<br />
for example, we had long planned to<br />
build a Technical Centre capable of handling<br />
scaled-down versions of almost all of our production<br />
processes. Construction and commissioning<br />
of the Centre was ultimately completed<br />
Warehouse at Peter Greven Physioderm<br />
121
EXCURSUS<br />
FOCUS ON CATASTROPHIC FIRE AT PETER GREV<strong>EN</strong> ASIA<br />
On 25 March 2013, a serious accident unfortunately occurred<br />
at our subsidiary Peter Greven Asia on its company<br />
premises in Penang, Malaysia.<br />
also meant procuring all of the main facility components<br />
within Europe.<br />
A dust explosion and subsequent fire caused the destruction<br />
of a large part of the production facilities. Far worse<br />
than this was the fact that three of our employees died of<br />
the burn injuries they suffered during the fire, with two<br />
other employees also being very seriously injured.<br />
We could not have imagined that an accident of this magnitude<br />
was possible at our company. Everyone in the Group<br />
was deeply shocked and affected by the accident, with<br />
many coming forward to offer their support and help.<br />
Despite this tragic event, however, decisions had to be<br />
made about rebuilding the production facility to continue<br />
our Asian business – and always with the aim and intention<br />
of moving on from this difficult situation by establishing<br />
new premises that could be even safer and more<br />
productive.<br />
After visiting the Penang facility, it was also clear that we<br />
needed to provide both the site and the local team with<br />
a vision for the future. While not always an easy task, we<br />
also needed a plan for the facility after an analysis of the<br />
events leading up to the accident. First of all, however, we<br />
had to wait for local authorities to complete their investigations<br />
and issue the facility with a new permit.<br />
Our ambitious goals for the new site not only included the<br />
very latest technology while ensuring the highest level of<br />
safety, but also aimed to accommodate quality requirements<br />
from the local markets. However, in consideration<br />
of explosion safety standards among other aspects, this<br />
122
Thanks to the outstanding dedication shown by everybody<br />
involved, the first production systems restarted operation<br />
as early as the second half of 2013. Work on the remaining<br />
systems would continue well into 2014.<br />
As part of the reopening ceremonies, to which company<br />
directors Peter Greven and Hermann Josef Stolz had also<br />
been invited, a tour of the new premises revealed the impressive<br />
results of the reconstruction project. Not only the<br />
clearly laid out and perfectly maintained facilities themselves<br />
but also the highly functional and user-friendly process<br />
control system were praised by the two executives<br />
during their visit.<br />
After the tragic and shocking events, the facility reopening<br />
ceremony was an important milestone that left a lasting<br />
impression on project participants, guests and employees<br />
alike.<br />
Yet this marked only the beginning of the work at the new<br />
site. In the months following the reopening, process optimisation<br />
was scheduled, as well as work on adjusting<br />
products to the new technology. Customers also needed<br />
to be reacquired and new sales markets explored.<br />
Given the success of these endeavours, one could then be<br />
quietly confident about prospects for the site.<br />
Following this terrible accident, the entire management<br />
team had declared their commitment to doing everything<br />
possible to ensure that such an incident could never be<br />
repeated.<br />
123
Technical test facility<br />
Dismantling of fatty acid production<br />
by mid-year 2016. As a result, new production<br />
processes, product optimisations or the introduction<br />
of new raw materials can all be tested at<br />
a smaller scale before being transferred to largescale<br />
production.<br />
When founder Peter Greven decided to ensure<br />
the security of supply for raw materials by building<br />
an independent fatty acid production facility<br />
in the 1930s, this was certainly a milestone in<br />
the company’s history and a very forward-looking<br />
investment. Almost 80 years later, however,<br />
production here was considered no longer costeffective<br />
compared with external procurement.<br />
The latter also offered a choice of raw materials<br />
and greater use of plant-based fatty acids compared<br />
with the fatty acids based on raw materials<br />
of animal origin primarily produced to date.<br />
The company executive therefore made the decision<br />
to cease internal fatty acid production and<br />
dismantle the corresponding parts of the facility.<br />
One of the biggest challenges here was keeping<br />
the disruption to ongoing processes caused by<br />
this large-scale project to a minimum. Dismantling<br />
work started in early 2017 and was completed<br />
by the end of the year, thereby bringing to<br />
an end the era of fatty acid production.<br />
Ten years after the formation of the Peter Greven<br />
Asia joint venture, another important step was<br />
taken towards the internationalisation of our<br />
Group. Effective 30 September 2017, we acquired<br />
the additives segment of the North American<br />
Norac Inc., which was then restructured and integrated<br />
into the Peter Greven Group as Norac<br />
Additives LLC. Norac is one of the leading manufacturers<br />
of metallic soaps and plastics additives<br />
in the USA, and is a specialist in PVC. The attractive<br />
North American market, offering major<br />
potential and good opportunities for growth,<br />
perfectly complements our existing portfolio,<br />
especially in the fields of metallic soaps and esters.<br />
“Our acquisition offers many synergistic benefits<br />
between Norac and Peter Greven within the<br />
Group, not least from mutual knowledge transfer<br />
between the various departments, such as<br />
Procurement, Product Development, Applications<br />
Engineering and Sales. We are convinced<br />
that the acquisition and integration of Norac will<br />
124
2010ER JAHRE<br />
create significant value for the entire company,<br />
and will also improve our international position<br />
by establishing it on a broader and more stable<br />
foundation,” said Managing Director Peter Greven,<br />
commenting on the purchase decision.<br />
At Peter Greven Asia, the expansion and enlargement<br />
of our international sites continued with<br />
the construction of a new office building and<br />
warehouse. At the inauguration ceremony, it was<br />
possible to look back on 12 years of successful<br />
collaboration between the joint venture partners.<br />
In December 2019, when the first reports of a novel<br />
virus started coming out of China, few people<br />
would have predicted that this would have such<br />
far-reaching consequences. Our day-to-day lives<br />
then became focused on infection trends, crowded<br />
hospitals, shop closures, contact restrictions<br />
and the shuttering of entire commercial production<br />
sectors. The Peter Greven Group was also<br />
affected by the strict organisational measures<br />
imposed. WFH and quarantine became new buzzwords<br />
in our day-to-day business. Keeping business<br />
operations going was one of the goals of all<br />
of the measures that were implemented, which<br />
affected all of the Group’s sites. Sales downturns<br />
and raw materials scarcity were just some of the<br />
challenges needing to be managed, with future<br />
developments virtually unpredictable.<br />
Norac Additives<br />
Administration and warehouse at Peter Greven Asia<br />
125
2010ER JAHRE<br />
Business was brisk, however, in the professional<br />
skin protection segment at Peter Greven Physioderm<br />
in Euskirchen, with demand for cleaning<br />
agents and disinfectants skyrocketing. Managing<br />
Director Werner Heiliger: “Recent events have<br />
again demonstrated the importance of diversification<br />
for our Group, not only in terms of applications<br />
for our products but also in terms of<br />
geographic distribution. This gives us the kind of<br />
stability that we need to survive such a crisis.”<br />
Investment continued despite the ongoing pandemic.<br />
In Bad Münstereifel, for example, a lack of<br />
storage facilities had meant that finished products<br />
occasionally had to be split up between six<br />
different external warehouses. This created a<br />
huge amount of extra work for the dispatching<br />
and handling teams. The construction of a new<br />
Dispatch and Logistics Centre in nearby Mechernich-Obergartzem,<br />
which was completed jointly<br />
with our logistics partner, aimed to streamline<br />
our shipping and storage infrastructure while<br />
also reducing complexity. Fitted out with the<br />
very latest communications and data acquisition<br />
systems, the Centre was another key milestone<br />
in our capacity expansion strategy.<br />
Range of disinfection products from Peter Greven Physioderm<br />
126
Dispatch and Logistics Center Mechernich-Obergartzem<br />
127
EXCURSUS<br />
FOCUS ON ESTERS<br />
Humans have been using esters for many hundreds of years.<br />
Chemically speaking, traditional natural oils and greases<br />
like lard or olive oil are triglycerides and also members<br />
of the ester group. In former times, only these naturally<br />
occurring esters were used – primarily in food products<br />
but also in a number of simple technical lubrication applications.<br />
Today, a large number of industrially synthesised<br />
ester products are used in many areas of manufacturing.<br />
Two key areas where esters are used are as lubricants in<br />
the manufacture of plastics, for example, or as a base oil<br />
for biodegradable lubricants.<br />
Raw materials<br />
As is the case for the production of soaps and metallic<br />
soaps (see page 58–61, ‘FOCUS ON soaps and metallic<br />
soaps’ ), fatty acids are the main raw material used for<br />
esters: they are obtained from natural oils and greases,<br />
with tallow and palm oil being the most important sources.<br />
Other vegetable oils like castor oil, coconut oil, rapeseed<br />
oil or soybean oil can also play a role in production.<br />
Nor is origin the only important aspect here: another factor<br />
is whether the fatty acids are saturated or unsaturated,<br />
since this will result in performance differences for the final<br />
ester products.<br />
Alongside the fatty acid, an alcohol is the second elementary<br />
component in an ester. While there are many alcohols<br />
that can be used for ester synthesis, only a few of<br />
these – such as glycerine – can be obtained from natural<br />
raw materials. Most of the others must first be industrially<br />
synthesised. The main difference between the various alcohols<br />
is primarily the number of alcohol groups – which<br />
can be viewed as potential points of contact with the fatty<br />
acid – as well as the spatial structure of the respective<br />
128
molecule. This produces differences in properties, such as<br />
the melting point or viscosity, which may have a positive<br />
or negative effect, depending on the ultimate application.<br />
The various fatty acids and alcohols that can be used to<br />
manufacture an ester can be viewed as a set of building<br />
blocks: the chemical and physical parameters of the final<br />
product will vary depending on the specific raw materials<br />
that are combined together.<br />
Manufacturing process<br />
The manufacture of esters has undergone a continuous<br />
process of modernisation, hand-in-hand with the technical<br />
advances made over the years. While individual process<br />
parameters needed to be adjusted manually in former<br />
times, modern facilities are managed by a central, computerised<br />
process control system. This not only means<br />
that parameters can be adjusted more precisely, but the<br />
reaction process can be monitored continuously by facility<br />
staff, with the process also completing more quickly,<br />
thanks to ultramodern plant systems.<br />
To manufacture an ester, the fatty acid and alcohol are<br />
first added together. The reaction vessel is temperaturecontrolled,<br />
typically under vacuum, with temperatures<br />
potentially exceeding 200 °C. Under these conditions, the<br />
fatty acid and alcohol join together to produce an ester,<br />
with water being eliminated. Once complete, this reaction<br />
is followed by other process steps, such as filtration and<br />
bleaching.<br />
Depending on the raw materials used, the ester is then either<br />
solid or liquid at room temperature afterwards – this<br />
state then determines the final processing steps required<br />
for the products.<br />
Esters that are solid at room temperature are still liquid<br />
at the high temperatures used in the reaction: following<br />
the reaction, they are piped to a spraying tower and forced<br />
out of a nozzle at the top of the tower. Since temperatures<br />
outside the nozzle are normal, this cools down the ester,<br />
which falls to the vessel floor in the form of small beads.<br />
These products are primarily used in the plastics industry<br />
as lubricants, since the esters will once again assume a<br />
liquid state at the high temperatures used in plastics processing.<br />
The esters that are liquid even at room temperature are<br />
typically piped through a filter following the reaction,<br />
which also cools them down, and can then be filled directly<br />
after this process step. These products are primarily of<br />
interest for the lubricants industry, where they are utilised<br />
as a base oil for gear oils or greases, for example.<br />
129
THE 2020s<br />
OUTLOOK<br />
In December 2020, we completed expansion<br />
work on the office building, including staff facilities,<br />
and the laboratory on our premises in<br />
Euskirchen. Sustainability was a key aspect of<br />
this construction project, which had a budget of<br />
around EUR 2 million. Complementing the 825<br />
sqm provided by the expansion, a large rooftop<br />
photovoltaic system was also installed on the<br />
existing parts of the building.<br />
Aerial view of Peter Greven Physioderm<br />
131
EXCURSUS<br />
FLOOD DISASTER IN JULY 2021<br />
On 14 July 2021, a bout of persistent wet weather led to<br />
torrential downpours in western Germany, and in southern<br />
North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in particular.<br />
With the ground already saturated, more than 200<br />
l of rain per square metre now fell within a short space of<br />
time, leading to catastrophic flooding in the region.<br />
This caused the River Erft (an important source of water for<br />
us in former times) to rise to unprecedented levels. In 2007<br />
and 2019, we had already experienced moderate flooding<br />
here and had therefore taken various steps in recent years<br />
to prepare for an extreme flooding event. The floods on 14<br />
July 2021 were utterly unforeseeable, however, and these<br />
raging torrents of water simply took everything with them.<br />
As was the case in many districts in the Bad Münstereifel<br />
region – especially Iversheim and Arloff – the level of destruction<br />
on our premises was unimaginable, with trucks,<br />
trailers and containers being thrown together and swept<br />
away. Buildings directly adjoining the Erft suffered significant<br />
damage, including flooding, with an immense level<br />
of destruction and damage also affecting the local infrastructure<br />
(bridges, roads, etc.). At times, the water level<br />
had risen to more than 2.6 m, with significant quantities of<br />
mud and debris also being moved about.<br />
132<br />
Once the floods had receded, an initial appraisal seemed<br />
to suggest that a long period of company downtime would<br />
be unavoidable. Power and gas lines were also down<br />
across our entire site, nor was there any phone or internet<br />
conductivity available. In this situation, our subsidiaries in<br />
Penang, Venlo and Euskirchen no longer had access to our<br />
servers and were therefore unable to resume production –<br />
the first time this had happened in our company’s history.<br />
The sheer level of destruction, also apparent in the immediate<br />
neighbourhood, made it difficult to properly appraise<br />
the situation and take the first steps necessary. It<br />
was therefore all the more impressive to see the exemplary<br />
degree of dedication and determination shown by<br />
those of our colleagues not affected directly by the flooding,<br />
as they set about helping to clear up and solve the<br />
many problems encountered. Thanks to their efforts, major<br />
progress was made on a daily basis, giving us hope for<br />
the future. One important achievement for the Group as<br />
a whole was the fact that our subsidiaries were able to<br />
resume normal operations after a few days, therefore preventing<br />
any further losses for our business.<br />
Contrary to the expectations of many external experts,<br />
operations restarted at some production facilities even<br />
in Bad Münstereifel after just a few weeks, once again
producing saleable goods. Other<br />
facilities were brought back online<br />
step by step, so that company production<br />
was almost at full capacity<br />
again by the end of September<br />
2021.<br />
Fortunately, most of the damage<br />
suffered was covered by our insurance.<br />
As a result, this financial support<br />
enabled us to concentrate our<br />
efforts on repairing the damage.<br />
First and foremost, this meant getting<br />
our steam boiler operational,<br />
so as to be able to use our pipelines and tanks once again.<br />
With the steam boiler, as with many other parts of our<br />
production facilities, the main problem was the electrical<br />
enclosures, which had been fully submerged by the flooding<br />
and therefore first needed to be cleaned and dried out<br />
before they could be put into service again.<br />
And this was only a small part of the challenges that needed<br />
to be overcome, which also included working through<br />
long delivery backlogs, winning back our customers, fixing<br />
the remaining damage to our buildings and infrastructure,<br />
restoring our flood protection systems to their previous<br />
levels, and sorting out flood compensation payments from<br />
our insurers.<br />
At long last, the often considerable damage to our buildings<br />
was finally repaired, with facades and masonry replaced,<br />
alongside the drywalling affected by flooding.<br />
As a result of supply bottlenecks, plus long lead times for<br />
construction materials, some of the repairs to gates, doors<br />
and windows were completed only in early 2022.<br />
Companies working in the rendering, painting and tiling<br />
trades were also in short supply, which also caused delays<br />
to the restoration of some of our staff facilities and<br />
company laboratories. Extensive inspection and repair<br />
work was also needed for the tank terminal damaged by<br />
the flooding, with tanks set afloat by the floods actually<br />
having to be lifted entirely out of the terminal for this work<br />
and damaged foundations needing to be replaced.<br />
Several key flooding precautions were also taken, with the<br />
new water treatment plant set up on a flood-safe platform,<br />
together with the electrical enclosures for the steam<br />
boiler plant.<br />
Repairing the partially destroyed infrastructure within the<br />
factory was also another important part of restoration<br />
133
work. Many roadways had to be restored, alongside the<br />
bridge over the Erft – the only transport route of its kind<br />
over the river. The river bed and adjacent riverbanks were<br />
dredged and cleared, with the terrain being reconstructed<br />
according to earlier planning, so as to ensure that the original<br />
level of flood protection could be restored.<br />
Disposing of the products and raw materials rendered unusable<br />
by the floods is likely to continue to occupy us for<br />
some time to come.<br />
Although, in the final analysis, the impacts of this natural<br />
disaster ultimately proved to be manageable, we must use<br />
this experience to derive insights for our company, so as<br />
to ensure that we are even better prepared in the future.<br />
134
2020ER JAHRE<br />
On 14 July 2021, a flooding disaster occurred<br />
that broke all historical records. On this day, the<br />
normally unremarkable River Erft, which winds<br />
its way through our grounds, laid waste to the<br />
company head office in Bad Münstereifel. In the<br />
days and weeks after the flood, we gradually<br />
managed to get back to normality, thanks to the<br />
dedication and effort of all of our employees.<br />
Alongside metallic soaps, fatty acid esters are<br />
one of our main product groups. These are indispensable<br />
additives used primarily in the plastics,<br />
lubricants and textiles industries (see our focus<br />
article ‘Typical applications for metallic soaps<br />
and esters’ ). These products offer many options<br />
for development and also have major potential<br />
for growth. Following the construction of<br />
the VE 4 esterification plant over 10 years ago,<br />
our new VE 5 plant was completed and commis-<br />
Esterification plant VE 5 (on the right)<br />
135
2020ER JAHRE<br />
sioned mid-year 2022 after a construction period<br />
of almost two years. Our investment in this new<br />
production facility is a further step towards ensuring<br />
job security at our Bad Münstereifel production<br />
site. The products are primarily used as<br />
base oils for biobased lubricants. This investment<br />
therefore underlines our company’s clear<br />
orientation towards sustainable and forwardlooking<br />
applications.<br />
The same principle naturally applies to all of the<br />
other sites operated by our global Group. In autumn<br />
2022, for example, production also started<br />
at a new facility for metallic soaps at our site in<br />
Malaysia. Other projects, such as the construction<br />
of a dispersions facility at Norac Additives<br />
LLC in the USA and the construction of a new<br />
batching department at Peter Greven Nederland<br />
are currently ongoing and will be completed during<br />
the course of 2023.<br />
In the past, the Group has demonstrated that it<br />
can successfully handle even major international<br />
crises. The next few years are unlikely to be plain<br />
sailing, however. Geopolitical change, rising energy<br />
prices plus climate change and its regulatory<br />
frameworks will continue to make life difficult,<br />
especially for manufacturing companies based in<br />
Europe. Staying competitive on the global stage<br />
under these conditions will be the challenge for<br />
the company’s next decade.<br />
The future will also offer major opportunities,<br />
however. The most important of these is naturally<br />
the transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral<br />
economy – and sustainable solutions are something<br />
we have focused on from the outset!<br />
136
EXCURSUS<br />
PETER GREV<strong>EN</strong> GROUP AS AN EMPLOYER<br />
During our hundred-year history, we’ve not only been a<br />
company but also an employer. Our role as an employer<br />
and the challenges we have faced have evolved continuously<br />
over the decades, and have ensured that we stay<br />
dynamic, true to the principle that ‘the only constant is<br />
change’. Yet stability is one of the most important aspects<br />
of our philosophy as an employer. Economic stability is a<br />
goal both from a business standpoint and in terms of our<br />
social responsibilities – because it creates job security. We<br />
have been able to stay true to this maxim since the formation<br />
of our company.<br />
Since the outset, our approach to human resources has<br />
been forward-looking and focused on growth. The soap<br />
and glycerine factory was an important new employer for<br />
local residents, of course. At the same time, however, the<br />
company management team cast its net wide when looking<br />
for the kinds of skilled workers who remained in high<br />
demand in the chemicals industry throughout the last<br />
century. As the new millennium dawned, we had made a<br />
name for ourselves as an employer well beyond regional<br />
borders. At the end of 2022, Peter Greven Group employed<br />
over 450 people worldwide. Over the last decade alone,<br />
the Group has added around 100 employees to the workforce,<br />
with the main drivers here being internationalisation<br />
and strategic site expansion projects.<br />
spect and thanks. The long periods of outstanding service<br />
provided by our employees are also unusual in comparison<br />
with many other employers in our industry. In times, when<br />
the labour market seems more fast-paced than any international<br />
trading place, this is truely something special that<br />
fills us with pride. In our parent company, for example, a<br />
quarter of our employees have worked at the company for<br />
over 20 years, while another quarter has been working<br />
there between six and ten years, which is a result of our<br />
constant, healthy growth.<br />
Key pillars of our approach to HR management are vocational<br />
training, talent promotion and staff development.<br />
For strategic personnel planning and the routine filling<br />
of vacancies, we use a broad-based apprenticeship programme<br />
with ten training professions, which enables us<br />
to ensure replacements for retirees from our own ranks<br />
of junior employees, for example. Personalised development<br />
plans are used to prepare our promising and motivated<br />
young professionals to take on more wide-ranging<br />
areas of responsibility. A highly diverse internal and external<br />
training programme allows us to ensure the targeted<br />
development of our skilled employees. Human Resources<br />
and the business departments work closely together to<br />
ensure that our workforce is fit for the future and to avoid<br />
knowledge loss.<br />
Corporate culture, communication and cooperation define<br />
an employer. This is exactly where our HR department<br />
comes in, as we know that trust is a two-way thing and has<br />
a central role to play. While employees entrust the task of<br />
setting and pursuing the right long-term goals to management<br />
and shareholders, the executive team relies on the<br />
workforce giving their best to achieve them, each and every<br />
day. For us, the loyalty and commitment shown to the<br />
Group by all of those that form a part of it is truly unique.<br />
The resilience of a company’s culture is proven in times of<br />
crisis. In 2021, our employees tackled the flooding disaster<br />
with an impressive and tireless dedication that was instrumental<br />
in ensuring we could get back on our feet as quickly<br />
as we did, and which continues to earn our heartfelt re-<br />
138
Alongside the fixed factors in personnel development and<br />
leadership, we also need to adapt to changes in the labour<br />
market. What is certain is that the employer market is becoming<br />
an employee market, with the applicant role now<br />
shifting from employee to employer. Companies position<br />
themselves as employers and actively advertise. In this<br />
war for talents, this skilled labour shortage, targeted and<br />
modern recruiting methods are essential in order for us to<br />
acquire new employees.<br />
This was the reason why we also developed our employer<br />
branding strategy some years ago, with the aim of positioning<br />
and communicating our strengths as an employer,<br />
and with two primary goals in mind: first, potential employees<br />
should become aware of the Group as an employer<br />
while second, job satisfaction among existing employees<br />
should also be improved, so as to strengthen their loyalty<br />
to the company. Social media marketing is a tool that is<br />
becoming increasingly relevant in this context. Our employer<br />
branding – ‘Personal Commitment. Joint Success.’<br />
– lies at the heart of our employer branding strategy, encapsulating<br />
and expressing our vision as an employer. Together,<br />
this commitment from each and every one of us is<br />
essential to achieve the success that ensures our continued<br />
existence in the market.<br />
Alongside economic and financial security, we also make<br />
a number of benefits available to our employees. These<br />
are intended not merely to differentiate us from other<br />
employers but also to express our appreciation for our<br />
workforce. Key aspects of these programmes include the<br />
maintenance and promotion of good health, for example.<br />
We also maintain a constant focus on the satisfaction of<br />
our colleagues and our Leadership Guideline is an important<br />
tool here. Nor is this Guideline a one-way street but<br />
provides both supervisors and employees themselves with<br />
guidance for ensuring that both parties interact as equals.<br />
To ensure that we can achieve our ambitious leadership<br />
goals, we not only take care to provide the right benefits<br />
and a personal company culture but also try to ensure that<br />
we stay in dialogue with our workforce. We routinely assess<br />
employee satisfaction in order to ensure we can make<br />
improvements here. Some of the instruments we use here<br />
include employee surveys, feedback rounds, team events<br />
or our Employee Interests project group, which meets regularly<br />
with the company executive and HR management<br />
staff.<br />
As an employer, we naturally want to do more than merely<br />
market our values as our branding – we want to bring<br />
them to life. Apart from attracting motivated new employees<br />
to join our company, we also need to care for our<br />
existing workforce, whose know-how is indispensable for<br />
our further growth and which ensures we are best-placed<br />
to meet the challenges in the labour market. We are now<br />
encountering a new generation of workers, who have developed<br />
a different understanding of their relationship to<br />
employers, who see themselves faced with a rapidly expanding<br />
jobs market and who often value independence<br />
over attachment. Employees change or stay in a job because<br />
of the people and the partnerships they form within<br />
it. This brings us back to our core focus – maintaining the<br />
character of a mid-sized, family-run business, with a flat<br />
hierarchy and where doors are always open. After all, this<br />
is the reason why we are not merely a successful company<br />
but also a successful employer – a role we relish and will<br />
continue to do so, with enthusiasm and a clear vision.<br />
139
COMPANY STRUCTURE<br />
Peter Greven Group<br />
Oleochemicals<br />
Skin Protection<br />
Peter Greven<br />
GmbH & Co. KG<br />
Peter Greven<br />
Nederland C.V.<br />
Peter Greven Asia<br />
Sdn. Bhd. (JV)<br />
Norac Additives<br />
LLC<br />
Peter Greven<br />
Physioderm GmbH<br />
Metallic Soaps<br />
Metallic Soaps<br />
Metallic Soaps<br />
Metallic Soaps<br />
Skin Protection<br />
Alkaline Soaps<br />
Alkaline Soaps<br />
Alkaline Soaps<br />
Esters<br />
Skin Cleansing<br />
Esters<br />
Dispersions<br />
Dispersions<br />
Stabilizers<br />
Skin Care<br />
Dispersions<br />
Desinfection<br />
Special Additives<br />
Dispenser Systems<br />
Green line = production is based on vegetable raw materials only<br />
141
Peter Greven<br />
founded the<br />
soap and glycerin<br />
factory<br />
1923<br />
Transition from a<br />
soap factory to the<br />
producer of oleochemical<br />
additives<br />
and derivatives<br />
1945<br />
Formation of the<br />
chemical factory<br />
Iversheim and the<br />
start of developments<br />
for dispenser dosable<br />
skin cleaning agents<br />
1958<br />
Company founder<br />
Peter Greven dies<br />
at the age of 76<br />
1962<br />
Range of production<br />
is increased by<br />
ester<br />
1968<br />
New robotic packaging<br />
system<br />
1980s<br />
1934<br />
1956<br />
1960s<br />
1970s<br />
Commissioning of a<br />
system for lipolysis<br />
and glycerin<br />
Start of metallic<br />
soap production,<br />
diversification<br />
The second generation,<br />
Heinz and<br />
Günther Greven,<br />
take over leadership<br />
of the family<br />
business<br />
Growing market<br />
demand for metallic<br />
soaps, capacity<br />
expansion<br />
142
COMPANY HISTORY AND LANDMARKS<br />
With Peter Greven,<br />
the third generation<br />
joins the<br />
Executive Board<br />
1993<br />
Takeover of the stearate<br />
business from the<br />
French company Ceca,<br />
formation of Peter Greven<br />
France<br />
2005<br />
Formation of the<br />
subsidiary Peter<br />
Greven Asia in<br />
Malaysia<br />
2007<br />
1990s<br />
2000<br />
2006<br />
2011<br />
Conventional batch<br />
saponification becomes<br />
fully automatic<br />
continuous saponification.<br />
New filling<br />
plant for silo, big bags<br />
and containers<br />
Acquisition of the<br />
production facility<br />
in Venlo, formation<br />
of the subsidiary<br />
Peter Greven Netherlands<br />
Outsourcing of skin<br />
protection business<br />
and construction<br />
of production in<br />
Euskirchen<br />
Formation of Peter<br />
Greven USA<br />
143
90 years<br />
Peter Greven<br />
2013<br />
DP-plant Venlo, NL<br />
Takeover Norac<br />
Additives Limited, USA<br />
Flood disaster<br />
2014 2017 2021<br />
100 Years<br />
Peter Greven<br />
2023<br />
2013<br />
2017<br />
2020<br />
2022<br />
Commissioning of<br />
the VE4 and new<br />
construction of the<br />
administration and the<br />
laboratory buildings<br />
Dismantling<br />
of fatty acid<br />
production<br />
Reconstruction at<br />
Peter Greven<br />
Physioderm<br />
COAD ® plant at<br />
Peter Greven Asia<br />
144
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS<br />
The 1930s<br />
Start-up phase with the soap works at the river Erft<br />
147
The 1940s<br />
The company grounds after the soap works extension including boiler house<br />
148
1955<br />
The plant has spread out along both sides of the Erft<br />
149
1961<br />
1961 after the autoclave splitting construction in the centre of the plant, left with the Peter Greven logo on the roof<br />
150
1967<br />
1967 after construction of stearate 4 (on the left of the company grounds)<br />
151
The 1980s<br />
The 1980s after construction of the metallic soaps department<br />
152
1987<br />
1987 after new construction of halls 10 and 11 (at the bottom of the picture)<br />
153
1991<br />
1991 after construction of the central warehouse and storage facility<br />
154
1999<br />
1999 after construction of halls 14 and 15 (top right)<br />
155
2006<br />
2006 after the building of the dropletisation tower (right)<br />
156
2013 construction of the esterification VE4 and the new administration, laboratory and social area above the previous company<br />
grounds<br />
2013<br />
157
1926 1945 1951<br />
1960s<br />
1936 1940s - 1950s 1953
LOGO-HISTORY<br />
1969 1989 since 2010<br />
1967 1970s - 1980s 1990s - 2010
GLOSSARY<br />
Abrasion: Erosion of surfaces by means of abrasive<br />
materials.<br />
Alkaline soaps: Sodium or Potassium salts of a fatty<br />
acid.<br />
Autoclave / Split autoclaves: A gas-tight, sealable<br />
pressure vessel, which is used for the thermal treatment<br />
of materials in the overpressure range.<br />
Batch saponification: The preparation of soap in<br />
individual batches (as opposed to continuous production).<br />
COAD®: Norac Additives, LLC’s patented, continuous<br />
production process for the manufacturing of<br />
metallic soaps. The process is characterized by high<br />
performance and energy efficiency.<br />
Continuous saponification: Unlike the batch saponification,<br />
an optimised, continuous manufacturing<br />
process.<br />
Direct Process (DP): Process for the production of<br />
metallic soaps in just one reaction step. Here, a<br />
polyvalent metal hydroxide is reacted directly with<br />
one or more fatty acids and forms the corresponding<br />
metallic soap.<br />
Distillation: Substances can be separated from each<br />
other by evaporation at different boiling points, for<br />
example, water (boiling point: 100° C) and acetone<br />
(boiling point: 56° C).<br />
DIN ISO 9001/14001: Legal standards for quality<br />
management (ISO 9001) and environmental management<br />
(ISO 14001), which ensure a high standard<br />
both for the quality of products as well as for the<br />
environment.<br />
Emulsifier: Emulsifiers are used for two immiscible<br />
liquids, such as oil and water, to mix and stabilise<br />
into a finely divided mixture (emulsion), by condensation<br />
of an alcohol group (R2 -OH).<br />
Ester / Esterification: By ester, a functional group is<br />
meant, which is formed by condensation of an alcohol<br />
group, (R2 –OH) and an acid group, (R1- COOH),<br />
resulting in, (R1 -COO -R2). The reaction for the production<br />
of esters is called esterification. Most such<br />
reactions on an industrial scale, run at temperatures<br />
above 100° C in order to boil the water formed in<br />
the process.<br />
Extruder Press: A machine for forming the soap<br />
mass into long strands which are then cut into the<br />
respective bars of soap.<br />
161
Fatty Acid: A group term for monocarboxylic acids<br />
which are composed of a carboxyl group (-COOH)<br />
and out of a different length, but almost exclusively<br />
unbranched hydrocarbon chain. The naming of fatty<br />
acid is in part because of the chemical properties of<br />
this substance group which reacts in an acidic manner<br />
due to its carboxyl group.<br />
Fatty Acid Derivatives: A derived substance similar<br />
in structure to a corresponding basic element, in<br />
this case the fatty acid.<br />
Galenics: The study of pharmaceutical composition<br />
and manufacturing.<br />
Glycerine: The simplest trivalent alcohol.<br />
GMP: GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), guidelines<br />
for production and quality assurance in the<br />
production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food and<br />
feeding stuffs.<br />
Halal: Translated this means „allowed“ and includes<br />
all acts and things which are permitted under<br />
Islamic law, such as dietary rules written in the<br />
Koran and the sunnah, determine whether foods are<br />
halal or not.<br />
Hydrogenation: The addition of hydrogen.<br />
Hydrophobing: The term hydrophobic means wateravoiding<br />
or water-repellent. In the context of hydrophobic<br />
treatment, a material or surface is made<br />
water-repellent. In many cases, this property can be<br />
recognized by the fact that hydrophobic surfaces allow<br />
water to roll off.<br />
Kosher: Kashrut - religious rules for the preparation<br />
and consumption of food in the Jewish community.<br />
Only foods that are kosher may be eaten.<br />
Lipolysis: Decomposition of fats, i.e. the glycerides<br />
in the constituent fatty acids and glycerin.<br />
Metallic soap: The collective term for fatty acid salts<br />
with a variety of metals such as aluminum, zinc, calcium<br />
and lithium, etc. The common feature of these<br />
compounds is their hydrophobicity and insolubility<br />
in water, in contrast to potassium or sodium soaps.<br />
Oleate: See Oleic acid.<br />
Oleic acid: Mono-unsaturated fatty acid.<br />
Oleochemicals: A branch of chemistry that deals<br />
with reactions and products based on the raw fat<br />
/ fatty acid.<br />
Pillier machine: A machine for kneading and rolling<br />
finished soap, in order to homogenise the soap mass<br />
as well as possible.<br />
162
Precipitation: Removal of a solute of a solution by<br />
the addition of suitable substances.<br />
Splitting Tower: A special process which involves<br />
the breakdown of fat into glycerol and fatty acid.<br />
This takes place at very high temperatures (> 200 °<br />
C). The main component of such plants is a very tall<br />
splitting container, hence the name splitting tower.<br />
Stearate: See stearic acid.<br />
Stearic acid: Saturated fatty acid. Its salts and esters<br />
are called stearate.<br />
163