From a backyard garage to global processes

Our story begins in 1964 in Brechten, a district of Dortmund. Founded by the Swedish company Gustaf Fagerberg AB, we initially operated as a trading company. Our first offices were located in a residential building, while warehousing and manufacturing were housed in a backyard garage.

There was no large site, no impressive production hall and no international ambition on the company sign. But it was precisely there that something began to take shape that would endure: our commitment to not merely sell technical solutions, but to understand them.

On 15 September 1965, we were officially entered in the commercial register as a German limited liability company. On paper, this may have looked like a formal step. In reality, it laid the foundation for a development that would fundamentally shape our company over the decades to come.

During our early years, we gained valuable experience in trading industrial valves. We learned to understand markets, assess applications and interpret customer requirements. Over time, however, one thing became increasingly clear: requirements were becoming more specific, applications more demanding and processes more complex.

At some point, simply trading solutions was no longer enough for us.

Following the abolition of exclusive distribution rights, we made a decision in 1975 that continues to shape us today: we began developing our own products and took the production of industrial valves into our own hands.

Our initial focus was on butterfly valves. But this was about more than launching a new product range. It marked the beginning of a new ambition.

Developing and manufacturing products ourselves means taking responsibility – for design, quality, functionality and continuous improvement. Step by step, the trading company evolved into a manufacturing company.

We were no longer merely part of the supply chain. We became part of the solution.

As our in-house development and manufacturing activities grew, so did our need for space. In 1977, we moved to Planetenfeldstraße in Dortmund-Marten. The original residential building was replaced by a proper office building, while warehousing and manufacturing moved into a dedicated production hall.

What may sound like a conventional relocation was an important step in our development: from improvisation to structure, from limited possibilities to more professional processes, and from the start-up phase to the next stage of our company’s development.

Another major step followed in 1987. We moved to Germaniastraße in Dortmund. Our new headquarters were established on the site of the former Germania colliery, comprising a larger office building and an adjoining production hall.

This site remains the centre of our activities to this day. It is where we have continued to grow. It is where products, solutions and expertise have been developed that have shaped us over the decades.

During the 1990s, we expanded beyond butterfly valves. In 1994, DG ball valves were added to our product range. Check valves also became part of our portfolio.

Our offering became broader and more versatile, and was increasingly tailored to the diverse requirements of industrial applications.

Another decisive step followed in 1999: DOMINO knife gate valves became part of our portfolio. By acquiring the production rights from DOMINO Armaturen GmbH, we took responsibility for their manufacture ourselves.

However, we did not simply add DOMINO knife gate valves to our product range. They became part of our own development activities. We manufacture them, continuously refine and optimise them, and integrate them into our technical expertise.

An additional product thus became a product line that remains an important part of our portfolio to this day.

In the 2000s, we expanded our range once again. In 2003, the double-offset HG high-performance butterfly valves were added, followed by the triple-offset HGT high-performance butterfly valves in 2009.

This development reflects the direction in which we were moving: towards more demanding applications, higher requirements and technical solutions that need to do more than simply open and close reliably.

In industrial processes, valves are often inconspicuous components. They rarely take centre stage. But when they fail to perform, more comes to a standstill than just a single component.

This is where our commitment comes from: to develop and manufacture products that operate reliably wherever processes need to run safely, efficiently and without disruption.

In this way, we increasingly became what defines us today: a manufacturer with a broad product portfolio, in-house production and a clear focus on industrial applications.

What began in Dortmund increasingly grew beyond regional boundaries.

In 1999, we established GEFA Procestechniek in the Netherlands, our first subsidiary. This was an important step, giving us an even stronger international presence.

In 2000, a new chapter began when we were acquired by Indutrade. Being part of an international industrial group opened up new perspectives, strengthened our global orientation and created new opportunities for further growth.

In 2010, the establishment of GEFA Processtechnik Co. Ltd. in China marked another important step in our international development.

However international we may become, Dortmund remains our centre. Our in-house manufacturing, technical expertise and proximity to industrial applications remain at the heart of our company.

We are growing internationally while staying true to our roots.

Regional beginnings have developed into global customer relationships. Expertise gained in Dortmund has become the basis for solutions serving processes in a wide range of industries and markets.

Since 1964, almost everything has changed: our locations, products, markets, requirements and technologies.

What has remained is the idea at our core: to make industrial processes better.

The backyard garage has become a modern company site. The trading company has become a manufacturer. The first butterfly valves have evolved into a broad product portfolio. Regional beginnings have developed into international customer relationships.

But we have never simply grown bigger. We have grown because requirements have grown. Because customers have needed new solutions. Because industrial processes have changed. And because we have been willing to evolve with them.

That is why our history is far from complete. It continues to be written every day – in design engineering, in manufacturing, in dialogue with our customers and in every valve that finds its place within a process.