BILSTEIN – Innovative Technologies “Made in Germany”
When August Bilstein laid the foundations for BILSTEIN in 1873, nobody had any idea of the crucial influence the company’s products would one day have on the driving comfort and safety of vehicles. Instead it was metal window fittings – sold under the catchy name of AUBI, an abbreviation of August Bilstein – that soon made the company famous far beyond the boundaries of Bilstein’s local region in Germany.
A whole series of technical innovations followed and the revenues earned through these patents provided a solid basis for the later successes of what was still a young company. In order to meet the exacting quality demands already in the preliminary stage of manufacturing the fittings, the company set up its own strip iron rolling mill in 1919. It was around this time that Hans Bilstein, August Bilstein’s son, returned from the USA to take over the company from his father, bringing with him new concepts for nickel- and chrome-plating processes.