The history of BEULCO began in modest circumstances in 1950: as a small garage company with a melting furnace in the backyard of Ennester Straße. But the beginning was anything but easy. Complaints from residents, conflicts with authorities and even eviction notices presented the young company with major challenges. Undeterred, founder Karl Beul remained optimistic - and found a new home for himself and his five employees at Stesse.

Fun fact: at the topping-out ceremony in 1951, Karl Beul said, “This hall is big enough for me” - if he only knew...

BEULCO two-way tap

With the BEULCO two-way tap, the former Gebrüder Beul & Co. launched the first innovation on the market. Whether washing a car, watering the garden or doing laundry - the product was designed to make it easier for the user to work with water.

Here, too, everything revolved around the topic of water and how it can best be used by people - still part of our philosophy.

Fun fact: Karl Beul already called the product the “Beulco tap” - he was looking for a short and snappy name for the product - if he had known back then that BEULCO had become the company name.

The next innovation came in 1956: the “66 series” – brass pipe fittings – which meant that pipes no longer had to be heated before assembly. This made the work of plumbers much easier. An excerpt from the 1960 catalog: “The manufacturer of these fittings used to lay water pipes himself. He therefore created a screw connection for the plumber who is standing in the trench in all weathers, which can be easily and quickly installed with a wrench, i.e. without a hammer and other tools.”

And it works: the screw connection is still an integral part of our range today.

BEULCO has proven its innovative strength at an early stage and has been involved in numerous milestones in stadium construction. For example, BEULCO connectors were used in the first stadium pitch heating system in Germany in the Olympic Stadium in Munich (from 1969) – a highlight of the 1972 Olympic Games. Further projects followed, including the Waldstadion Frankfurt (1978) and the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern (1986).

Fun fact: Shortly before the Olympics, Deutsche Bahn lost a BEULCO crate of products, causing panic on site.

BEULCO soon reached its capacity limits. In 1978, the administration building was extended towards Kölner Straße. The press shop was built in 1980.

Karl-Heinz Beul donated the fountain in front of Attendorn town hall on his own initiative to give something back to the town – a local work of art that combines water and culture. The fountain sculpture was created by an artist from Bamenohl. The fountain was officially opened in 1987.

Göte and Margareta Selerup buy the Malmö-based company Artur Weinberg AB and found beulco armatur AB. The BEULCO fitting was well known in Sweden, so it made sense to give the company this name as well.

Göte Selerup spoke neither German nor English – the decision to take over the commercial representation in Sweden was not an easy one for the Attendorn-based company. In the negotiations, Göte asked after countless discussions, “Which is better – speaking German or being able to sell?” – with that, he quickly ended the talks.

In 1974, there was no longer enough space in the warehouse. A former gas station in Helsingborg was converted into suitable office and storage space. In 1987, the brothers Per-Olof and Stefan Selerup took over responsibility. Stefan Selerup became managing director. The product range quickly grew to include our own solutions – today, beulco armatur ab is one of the leading companies for supply and disposal systems.

Teunis Gerritsen has been selling BEULCO couplings in the Netherlands for quite some time. In 1973, he started his own business as a commercial agent due to his success. So, the garage was converted relatively quickly into a small warehouse. Within a few years, he made BEULCO products known throughout the Netherlands.

At the age of 17, his son Ton joined the company. His brother Justus followed later. In 1996, the new warehouse was opened at the current location in Duiven. In 1999, Ton and Justus took over the company. In 2010, the commercial agency became independent and is now known as T. Gerritsen B.V. or BEULCO Holland.

The relationship between the Beul and Gerritsen families has always been very close. Even as children, the Gerritsens and Beuls spent a lot of time together. Justus Gerritsen is now the owner and managing director of BEULCO Holland.

The reunification opened up new markets for BEULCO, the export business increased to 40% and many new large customers were acquired, with whom we are able to look back on valuable and trusting partnerships to this day.

The reunification of Germany opened up a multitude of new markets for BEULCO. Further investments were necessary. Among other things, the construction of the largest production hall with a computer-aided high-bay warehouse began in 1991. Today, more than 21 CNC and MSP machines are located here, producing over 15 million parts per year.

50 years of BEULCO – the last major anniversary was celebrated with an impressive party in the town hall of Attendorn. Rudi Assauer, former manager of Schalke 04, was among the guests, along with the mayor, numerous entrepreneurs, association representatives and employees.

Axel Beul, grandson of the founder Karl Beul, takes over all company shares and thus ushers in a new era. Together with Jürgen Schütz, the first external managing director to be appointed, the first effective, holistic corporate strategies are developed, which position the company for future success and lay the foundation for sustainable growth.

Verselbstständigung Holland & Schweden

Neue Handelsvertretungen Europa/ Internationalisierung

What happened on the premises of BEULCO on June 28 and 29, 2019 has never happened before in the history of the company. Production was stopped for two days so that all 180 employees could come together on these days to work on various issues and topics related to BEULCO under the motto “Shaping the future together”.

This was the kick-off event for the development of our agile organization.

In 2020, we were listed among the top 100 most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany for the first time. The TOP 100 innovation competition is an academic selection process that participants have to go through. Innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke and his team examined BEULCO on the basis of more than 100 innovation indicators from five categories: innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organization, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success.

Here we were able to show that the developments of recent years are bearing fruit – by rigorously focusing on agile organization, a new leadership culture and digitalization, we have set the course for the future.

When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in spring 2020, disinfectant was sold out. However, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, social institutions and many more needed means to keep running. So we decided to approve the disinfectant for drinking water systems as a surface disinfectant to help out here. In just 10 weeks, a completely new business unit was created that offers environmentally friendly products as an alternative to chemicals – all the way to the shelves of dm stores.

In recent years, digitalization has been at the center of our corporate strategy. This is how we are accompanying the company's development from a component manufacturer to a complete system provider. At our company, digitalization focuses on all areas: production, products, processes, and business models. We have also developed a target picture here.

The agile organization at the center of our activities forms the cross-section. It connects all areas of digitalization and is the basis for successful implementation.

In addition to the topics of agile organization and digitalization, the focus in these years has also been on the topic of sustainability. A strategic agenda was developed in 2022 to implement the mission statement. In developing and implementing the sustainability strategy, Beulco is guided by the UN SDGs, as well as regional and global climate protection goals and social standards.

Here, too, we have developed a vision for the coming years.

In 2024, BEULCO is focusing on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI). AI technologies offer enormous opportunities to optimize processes, drive innovation and set new standards in the industry. From production control and quality assurance to the development of smart solutions for drinking water management – BEULCO is using the potential of AI to become even more efficient, sustainable and customer-oriented. With this focus, the company is further expanding its position as an innovation leader and actively shaping the future of water supply.