History

After more than 130 years of successful corporate history, during which we have relied on two business units, a new era begins for vanBaerle on December 2^nd, 2020. We sell our Swiss hygiene business to Ecolab and will focus fully on the silicates business in the future.

On March 30^th 2016, the foundation stone is laid for our new silicate plant in Taichung, Taiwan. This project will enable us to consolidate the successful and longstanding presence of our silicate products in the Asian market. Local production will allow us to respond more flexibly to customer requirements while eliminating long, environmentally harmful transportation routes.

Establishment of subsidiary, vanBaerle Silicates Taiwan Co Ltd, in Taipei. The vanBaerle Group acquires a plot of land in Taichung, Taiwan, for the purpose of building a dissolving plant. 

The vanBaerle Group invests in the refurbishment of the silicate melting furnace in Münchenstein. The new installation cuts energy consumption by around 10% and is more reliable under permanent operating conditions. 

vanBaerle acquires the professional hygiene business unit of Held AG at a cost of some CHF 1.2 million. 

The melting furnace for potassium silicate glass at the Münchenstein site comes back into operation.

vanBaerle sets up a subsidiary, vanBaerle France S.A.S., in Mulhouse, France. This will represent the vanBaerle Group in the European Union and ensure compliance with the EU Chemicals Regulation (now better known as REACH). 

On August 10^th 2000, vanBaerle strengthens its Asian presence by setting up a subsidiary, vanBaerle Silicates (S) Pte Ltd, in Singapore.

vanBaerle adds the innovative Ambiance product line to its hygiene range. The key feature of the Ambiance products is their use of microorganisms to break down the unwanted organic materials.  

Daniel Schenk succeeds previous major shareholder Rolf Eberenz as new major shareholder and Delegate of the Board of Directors.

The last members of the van Baerle family leave the company. 

The company celebrates its centenary under the banner "Experience for the Future". 

vanBaerle successfully expands its paper chemicals business and starts production of styrene maleic anhydride copolymers (SMAC) as the basis for its specialty surface paper sizing products.

The production of Ehasol resin size paves the way for the creation of the paper chemicals division.

Even before the war, a shift was emerging in vanBaerle's customer structure (up to then, household consumables). The advent of the automatic washing machine triggers a gradual decline in the domestic use of soap. It is superseded by washing powders, in which soap is partly replaced by so-called surfactants (manufactured by large chemical corporations). vanBaerle adapts to this development in 1945 by implementing various restructuring measures: the focus of manufacturing is shifted to products that cater for major buyers and bulk consumers. Light and heavy industry, and later agriculture, are targeted as the main source of customers. This lays the foundation for an expansion of trading activities and the manufacture of new specialty products for specific industries. vanBaerle continues to prioritize water glass along with all water-glass-based products.

In the course of the war years up to 1945, supply shortages occur for certain products: by official order, the fat content of soap products has to be reduced by approx. 20%. Ration coupons for soap and other crucial government measures make life very hard for the workforce, whose numbers have already shrunk due to military service drafting. The supply of water glass, imported from abroad since 1925, ceases from one day to the next. This prompts vanBaerle to build a modern electric furnace, which – though originally planned only as a temporary solution for the war years – remains in operation until well into the 1960s.

Felix van Baerle, second son of the company owner, joins his brother Alexander in the family business.

The Swiss business community is completely unprepared for the First World War. The shock is so great that vanBaerle shuts down its factory for several weeks. Business then picks up again and vanBaerle builds two new water glass furnaces. The demand is so strong that water glass is often dispatched before it has fully cooled.

All other products, with the exception of BLITZBLANK, play only a secondary role. Raw material shortages force vanBaerle to fall back on substitute materials, with declining quality as the consequence.

The urban project to move Basel's Badische Bahnhof railway station to its present location forces the company to abandon its Lange Erlen site. The plant is rebuilt in Münchenstein, south of Basel.

The young company manufactures soaps and chemical engineering products. Apart from soft soaps, vanBaerle produces washing powder, soda crystals and abrasive soap under the brand name "BLITZBLANK". While the genuine hard soaps are less in demand, so-called "dough soap" enjoys immense popularity.

In the engineering sector, vanBaerle mainly sells cleaning rags and mops that are washed with vanBaerle products. The company also operates a water glass dissolving plant. The lion's share of production is sold as an egg preservative.  

Given the tremendous popularity of van Baerle & Wöllner products, particularly soft soap, in Switzerland, the proprietors decide to mark the company's 50th anniversary by opening a branch in Basel. The staff initially comprises 12 "workers", three "office clerks" and two "travelling salesmen".