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Didier works

In 1834, Friedrich Ferdinand Didier (1801-1867) succeeded in producing refractory bricks, so-called chamotte, near Szczecin and later the first chamotte cakes, industrial kilns lined with refractory material.

In 1861, he founded the Stettiner Chamottefabrik F. Didier, which acquired a stake in Tonwerke Biebrich AG in 1899/1900. At the same time, the company opened a research laboratory for materials science in Stettin, which later moved to Wiesbaden. The company was one of the leading suppliers in the construction of gas works as well as industrial and waste incineration furnaces.

In the 1920s, it was able to build on the successes of the pre-war period by constructing coke and industrial ovens and selling acid-resistant products. The current name was introduced before the start of the global economic crisis. As a supplier to the coal and steel and armaments industries, Didierwerke was the target of several Allied air raids during the Second World War. After the end of the war, most of the factories and warehouses were expropriated in the Soviet occupation zone. In 1948, Wiesbaden became the company's final headquarters.

In 1952, the Didier Research Institute (DFI) opened in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, which existed until 1999. Didier has been part of Radex-Heraklith-Industriebeteiligungs AG (RHI) since 1995. Wiesbaden remained the company's administrative location, and in 1996 the head office moved to Abraham-Lincoln-Strasse 1.

Literature

175 years of refractories at Didier: 1834-2009, published by Didier-Werke-AG. Edited by Mathias Irmer, Wiesbaden 2009 [p. 31 f.].

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Explanations and notes