History

A century of success: With roughly 700 employees, we see ourselves as an international company based in Germany.

SINCE 1920

1920
Karl Hunke and Wilhelm Jochheim set up a factory for manufacturing metal index tabs in Iserlohn/North Rhine Westphalia.

1927
The Company has already grown considerably; the manufacturing premises at the corner of Wallstr. / Hochstr. are only a temporary solution prior to buying production and administration buildings on Wilhelmstr. The expanding company has about 50 employees up till the war.

1945
The rehabilitation phase can begin; the Company starts up again with a staff of around 30. The first plastic index systems are introduced in the following years.

1955
Purchase of approx. 6,000 sq. metres of industrial land in Westfalenstr., Iserlohn.

1956
Construction of manufacturing premises on the new site. An extension becomes necessary due to the expanding production range after 1949 and to allow for the start of plastics fabrication.

1959
DURABLE invents the DURACLIP® patent clip folder - the solution for filing documents without having to punch them.

1962
An additional 2,000 sqm. are purchased adjacent to the property in Westfalenstr.

1963
The old factory in Wilhelmstr. has become too small. In the course of urban development the premises in the town are sold and an industrial site of approx. 16,000 sq. metres is bought in Kamen-Methler. The move to Kamen-Methler is necessary because there are not sufficient workers locally.
Building on the new factory premises is started in the same year as well as the erection of the present main administration building and a central warehouse.

1965
The Company takes up operations in its new premises on Westfalenstr., Iserlohn and in Kamen-Methler.

1970
The production area in Kamen-Methler is extended by 5,000 sqm. in a second building phase and now totals 8,000 sqm. The systematic development of the range of computer filing accessories commences at the beginning of the 1970s.

1978
Completion of the third building phase in Kamen-Methler, bringing the total production area there up to 10,000 sqm.

1980
The first foreign subsidiaries start business in England and Sweden.

1981
The production premises and headquarters in Iserlohn are again expanded to a total of 4,300 sqm.

1991
A further subsidiary is set up in the Netherlands.

1993
Construction of a modern distribution centre with high-bay warehouse in Iserlohn-Sümmern.

1994
The individual shipping divisions are concentrated at the distribution centre in Iserlohn-Sümmern.

1993
Purchase of a production location in Gotha.

1997
An additional subsidiary is established in Belgium.
About 5,000 sqm. of manufacturing area are erected in the course of the second building phase in Iserlohn-Sümmern.

1998
The Iserlohn production is transferred from Westfalenstr. to Sümmern.
The SHERPA® Display System table 10 and the SHERPA floor stand are presented with the "iF Design Award" by Industrie Forum Design Hanover.

1999
The distribution centre in Iserlohn-Sümmern is extended by 4,000 pallet bays.
The portable CD wallet CD MOBIL is voted "Product of the Year" by the ISPA international trade press.

2000
Construction of a new production facility in Gotha. DURABLE sets up a subsidiary in France.
The centium desk collection wins the ISPA "Product of the Year" award.

2001
DURABLE wins the "BOSS Federation Manufacturing Excellence Award 2001", the highest distinction awarded by the British office products industry

2002
Investment in a production location in Poland and establishment of an agency in Russia.
DURABLE is "Manufacturer of the Year" at the OPI European Office Products Awards.
Managing Director Horst-Werner Maier-Hunke receives award for his "Life's Work".

2003
A unique warranty on DURACLIP® is introduced – the 5 Year Clip Guarantee
DURABLE exhibits at Paperworld China with a stand of its own for the first time
DURABLE wins the Southern Westphalia Marketing Award

2004
Complete acquisition of production location in Poland.
The KEY BOX organization system for keys is voted "Product of the Year" by the IPSA.
The KEY BOX from DURABLE is chosen as "Product of the Year" by FVKK, the German Association for Plastic Consumer Goods.
A representative office is opened in Poland.
Horst-Werner Maier-Hunke, Managing Director of DURABLE is elected president of the Employers' Association of the Metal Industry in North Rhine-Westphalia

2005
A representative office is opened in Northern Italy.
DURABLE wins the OPI European Office Products Award as the "Most Innovative Company of the Year"
The KEY BOX from DURABLE is presented with the "Product of the Year" award from the German Association for Plastic Consumer Goods (for the second time!)
DURACLIP® wins the "Best Product" accolade at the 2005 Benelux Office Products Awards.

2006
Official opening of the new production plant in Szscecin, Poland which is approximately 24,000 m².

2007
DURABLE wins the "Product of the Year 2007" award in the commercial office supplies category from the German Association of the Paper, Office Supplies and Stationery Industry.
The VARIO® Display System pro 10 earns the "Product of the Year 2007" award from the International Stationery Press Association ISPA.

2009/2010
Acquisition of the finnish company IDEALPLAST.

2010/2011
Acquisition of the "office furniture and environment" business sector of the insolvent Dutch producer ATLANTA.
New products: office furniture, office environment, Waste management.

Opening of the production in Coevorden/Netherlands.

2011
DURAFRAME® receives the Red Dot Award, the 6th design price.

2012
The production area in Stettin is doubled.

2013
VARICOLOR® receives the Red Dot Award

Durable opens a company-owned Kindergarten for children between 1 and 3 years.

2014
For the 3rd time in a row DURABLE is selected as “service champion in the office” by German secretaries.

2015
Market launch of the innovative LED lighting system LUCTRA®. From the very beginning, it is produced manually at the LUCTRA® factory, in a specially designed area within the Kamen-Methler production plant, which has already existed for many years.

In the same year, this plant celebrates its 50th anniversary.

2016
Extension of the logistics centre in Iserlohn-Sümmern by adding a high bay warehouse. Thanks to the additional capacity, some external warehouses can be closed and distribution can be concentrated on site.

DURABLE wins for the 10th time the Supplier of the Year award from Lyreco, a globally leading distributor of office and workplace solutions.

2017
With the launch of the TABLET HOLDER range, DURABLE is consistently driving its product policy towards solutions for mobile working environments.

2018
In DURAFRAME, DURABLE promoted one of its top-sellers in a German television commercial for the first time in company history.

The company is strengthening its traditional links to Germany as a production location by investing € 6 million to build a new production facility in Kamen-Methler.