A look back at our company history:
Chemieprodukte GmbH founded
Rising in the midst of collapse: Against the backdrop of a post-war Germany that is suffering famine, hyperinflation and unemployment, the company lays the foundations for its future global success story in Berlin.
Invention of the Petrolatum-Tape
Chemist Paul Schade develops“Schade’s plastic protective tape”. As the world’s first petrolatum tape, this now PLASTELEN®-Tape becomes a generic synonym for reliable passive corrosion prevention for pipelines.
The company name is born
The brand name, from the Latin word “densus” for “seal” is registered. The new brand is used as the name for the first product and is later applied also as the name for the mother company.
Customer satisfaction as the key to success
The company’s first customer, Berliner Städtische Gaswerke AG (GASAG), places an order for 50,000 metres of the new Petrolatum-Tape. Other national companies and increasing numbers of international customers, including Ruhrgas AG Essen, Stadtwerke München (the Munich municipal authority) and the Blackstone Gas Company in the USA, follow.
In-house laboratory
At a very early stage in the company’s history, management recognised the importance of having an in-house research and development facility to come up with pioneering new products.
Free ride for distribution
The 125 employees at the Berlin-based company generate an annual turnover of 4 million Reichsmark.
10,000 rolls of Petrolatum-Tape
A major step for the company after the end of the Second World War, with ten thousand rolls of Petrolatum-Tape produced.
A new start in Leverkusen
After the destruction of the company headquarters in Berlin at the end of the Second World War, the company relocated from the banks of the Spree in Berlin to the Rhine river at Leverkusen. The proximity to the Rhine and the chemical company BAYER AG promises an efficient transport route and inspiration for new inventions.
TOK<sup>®</sup>-Band: Duality provides balance
A second product puts the company on a stable footing. The invention of TOK®-Band for sewer construction enables the company to successfully enter a new market.
TOK®-Band revolutionises the world of sewer system seals. Up until this point, the only sealing methods available used hot casting or filler. However, these solutions produced a seal that was too rigid, leading to the seal breaking. The new TOK®-Band remains plastic and continues to seal pipes reliably even when the pipes move underground.
Expanding the headquarters
All departments, including Production, Research & Development and Administration are united at the Leverkusen site. Short lines of communication facilitate rapid decision-making.
Trade fairs as multipliers
National and European exhibitions like the trade fair “Bau” (construction) become the company’s most important sales channel, offering an opportunity to present the products to a large audience.
Exploiting all sales channels
The company’s diverse distribution channels transport all products to national and international customers.
BUTYLEN: A tape becomes a hose
The world’s first co-extruded three-ply tape for preventing corrosion around welded joints on pipelines is invented. Thanks to an innovative cold application process that does not require heat, the tape layers fuse after application, forming a hose-like, diffusion-resistant sleeve to protect the pipe against corrosion and mechanical stress.
Device technology developed in-house
The development of the company’s first wrapping devices, such as the DEKOMAT®, leads to the creation of an in-house engineering department for technical applications. This department develops and manufactures devices and sells or hires them out to customers. Customers can now apply all products even faster and more easily using tailor-made wrapping devices.
TOK<sup>®</sup>-Band Spezial: Taking quality to the roads
As damages in asphalt roads occur and the practice of using bitumen-based hot pouring compounds to finish joints is not reliable, the idea of TOK®-Band comes into play. The new TOK®-Band Spezial revolutionises road construction and becomes a synonym for bitumen joint tape.
Expert knowledge for customers
The company promotes the idea of sharing knowledge with customers, providing comprehensive advice and practical training. From its own in-house training locations, the company delivers regular training on its products, their properties and how they are applied – much to its customers’ delight.
TOKOMAT<sup>®</sup>: Construction site efficiency
The success of TOK®-Band leads to the development of the TOKOMAT®. Thanks to the new application device, bitumen joint tapes can now be machine-extruded directly on the construction site for the first time. This enables customers to finish joints spanning multiple kilometres – such as those found on motorways – safely, quickly and efficiently.
The self-adhesive TOK<sup>®</sup>-Band SK: An innovation for road construction
The launch of TOK®-Band SK makes work even easier for construction site workers. No flame is required to apply the first ever self-adhesive sealing tape. The protection is already achieved with the application of the primer on the joint flank and the subsequent "cold" application of the self-adhesive tape.
Entering new markets with heat shrinkable sleeves
DEKOTEC® heat shrinkable sleeves expand the corrosion prevention portfolio and enable the company to conquer new markets. Thanks to innovative hotmelt and mastic technology, the product boasts exceptionally high resistance in all temperature ranges, making it suitable for use everywhere from the deserts of North Africa to the icy plains of Siberia.
TOK<sup>®</sup>-Sil Resist: Groundwater protection against acids
A new product for new partners: The acid-resistant TOK®-Sil Resist is a new innovation for biogas and liquid manure, slurry and silage effluent plants. The product seals both horizontal and vertical joints and forms a reliable bond around the critical junction where joints intersect – preventing acid from entering the groundwater.
The company family
The Group now has six European subsidiaries outside Germany and more than 100 sales partners around the world.
TOK<sup>®</sup>-Band A: Improving on what we already have. Developing new innovations.
40 years after the introduction of the first bitumen joint tapes, TOK®-Band can now often be applied without using primer. TOK®-Band A is activated in seconds – perfect for speedy application.
SEALID<sup>®</sup>: A new simplicity in corrosion prevention
The company launches SEALID®, the world’s first primerless all-in-one solution. The product is a revolution: It provides high-level protection against corrosion and mechanical loads with just one product and in just one application step.
100 year jubilee
We’re celebrating our 100-year anniversary of our group of companies – and we’re thankful for and proud of everything we’ve achieved. With our innovative products and a strong team, we’re looking to the future with confidence.