The Strupp-Konzern was an investment group founded by Dr. Gustav Strupp (*1851) together with his brothers, Meinhold and Louis. In 1872, Strupp and his brothers inherited the B.M. Strupp bank in Meiningen, Thuringia, from their parents. They were skilled in their trade, and so the small local bank prospered. By 1905, it had become the official Bank of Thuringia under the name Bank von Thüringen vormals B.M. Strupp AG.
Strupp Strupp himself had a keen eye for opportunities and mainly invested in the German porcelain industry, which required enormous amounts of money due to its rapid growth. The Strupp brothers' approach was simple: to secure their interests, they only invested in companies that agreed to leave all vital decisions in the hands of a certain number of directors and advisors related to company size, who were supplied and paid by the Strupp-Konzern.
One of the first factories to receive funding was the relatively unknown Kloster Veilsdorf factory in Veilsdorf, Thuringia. This was followed in December 1886 by the Porzellanfabrik Königszelt factory in Königszelt, Silesia. Based on the profits from these two companies alone, the investment group expanded to a degree that can still be described as impressive today. In fact, by 1914, the Strupp-Konzern had become the largest investor in the history of German porcelain.
By around 1924, it had become clear that the situation could not continue indefinitely, as the entire group was heavily dependent on the charismatic but ageing Strupp brothers and their organisational skills and financial expertise. Rather than risking failure by trying to continue, the entire investment group was gradually reduced in size from 1925 onwards, finally dissolving completely in 1927. Many of the German porcelain manufacturers known today would never have been able to expand, or even continue trading, if it had not been for the three brothers from Thuringia, who were the wealthiest and most influential people in Germany for a short time.
Admittedly, next to Porzellanfabrik Kahla - the world's largest porcelain manufacturer at that time - a few of those names might seem irrelevant. At first glance, that is. For example, Hermsdorf-Schomburg Isolatoren GmbH (better known as Hescho) was the largest producer of porcelain insulators and owned various international patents, including the TriDelta insulator array. Without them, the entire system of overhead cables in use today would be very different.
© 2004-2026 C.S.Marshall, all rights reserved