100 years Rudolf Hensel GmbH | Paint and Varnish Factory
Manufacturer of fire protection systems made in Germany
Rudolf Hensel GmbH was founded in 1922 as a varnish and paint factory and had its headquarters at Süderstraße 235 in Hamburg until 2001. Initially, special ship colors formed the focus of the product range. This enabled the company to develop a leading market position in the 1950s. In the search for new challenges, Hensel recognized the increasing importance of preventive structural fire protection at this time and now devoted itself intensively to the development of fire protection coatings. As early as 1953, this competence was recognized in Germany with the first patents. National and international product certifications followed. The following milestones in the company’s history characterize the development of the traditional firm.
Today, as an independent company, Rudolf Hensel GmbH is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fire protection systems for passive structural fire protection. The company headquarters are in Börnsen near Hamburg.
Decades of experience from the development and production of fire protection coatings are reflected in the high quality standard and the excellent processing properties of the HENSOTHERM® and HENSOMASTIK® products.
The product range includes coating systems for the fire protection of steel, wood, concrete, cables, for the production of fire penetration seals in walls and floors and fire-resistant joints. Special fire protection solutions for industrial applications and the development, testing and production of intumescent and ablative building materials, components and coatings, also as a partner for research projects, complete the portfolio. For each of these applications, the Green Product line offers sustainable, environmentally friendly products that have qualified as building materials for ecological construction. Hensel fire protection systems are rated according to the European standard (EN), approved in Germany with a general type approval (aBG) and have other international certificates according to VKF, BSI, UL and GOST.
100 years of creativity, quality and intensive exchange with customers have made Rudolf Hensel GmbH one of the leading manufacturers of coating systems for preventive structural fire protection Made in Germany.
FIRE PROTECTION – OUR PASSION.
All components of the HENSOTHERM® 421 KS steel fire protection system are now available in the Green Product line, which includes all fire protection products that have qualified as building materials for particularly ecological construction. The Green Products are free of emissions and VOC-free or at least formulated to be low in VOC. Depending on the application, these products are classified, for example, in emission class A+, meet the requirements of LEED v4 or the AgBB evaluation scheme. The product certificates give architects and planners ‘credit points’ for the sustainable assessment of buildings and thus enable excellent building certifications according to BREEAM, LEED or the DGNB system.
Hensel once again proves its innovative strength and introduces the new HENSOTHERM® System for Shaft Walls, which is protected by a utility model, is tested with a fire resistance classification up to EI 120 according to EN 1366-3. It the first complete system for fire penetration sealing of heating, air conditioning, sanitary and electrical conduits in drywall shaft walls that are planked on one side and only grand limited access.
In 2019, the spatial capacities for application technology are be expanded and a new hall is built. The extension also enables the test furnace to be increased to a height of 3 meters so that in the future significantly longer components and standard-compliant wall constructions can be tested at the company’s own location.
Hensel promotes the service and equipment of the voluntary fire brigade and, after many years of cooperation and support, receives the award as a “partner of the fire brigade”. Several employees are firefighters themselves. The company premises are regularly used for practical exercises, to hold operations with ladders and respiratory protection or to simulate a chemical accident. The good cooperation with the fire brigade is also an end in itself, because the fire brigades are aware of all possible danger spots through the exercises – this can be decisive in an emergency.
The newly developed HENSOTHERM® 9 KS with 2C technology for extremely hard and robust fire protection coatings for steel structures in weathered outdoor areas receives the first approval according to DIN 4102. One year later, the solvent-free 2C system HENSOTHERM® 910 KS is also certified according to European Standard (EN) and British Standard 476 (BS). Rudolf Hensel GmbH is thus again the first manufacturer of fire protection coatings to provide official proof in accordance with the European assessment procedure for an extension of the service life to 25 years in dry interior areas (Z2) and is the first 2C fire protection system with and without a coating varnish to demonstrate a service life of more than 25 years in accordance with ETA and aBG for HENSOTHERM® 910 KS.
The research and development of sustainable products pays off. Rudolf Hensel GmbH receives the world’s first Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for fire protection coatings for the products HENSOTHERM® 410 KS and HENSOTHERM® 420 KS for steel fire protection, HENSOTHERM® 2 KS INNEN white for the protection of wood as well as HENSOMASTIK® 5 KS for use on cables, for fire penetration seals and fire protection joints, which have been verified by the Institute Construction and Environment (IBU).
Hensel achieved another breakthrough with the first certification for the HENSOTHERM® 490 KS system of up to 4 hours in accordance with the American market requirement UL263 for steel fire protection coating systems, which is also widespread in the Middle East. The HENSOTHERM® 490 KS system, which enables thick layers to be applied in one operation, is rapidly gaining in popularity. In further tests with HENSOTHERM® 490 KS a few years later in 2018, Hensel is the first manufacturer in the world to exceed the UL requirements by up to 90 minutes and achieves a fire resistance duration of 5.5 hours (R330).
After harmonization and introduction of the European Technical Assessment (ETA), HENSOTHERM® 420 KS (today HENSOTHERM® 421 KS) for protection periods from R 30 to R 180 received the world’s first approval according to the new European standard. The steel fire protection system is part of the newly created Green Product line, enables DGNB certification and will be used in various large-scale projects from 2012, including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
The environmental compatibility and sustainability of fire protection coating systems have long been the focus of Hensel’s research and development work. Among other things, the development of maintenance-free water-based coating systems will henceforth be pushed forward with the goal of a Green Product line for certified sustainable and environmentally friendly product systems. At the same time, fire tests for new product systems in the area of fire penetration seal systems in accordance with the European standard (EN) are increasingly being carried out, for which a separate firing furnace will be available on the company premises from 2011.
Once again, Hensel can come up with a world first: HENSOTHERM® 2 KS AUSSEN is the first wood fire protection system for exterior use. HENSOTHERM® 2 KS AUSSEN is simply applied like normal paint with a brush, roller or sprayer. After drying, HENSOTOP SB, the topcoat for the system, must be applied to protect against weathering.
The fire test with the new high-performance product HENSOTHERM® B 2000 for concrete fire protection is so successful that Roland Roggon is able to walk on the concrete ceiling of the test furnace directly after the test, which had been exposed to temperatures of over 1000 °C from the underside for over 90 minutes shortly before.
Henceforth, HENSOTHERM® B 2000 is used in car parks and underground garages all over the world. In addition, a separate fire oven for fire tests on the fire behaviour of building materials and components according to DIN 4102 is put into operation on the company premises.
The move in 2001 to the new and current company headquarters in Börnsen, just outside the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, is accompanied by further investments in modern, larger production facilities and storage technology as well as a CHP plant. The site covers an area of over 20,000 square metres. In addition to the administration building, production and storage halls, there is also a technical centre equipped according to the latest standards. In addition to new and further development of steel fire protection systems for interior and exterior use, ablative fire protection coatings for cables are increasingly coming into focus.
With the site of the old Forest Brewery (Waldbrauerei) in Börnsen, a suitable new location with tradition was finally found. As early as 1891, the forest property on the former Dorfstraße and the old Hamburger Postweg was sold to the Waldbrauerei Bergedorf AG. The beer from Börnsen, brewed with the princely spring water, was even enjoyed in South Africa. In 1920, however, the brewing rights were sold to the Hamburg Holsten Brewery and production in Börnsen was discontinued. A year later, the Hamburg paint factory Holzapfel bought the area, which Hensel took over and modernized at the turn of the millennium.
A new era begins when Roland Roggon joins the company as managing partner. He has a vision to establish Hensel as the market and innovation leader for coating systems in passive structural fire protection and strives to expand the existing brands HENSOTHERM® and HENSOMASTIK® internationally. From 1999, Roland Roggon takes over sole management. The takeover goes hand in hand with investments in new production facilities, laboratory equipment and an adjustment of quality management to internationally recognised standards.
On 20 August 1997, Hensel is certified ISO 9001 for the first time and has had the high quality standards in the company certified by external auditors ever since. The globally recognised standard defines the minimum requirements for a quality management system. The focus is on optimising processes in order to continuously optimise the company’s performance and to meet customer requirements in the best possible way.
Through further in-house research and development, the company is once again launching new fire protection paints:
- HENSOTHERM® intumescent for the areas of wood and wood-based materials, steel components, cable coatings and cable insulation.
- HENSOMASTIK® as an ablative fire protection paint for cable coatings and fire protection partitions.
At the end of 1973, Rudolf Hensel handed the company over to his three sons, Hans -Rudolf, Konrad and Karl-Ludwig Hensel. In 1980, the 93-year-old company founder dies as a result of an accident.
Until 1973, production and the warehouse are expanded in parallel through constant new developments. A sales office is founded in Sweden and a trading partner is found in Switzerland, who also takes over distribution for Austria and Spain.
Since the garages on the premises were not affected during the night of the bombing, work can continue here under difficult conditions. In addition to trading in dyes, an agitator and a small paint roller are also set up so that a modest production of simple anti-corrosion paints can take place. After the return of the three sons of the company founder from the war, work on setting up the company begins immediately and by autumn 1951 the first phase of development is completed. With new additional products such as two-component coatings, hammer finishes, textured paints, stoving paints and fire protection paints, new customers can be won quickly. Soon the fire protection paints are patented under the brand name HENSOTHERM® in Germany, and shortly afterwards also in Norway and Denmark, so that exports to Scandinavia can also begin.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, production is restricted, but can be largely maintained until 1943. In the summer of 1939, the offices were even modernised. In the July nights of 1943, however, the production facilities and the warehouse on the company premises were destroyed by bombs. Tragically, two employees were also killed while working as night guards. War and fire leave their mark, but also spur Rudolf Hensel to new thoughts. How can the protection of people and material be improved? The infernal chaos gives rise to the idea of developing fire-retardant paints that protect the material like a wall and are henceforth to become the focus of Hensel’s development.
With the move to Schwarzestraße 27 in Hamburg-Hamm at the end of 1924, the set goal is achieved and production of the first HENSEL paints and varnishes begins. The workforce grows to three paint workers and a laboratory technician, and Rudolf Hensel’s extensive sales experience ensures faster growth. For this reason, after only a few years, a possibility to expand the business is sought.
With the agency and commission business for paints and varnishes, the “respectable and decent” businessman quickly achieved “very lively sales” thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit, a lot of effort and passion, which the Dresdner Bank also attested to in a bank report.
So in 1922 Rudolf Hensel founded his own company, whose first business premises were opened shortly afterwards at Hohe Bleichen 24 in the old center of Hamburg. Until 1924, a wholesale business with painting accessories, stains, furniture polishes, paints and varnishes is operated here with the aim of soon starting its own production.
Until he was called up for the Imperial Airship Service, the company’s founder, Rudolf Hensel, completed a commercial apprenticeship at the long-established Ahrens paint and stain factory in Hamburg.
After the end of the war, Rudolf Hensel deepens his knowledge as an industrial paint salesman in the field service of various Hamburg paint and varnish factories. This activity provided him with numerous contacts to painting companies and the Deutsche Reichsbahn, so that founding his own company seemed promising.
Today, as an independent company, Rudolf Hensel GmbH is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fire protection systems for passive structural fire protection. The company headquarters are in Börnsen near Hamburg.
Decades of experience from the development and production of fire protection coatings are reflected in the high quality standard and the excellent processing properties of the HENSOTHERM® and HENSOMASTIK® products.
The product range includes coating systems for the fire protection of steel, wood, concrete, cables, for the production of fire penetration seals in walls and floors and fire-resistant joints. Special fire protection solutions for industrial applications and the development, testing and production of intumescent and ablative building materials, components and coatings, also as a partner for research projects, complete the portfolio. For each of these applications, the Green Product line offers sustainable, environmentally friendly products that have qualified as building materials for ecological construction. Hensel fire protection systems are rated according to the European standard (EN), approved in Germany with a general type approval (aBG) and have other international certificates according to VKF, BSI, UL and GOST.
100 years of creativity, quality and intensive exchange with customers have made Rudolf Hensel GmbH one of the leading manufacturers of coating systems for preventive structural fire protection Made in Germany.
FIRE PROTECTION – OUR PASSION.
All components of the HENSOTHERM® 421 KS steel fire protection system are now available in the Green Product line, which includes all fire protection products that have qualified as building materials for particularly ecological construction. The Green Products are free of emissions and VOC-free or at least formulated to be low in VOC. Depending on the application, these products are classified, for example, in emission class A+, meet the requirements of LEED v4 or the AgBB evaluation scheme. The product certificates give architects and planners ‘credit points’ for the sustainable assessment of buildings and thus enable excellent building certifications according to BREEAM, LEED or the DGNB system.
Hensel once again proves its innovative strength and introduces the new HENSOTHERM® System for Shaft Walls, which is protected by a utility model, is tested with a fire resistance classification up to EI 120 according to EN 1366-3. It the first complete system for fire penetration sealing of heating, air conditioning, sanitary and electrical conduits in drywall shaft walls that are planked on one side and only grand limited access.
In 2019, the spatial capacities for application technology are be expanded and a new hall is built. The extension also enables the test furnace to be increased to a height of 3 meters so that in the future significantly longer components and standard-compliant wall constructions can be tested at the company’s own location.
Hensel promotes the service and equipment of the voluntary fire brigade and, after many years of cooperation and support, receives the award as a “partner of the fire brigade”. Several employees are firefighters themselves. The company premises are regularly used for practical exercises, to hold operations with ladders and respiratory protection or to simulate a chemical accident. The good cooperation with the fire brigade is also an end in itself, because the fire brigades are aware of all possible danger spots through the exercises – this can be decisive in an emergency.
The newly developed HENSOTHERM® 9 KS with 2C technology for extremely hard and robust fire protection coatings for steel structures in weathered outdoor areas receives the first approval according to DIN 4102. One year later, the solvent-free 2C system HENSOTHERM® 910 KS is also certified according to European Standard (EN) and British Standard 476 (BS). Rudolf Hensel GmbH is thus again the first manufacturer of fire protection coatings to provide official proof in accordance with the European assessment procedure for an extension of the service life to 25 years in dry interior areas (Z2) and is the first 2C fire protection system with and without a coating varnish to demonstrate a service life of more than 25 years in accordance with ETA and aBG for HENSOTHERM® 910 KS.
The research and development of sustainable products pays off. Rudolf Hensel GmbH receives the world’s first Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for fire protection coatings for the products HENSOTHERM® 410 KS and HENSOTHERM® 420 KS for steel fire protection, HENSOTHERM® 2 KS INNEN white for the protection of wood as well as HENSOMASTIK® 5 KS for use on cables, for fire penetration seals and fire protection joints, which have been verified by the Institute Construction and Environment (IBU).
Hensel achieved another breakthrough with the first certification for the HENSOTHERM® 490 KS system of up to 4 hours in accordance with the American market requirement UL263 for steel fire protection coating systems, which is also widespread in the Middle East. The HENSOTHERM® 490 KS system, which enables thick layers to be applied in one operation, is rapidly gaining in popularity. In further tests with HENSOTHERM® 490 KS a few years later in 2018, Hensel is the first manufacturer in the world to exceed the UL requirements by up to 90 minutes and achieves a fire resistance duration of 5.5 hours (R330).
After harmonization and introduction of the European Technical Assessment (ETA), HENSOTHERM® 420 KS (today HENSOTHERM® 421 KS) for protection periods from R 30 to R 180 received the world’s first approval according to the new European standard. The steel fire protection system is part of the newly created Green Product line, enables DGNB certification and will be used in various large-scale projects from 2012, including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
The environmental compatibility and sustainability of fire protection coating systems have long been the focus of Hensel’s research and development work. Among other things, the development of maintenance-free water-based coating systems will henceforth be pushed forward with the goal of a Green Product line for certified sustainable and environmentally friendly product systems. At the same time, fire tests for new product systems in the area of fire penetration seal systems in accordance with the European standard (EN) are increasingly being carried out, for which a separate firing furnace will be available on the company premises from 2011.