Company Founders
- John Jacob Bausch (1830–1926), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb, makers of contact lenses and Ray-Ban sunglasses
- Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880), founder of what would become Bayer, chemical and pharmaceutical company
- Paul Carl Beiersdorf (1836–1896), founded Beiersdorf AG manufacturers of Nivea, Eucerin, etc.
- Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz (1873–1950), invented the coffee filter and started Melitta, manufacturers of coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers.
- Karl Benz (1844–1929), inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile, co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz
- Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (1852–1921), founded Berlitz Language Schools
- Carl Bertelsmann (1791–1850), founder of Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include Random House and BMG.
- Johann Adam Birkenstock, in 1774 founded Birkenstock shoe company
- Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist, engineer and inventor, founder of Robert Bosch GmbH
- Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer, founder of Hugo Boss AG
- Max Braun (1883–1967), founded Braun GmbH, makers of electric shavers and trimmers, Oral-B products, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, coffee makers and other home appliances.
- Adolphus Busch (1839–1913), co-founder of Anheuser-Busch brewing company.
- Adolph Coors (1847–1929), started the Adolph Coors Company brewery, now part of MillerCoors.
- Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), inventor and engineer, founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, now Daimler-Benz AG
- Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company Adidas
- Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974), founder of PUMA sportwear company
- Friedrich Engelhorn (1821–1902), founder of BASF, the largest chemical company in the world
- Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), founded Faber-Castell, one of the world's largest manufacturers of pens, pencils, other office supplies, art supplies, high-end writing instruments and luxury leather goods.
- Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826), steel manufacturer and founder of the ThyssenKrupp AG, one of the world's largest steel producers.
- Henry Lomb (1828–1908), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb
- Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (1859–1955), founded the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer.
- Georg(e) Merck (1867–1926), founder of Merck & Co.
- Heinrich Meyerfreund, founder of Garoto, a chocolate company in Brazil
- Carl Miele (1869–1938), founder of Miele, a manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances (praised by Steve Jobs for their design), commercial equipment and fitted kitchens.
- Frederick Miller (1824–1888), born as Friedrich Eduard Johannes Müller, he founded the Miller Brewing Company in 1855
- Richard Hellmann (1876–1971), founded Hellmann's Mayonnaise
- Johann Peter Henckels, founder of (Zwilling) J.A. Henckels, one of the largest and oldest manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware
- August Horch (1868–1951), founded Audi automobile company in 1909
- Karl Kellner, founded Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment, and microscopes.
- Adam Opel (1837–1895), founder of the automobile company Adam Opel AG
- Werner Otto (1909–2011), founder of Otto GmbH, now Otto Group, the world's largest mail order company.
- Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of Porsche
- Karl Friedrich Rapp (1882–1962), co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became BMW AG.
- Paul Reuter (1816–1988), pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting, founder of Reuters news agency
- Hans Riegel Sr.(1893–1945), founder of Haribo, the biggest manufacturer of gummi and jelly sweets in the world.
- Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering (1824–1889), founded Schering AG a research-centered pharmaceutical company.
- Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010), founded Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high fidelity products.
- Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, founder of Siemens, largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company.
- J.S. Staedtler, in 1835 founded Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG, one of the world's leading suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments.
- Henry E. Steinway (1797–1871), founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons.
- Franz Ströher (born c. 1854), in 1880 founded Wella AG, one of the world’s leading cosmetics suppliers.
- August Storck-Oberwelland, in 1903 founded Werther's Sugar Confectionery Factory, now August Storck AG, manufacturers of Werther's Original, Riesen, merci,
- Carl von Thieme,(1844–1924), founder of Allianz AG, a global financial services company
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the Zeppelin, founded the Zeppelin Airship company
- Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), maker of optical instruments, founded Carl Zeiss AG
Read more about this topic: List Of Germans
Famous quotes containing the words company and/or founders:
“Some fluctuating notions concerning repentance, virtue, honor, morality ... hovered around Lady Dellwyn’s thoughts but were too wavering to bring her to any fixed determination. She became a constant attendant from one public place to another, where she met with many mortifications. But yet even these were not quite so dreadful to her as to retire and be subjected to her own company alone.”
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“It was no wonder that her sons stood tall and straight. She was a rich mine of life, like the founders of early races.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)