Establishment of the "Aktiengesellschaft"

The young company had already been very successful under the name of "Helfmann Brothers", but its construction projects were still limited to the Frankfurt area. The firm simply did not have the necessary capital to expand its business. In this question it was Philipp Helfmann who proved to be the more daring and perhaps also the more far-sighted of the two brothers, because it is surely no coincidence that be initiated the conversion of the company into an Aktiengesellschaft - a publicly quoted corporation - only shortly after Balthasar passed away. The name he chose, "Aktiengesellschaft f�r Hoch- und Tiefbauten", can be translated as "Construction and Civil Engineering Corporation", and he emphasized expressly the continuity from its origins. In May 1896 he announced proudly:

"Mr. Philipp Helfmann is the Managing Director of the company and will continue be in charge of the overall management of its business. He will continue the business with the employees who were always available to his previous firm, and in the same manner."

After its conversion into a joint-stock corporation, HOCHTIEF thus initially remained a family company, and Philipp Helfmann remained totally responsible for it.

Responsibility for operation as long ago as 1899

For all his consciousness of tradition, Philipp Helfmann was often capable of thinking very "modern" thoughts. One impressive testimony to his willingness to break new entrepreneurial ground is the Bad Orb project. ("Bad" means "Spa" in this context.) In 1899 HOCHTIEF entered into a contract with the spa town of Orb.

The particular feature of this project lay in the obligations taken over by HOCHTIEF, which went well beyond the simple matter of putting up a few buildings. In addition to planning and erecting them, the company was also to design the outdoor facilities - roads, parks, and gardens - arranging finance through a company established for this project, Bad Orb GmbH, and finally to operate the spa with HOCHTIEF taking at least indirect responsibility. Looked at this way, the Bad Orb project was an early example of system leadership. The first major order from abroad also still came into the Helfmann era: the Genua grain store (1899-1901).

Reinforced concrete revolutionizes construction technology

The grain silo is a significant structure in another respect as well. It was built entirely with reinforced concrete. The discovery of concrete reinforced with iron or steel was more than just the invention of a new building material; indeed, it revolutionized the construction industry completely. Impressive structures made of reinforced concrete include the Municipal Theater in Freiburg, built in 1906/1907, and the synagogue built in the Westend district of central Frankfurt in 1907/1908. In these structures the reinforced concrete tended to be kept well hidden; it was used for the "internal construction", and conventional building
materials were used for the fa�ades.

Select projects: