History
From a two-man operation to an international company – the history of GLORIA GmbH is characterized by innovation, growth, and success in the field of preventive fire protection.
Since our founding in 1945, we have achieved numerous milestones that have made our company a globally recognized supplier of fire extinguishers, extinguishing systems, and fire protection solutions.
Join us on a journey through time and discover how a small business has become a global company with the highest quality and safety standards.
THE BEGINNING IN THE GARDEN SHED
In 1945, today’s GLORIA GmbH was founded in a garden shed in Gütersloh by Heinrich Schulte-Frankenfeld. In its origins, the company specialized only in repairs in the areas of fire extinguishing technology and plant protection equipment.
THE FIRST EXPANSION
The first expansion took place as early as 1946 when trading was also added to the portfolio. The “special factory” was now also focused on the sale of plant sprays and fire extinguishers. The first assistants were hired and, due to the positive development, larger business premises developed.
REAL BEST SELLER
In 1947, the company’s founder had the idea of using the filters from the people’s gas masks that were widely used in the post-war period to produce the first hand-held sprayer for the crop protection division – this became a real bestseller!
EMPLOYEE GROWTH
In 1948, the number of employees increased to 50.
MOVE TO WADERSLOH
The 50s were a very formative decade for GLORIA. Business was so good that the company had to expand its premises again. So, the company finally moved to Wadersloh. From now on, production took place in the company’s own premises. By the end of 1955, annual sales had already risen to 2 million Deutschmarks.
Made in Germany
The 1960s were a time of expansion and export for GLORIA. The latter flourished – in 1962, more than 50 countries were already supplied with the products ‘Made in Germany’.
GROWTH
In the years 1965 to 1969, GLORIA had several construction projects on the agenda: In addition to a new branch plant, the company was expanded to include an innovative paint shop, a stoving oven, additional conveyor belts, assembly halls, and a new administration building, among other things. Exports and the number of employees also grew steadily.
25. ANNIVERSARY
Just in time for the 25th anniversary, the initially three-story administration building was completed in 1970.
MARIENFELD IS EXPANDED
By 1988, it was also necessary to expand the branch plant by about 40% to cope with the high capacity utilization of the company.
THE GLORIA TRAINING CENTER
With the construction of a modern training center in Wadersloh in 1989, the company’s training area was also modernized and equipped with the latest communications technology. In the course of this, more space was created for seminars.
COMPANY GROUNDS
A further spatial expansion at the beginning of the 1990s offered from now on a company site of a total of 230,000 square meters.
CERTIFICATES CONFIRM QUALITY
The constant growth was also evident from the establishment of GLORIA UK in 1993. Additionally, GLORIA has stood out from the competition during this time thanks to its certifications, which officially confirmed the high quality of its products. In addition to TÜV-cert and DIN ISO 9001/EN 29001, the portfolio was also certified according to the internationally recognized “British Standard”. Numerous GLORIA customer services also received a quality certificate in the mid-90s – this was an absolute novelty in the fire extinguisher industry
F2000
From the mid-1990s onwards, things continued to go uphill: with the F2000 design fire extinguisher, a world first in the field of portable fire extinguishers was developed in 1995. This extinguisher was presented on the occasion of the company’s 50th anniversary. In 1996, GLORIA then launched a new development center.
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS IN A NEW DESIGN
Finally, in 1997, the new, successful design fire extinguisher series F 6 was launched.
SMART FIRE PROTECTION
Around the turn of the millennium, GLORIA introduced an innovative fire protection and rescue concept based on the “SMART” vehicle. This small-format rescuer is used for fire and rescue protection e.g., by factory fire departments, in warehouses, production halls and exhibition halls, shopping centers, narrow city centers, and large events. In addition, the subsidiaries GLORIA Extintores, S.L., Spain, and GLORIA Extincteurs SAS, France were founded in 2000.
NEW ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
Not only a milestone but rather a foundation stone was laid in 2002 when the company constructed a completely new administration building in Wadersloh.
RELOCATION TO POLAND
In 2007, the company finally decided to relocate fire extinguisher production to Ropczyce, Poland.
EASY. PRO. STAR.
With the introduction of the new EASY, PRO, and STAR fire extinguisher lines, GLORIA was then able to record another successful launch in 2011. The fire extinguishers, which are offered with high-performance foams, bio-foams, and a frost-proof version, are very popular.
THE FIRST WADERSLOH FIRE PROTECTION DAYS
In 2018, the Wadersloher Brandschutztage (Wadersloh Fire Protection Days) took place for the first time on the GLORIA company premises under the motto “Trust is the basis – Safety is the concept”. This was the starting point for the annual event.
CONGRATULATIONS!
2020 the company celebrates its 75th birthday.
The new generation of fire extinguisher training
With the GLORIA VR Fire Trainer, our new virtual fire extinguisher trainer was presented to you. The innovative solution prepares companies and their employees for emergencies using virtual reality headsets and a fire extinguisher dummy, independent of time, location or PC connection.