History

Over 100 years of contemporary history

The walls of the Heyne factory could tell quite a story. Over the decades of transformation from an industrial to a service location, Heyne Fabrik now has a very solid tenant mix from a variety of industries. There was a time when interim uses for culture, a variety of fashion agencies and creative service providers made up the Heyne Fabrik. The industry mix has expanded significantly in the 2020s to include service providers from the IT and health care sectors, architects, project developers and startups from the fields of new technologies and 3D printing.

THE HEYNE BROTHERS
Turning shop Heyne
Christoph Friedrich Ernst Heyne 1841 – 1915
Georg Johann Heyne 1844 – 1905
The first steps.
The siblings Christoph Friedrich Ernst Heyne and Georg Johann Heyne started with the industrial series production of small metal parts and experienced a great upswing with various inventions and patents, such as the first, at the end of the 19th century, a machine that could cut threads from metal wire (rods) – with which the industrial series production of screws was born.
“At that time, the Heyne factory was an important manufacturing company in Offenbach”.
– Hans H. Huber, former General manager
1920
Steadily growing production
The Heyne factory is flourishing. The heyday of industrial production was interrupted by the Second World War. The administrative building with the magnificent iron stelae to the left and right of the entrance symbolized the status that the factory now held.
1928
Series production with large machinery
In the first 30 years of the last century, the Heyne factory experienced a steady upswing with successive expansion of the buildings and the extensive machine park
1935
Specialists were in demand
The Heyne factory also had a good position as an employer. There were company statutes, social rooms and very acceptable conditions for workers and employees. The Heyne factory was also active as a training company.
1975
Deindustrialization and transformation
From the 1950s to the 1970s, production continued at the Heyne factory, latterly only in part of the buildings. The aerial view already shows the site with the residential buildings to the east and south on former plots of land that used to belong to the Heyne factory
1985
Interior renovation with exposed brickwork
During the interior renovation, the exposed masonry is sandblasted and defects are repaired. The original steel mullioned windows will be dismantled, sandblasted, repaired, repainted and reinstalled with insulated glass panels. In this way, the industrial character is preserved as far as possible in the rented premises.
1988
Creation of accesses and staircases
In order to make the large former production areas divisible and to make them accessible, additional staircases were created.
1994
The Heyne factory gets new lettering
New logo fonts were installed all around the Heyne factory
1998
Purist interior design
In order to keep the areas flexible, modular fixtures are used. The high-quality cast screed emphasizes the industrial look.
2009
Place of culture in the Heyne Fabrik
Heyne Kunst Fabrik uses spaces to intersperse art. The exhibitions attract national visitors to the Heyne Fabrik.
2012
Consistent adherence to the design concept
Constantly developed over several decades, the individual building tracts are based on the same material and color concept. This ensures that a uniform and coherent overall impression is created over many years, even when refurbishing existing buildings.
2016
Luminale as guest
Curated by the Heyne Kunst Fabrik, international actors were recruited to show their light art installations in the Heyne Fabrik on the occasion of the Luminale.
2020
Green moves into the courtyards
A series of large corten steel plant troughs has adorned the courtyards of the Heyne Fabrik since this year. The plants grow and thrive, adding a bit of nature to the ambiance.