Home / History
From rubber shoes to high-tech sheeting: as Europe’s leading manufacturer of EPDM sheeting and membrane systems, CARLISLE® CM Europe has a long history behind it. Many of our European companies started out back in the 19th century as rubber works – and are now specialists in high-quality elastomer products. CCM Europe is part of the stock exchange-listed CARLISLE® Companies Incorporated Group based in the USA and employs more than 350 people in Europe.
The strengths of our European companies are brought together under the roof of CCM Europe. Our group comprises the following companies:
CCM Europe’s European companies have always been skilled at spotting new market opportunities. It all began in 1856 with the production of simple rubber shoes for the Hamburg market. A number of spin-offs, name changes and 156 years later, PHOENIX Dichtungstechnik GmbH (PDT), HERTALAN® Rubber Products B.V. and HARDCAST® had merged to form the CARLISLE® CM Europe Group. And with the spirit of an SME sector company and an international outlook, the group continues on its path to growth.
On a small plot of industrial land in Hamburg-Harburg, brothers Albert and Louis Cohen founded a factory manufacturing rubber shoes and vulcanised rubber. And so begins a company history full of twists and turns.
In Rotterdam, Alexander Hertel founds Hertel B.V. and manufactures rubber sealing products for shipping.
The CARLISLE® Tire and Rubber Company is founded in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. To begin with, the company manufactures bicycle and car tyre inner tubes.
The company is renamed “Harburger Gummiwaren-Fabrik PHOENIX A.G.”.
During the Second World War, Japan cuts off access to the natural rubber plantations in South East Asia, forcing rubber processing companies to find new sources. In December 1945, CARLISLE® launches tube production using synthetic rubber.
Hertel continues to grow: in 1961, the opening of a new rubber factory lays the foundations for the site in Kampen.
German chemist Karl Ziegler and the Italian Giulo Natta are awarded the Nobel Prize for the industrial EPDM production process.
Hertel develops its first roof sealing sheet from butyl rubber.
In collaboration with DSM, the first European EPDM waterproofing membrane is developed - and the new HERTALAN® brand is born. The brand name is made up of the words “Hertel” and “Keltan” (a DSM brand).
CARLISLE® Companies Incorporated expands its development and production of rubber roof sealing products. The CARLISLE® Construction Materials division is born.
The RESITRIX® brand, a unique combination of EPDM and bitumen, is successfully launched onto the market.
CARLISLE® buys the Dutch company HARDCAST® based in Weesp.
Within the Phoenix AG group, Phoenix Dichtungstechnik GmbH (PDT) is founded which manufactures not only roof sealing products but also profiles and rubberised materials.
PHOENIX AG is bought by Continental AG and merged in 2007 with ContiTech AG.
A new production plant for HERTALAN® roof sheeting and accessories opens in Romania.
Following a management buy-out, the roof sealing division is spun off from the Hertel Group and established as an independent company, HERTALAN® Rubber Products B.V. The company continues its passion for EPDM.
The roof sealing division of PDT is separated from the Continental Group by a management buy-out in order to continue the successful production of high-quality elastomer products on an independent basis in future. In addition to the site in Hamburg-Harburg, a second production facility is built in Waltershausen (Thuringia).
CARLISLE® decides to buy PDT which fits in perfectly with its strategic European portfolio.
As part of its European growth strategy, CARLISLE® Companies Inc. also buys HERTALAN® Rubber Products B.V.
Expertise meets practical prowess: in 2015, the CARLISLE® Academy opens in Hamburg offering an extensive range of courses for installers, dealers, architects and planners.
The CCM Europe umbrella brand and the product brands RESITRIX®, HERTALAN®, ALUTRIX®, HARDCAST® and ECOLAN® bring their look closer together. The revised corporate design shows the company as a customer-focused partner with intelligent solutions for every sealing application.
