Gleistein is an internationally operating fibre rope manufacturer with its headquarters, Gleistein GmbH, located in Bremen-Blumenthal. Besides the development, production, and distribution of high-quality fibre ropes, the company specialises in the development of customised rope-based solutions. Including its production site in Trenčín, Slovakia, Gleistein GmbH employs, according to its own figures, 250 employees and achieved a yearly turnover of 32 million € in 2022.

Founded in 1824 by Georg Gleistein, the rope-making company remains in the hands of his descendants and is thus the oldest industrial family business in Bremen.

History

In 1824 'Georg Gleistein & Sohn' was founded by sailing ship captain Georg Gleistein and his eldest son Johann. At that time, 12 employees processed the natural fibres available in Europe (hemp, tow) into ropes by hand. Customers were merchant and riverboats, shipping companies and the agricultural sector. The rope factory with a 380-metre-long so-called "ropewalk" was located in Bremen-Vegesack, along the Kirchheide between Bahnhofsstraße (today Georg-Gleistein-Straße) and Fährgrund.

Arising new fibers such as Sisal and Manila opened new technical possibilities. Starting from 1890 on, the Herkulestauwerk (lit. Hercules cordage) was used for dragging nets for fishing. At that time Bremen-Vegesack, the former company headquarters, was the port of registry of Europe's biggest herring fleet.^[1] Starting from 1920 basic researches for standardisation and computation of ropes were established. In the year 1947, the first ropes made of chemical fibres were produced, which then replaced natural fibres in the 1970s.

Gleistein moved its headquarters to Bremen-Blumenthal in 1980. In its hometown Vegesack (part of Bremen today), the Georg-Gleistein-Strasse wears the founder's name. In 1997, production was set up in Trencin, Slovakia, and in 1999 the company celebrated its 175th anniversary. Today, Gleistein is Bremen's oldest industrial family business, run in the eighth generation by Klaus Walther and his cousin Thomas Schlätzer.

On 8 June 2022, a change of name from Geo Gleistein & Sohn GmbH to Gleistein GmbH took place.

Gleistein today

Gleistein specialises in particularly high-performance ropes made from high-modulus fibres such as HMPE (e.g. Dyneema ®), aramid (Technora®, Kevlar®, Twaron®), LCP (Vectran®) and PBO (Zylon®), but also has a wide range of conventional solutions made from high-strength fibres such as polyamide, polyester, polypropylene and BiPolymer. Depending on the raw materials used, the ropes produced are particularly elastic, load-bearing or, for example, especially heat-resistant. As a fully integrated rope manufacturer, Gleistein has production capabilities ranging from 1 mm thin braided lines to multi-core ropes of over 300 mm in thickness.

Gleistein is a sought-after development and technology partner for new fibre rope applications and has successfully secured its market position with unique selling points such as high product performance with above-average service life in global competition with low-cost suppliers and has been recording rising sales for years. A high standard of responsibility and sustainability has traditionally been firmly anchored in the company, which has been in existence for almost 200 years.

The company's product range includes comprehensive services that range from technically competent purchasing advice and professional installation to inspection, maintenance, and repair, which are offered worldwide.

Production sites

With plants in Bremen, Germany, and Trencin, Slovakia, the company has two of the world's most modern fibre rope production facilities.

In Bremen, high-quality thick round braids and multi-core ropes with high-modulus fibres are produced in particular, but the production of Herkulestauwerk (combined ropes with wire-reinforced strands) for playgrounds is also based here. Production continued at the founding site in Bremen-Vegesack until 1980, when the company moved to the spacious new building in Bremen-Blumenthal, which also houses a modern test laboratory with tensile testing facilities for loads of up to 300 tonnes.

The production site in Trencin was established in the course of the collapse of the USSR in order to remain internationally competitive also with simpler products. In 2014, Gleistein Slovakia moved into a new building and has since outgrown its status as a low-cost location. In Trencin, production capacity is maintained for thin to medium braids such as yacht ropes and safety ropes. But thick square braids and laid ropes - both mainly made of low-cost high-strength fibres - are also produced here. The three extrusion lines for polypropylene and bipolymer fibres are also installed there. Since the relocation, more and more high-modulus, high-performance ropes are also being produced in Trencin.

Sustainability

Gleistein employs a sustainability officer, traditionally operates with high sustainability standards and has been pursuing various climate protection initiatives for many years. As a framework for all decisions, the company has made a special commitment to four specific global sustainability goals of the United Nations: Goal #3: Health and Wellbeing, Goal #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, Goal #12: Responsible Consumption and Production Patterns and Goal #13: Climate Action.

The electricity demand at the headquarters in Bremen has been completely covered by renewable energies since 2014 and the company's vehicles are increasingly being replaced by electric and hybrid cars; for this purpose, corresponding charging stations have been installed on the company's premises. The company has repeatedly made efficiency improvements and relies on green electricity to move towards CO2-neutral production. Any remaining emissions are offset through certified climate protection projects. Various biodiversity measures are implemented on the company premises, including the maintenance of beehives since 2017.

Gleistein develops ropes made from rPET, a polyester fibre obtained from recycled PET bottles, and has already launched some of them on the market. In addition, a switch has been made from all products using Dyneema® to manufacturing with bio-based fibre types, which has significantly reduced the carbon footprint and made the company a pioneer in the industry. In waste management, Gleistein focuses on reducing production waste and works with recycling companies to recycle most of the remaining waste.

The so-called GeoFit programme underlines the company's social commitment by offering health-promoting opportunities for employees, such as yoga and stress management. They also demonstrate their community ties through regional involvement, including support for "Jugend forscht" (German youth science competition) and annual Christmas donations to charitable organisations.

Products and applications

Gleistein is a fully integrated rope factory featuring the entire production chain, ranging from three extrusion lines as well as twisting and stranding machines to over 300 braiding and rope laying machines of all sizes. In addition, there are several heat-setting and stabilisation facilities for optimising strands and finished ropes, as well as extensive testing facilities for development work and quality control.

The majority of the production capacity is dedicated to twist-free braid constructions, which, by varying raw materials, dimensions and number of strands, as well as the combination of different components and the finishing by impregnation and dyeing, form an inexhaustible construction kit of possibilities for the most diverse products.

One focus of the product range is on thick ropes, especially for commercial shipping and lifting applications.

Worthy of special mention is the textile wire rope set DynaOne®, a single-origin braid made of high-quality HMPE fibres (Dyneema®), which has established itself as a superior construction in all dimensions up to well over 100 mm in diameter, with strength and elongation properties of wire ropes of the same thickness at one-eighth to one-tenth of the mass.

Furthermore, the company specialises in medium and thick kernmantel braids, multi-core ropes with load-bearing rope cores, and bundling protective covers: Especially the X-Twin and Texteel®Twin series with strength-optimised cores made of the company's in-house brand Texteel® HMPE or Dyneema® fibres offer outstanding strengths with an extremely long service life.

All finishing work, such as splicing end connections, applying partial rope protection elements and integrating fittings, is carried out at the two in-house finishing centres in order to customise ropes ready for use. The portfolio also includes ready-to-use serial products. Ropes made individually for a precisely defined purpose have taken on a growing importance compared to industrial bulk goods. This work cannot be automated, so the proportion of manual labour has increased at Gleistein in recent decades. Nowadays, up to 45 employees work on the production of end connections every day.

Innovations and special solutions

Gleistein is constantly developing its products to maintain its technological lead in the market. In most cases, new market requirements or outstanding projects that lead to innovative new solutions pave the way for new superior range products. Here are a few examples from the recent past and present:

- Christo and Jeanne-Claude (Wrapped Reichstag in 1995 and L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped 2021).

- Mooring solutions for cruise ships

- SkySails

- Shore Tension

- etc.

Markets served

- Commercial shipping, especially mooring and towing

- Water sports: cruising, racing, superyacht

- Industrial lifting, heavy lifting, crane

- Personal protective equipment (PPE), arboristics, theatre and stunt rigging

- Cable pulling/ Utility

- Playground equipment

Exemplary projects

• Gleistein supplied the ropes for the Reichstagsverhüllung (the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin) in 1995 performed by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude
• Exclusive cordage supplier for Arved Fuchs since many years on all expeditions with his boat Dagmar Aaen in the polar seas.^[2]
• Exclusive cordage supplier for racing yachts as the illbruck, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2001/2002, as well as for the participant in the America’s Cup 2007, BMW Oracle Racing
• Official Rope Supplier for PUMA Ocean Racing for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 ^[3]
• Rope supplier for Francis Joyon with his world record in single-handed non-stop circumnavigation^[4]
• Development partner for rope for the course kite drive of ships (Skysail)
• Gleistein self-publishes the German standard Spleißbuch (Splicebook)^[5] for expert rope splicing

Footnotes