The Industriepark Höchst - A Success Story

The origins of the Industriepark Höchst can be traced back to 1862. The many examples speak of a long history of inventions and innovations.

"A Walk Through Time" ("Zeitstreifen") - permanent exhibition in C 820, Eeast Gate welcome desk,
Open from Monday - Thursday, 7:00 - 4:30 p.m., Friday 7.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m.
"A Walk Through Time" online

1951 – today
1925 – 1951
1862 – 1925

2008
Infraserv Höchst has started construction on the waste-to-energy plant. A cutting-edge logistics center worth € 44 million is being built in the southern sector of the park. With approximately 70,000 pallet positions, the New Logistics Center in Industriepark Höchst is the largest storage facility for chemical products in the State of Hesse.
This year, the 90-some tenant companies invested over € 602 million in Industriepark Höchst.

2007
Infraserv Höchst began planning a waste-to-energy plant with an annual capacity of 675,000 metric tons of refuse-derived fuel. It was designed to produce 70 megawatts of electric power and 250 metric tons of steam per hour, and to offer tenants energy at attractive, internationally competitive rates. With a project budget of € 300 million, it was the single largest investment in Industriepark Höchst's history.

2006
Industriepark Höchst, Clariant, sanofi-aventis, and Infraserv Höchst contribute to "365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas", a nationwide lecture series.
The industrial park is one of the 365 landmarks whose activities represent Germany's innovative drive and wealth of ideas this year.
Infraserv Höchst renewed its commitment to clean, renewable energy. It opened a hydrogen filling station at Industriepark Höchst as part of the EU's Zero Regio project, and built a co-digester that could produce biogas from biosolids and organic waste.

2005
The companies in Industriepark Höchst invested over € 340 million in the site in 2005. The new facilities include a biodiesel-production plant, a purified water facility, and a Biocenter for drugs. The technologically advanced Biocenter bridges the gap between innovative research and efficient production. As such, it is a crucial building block in ensuring Industriepark Höchst's future success.

2004
Work finishes on the trimodal port on the southern bank of the Main River in the Industriepark Höchst. It combines the water, rail and road transport modes - hence the name "trimodal".

Provadis' private college is also created: the School of International Management and Technology.

A functional office building is constructed on the eastern periphery of the industrial park. Owing to its unusual shape, it is dubbed the "Ship on Stilts". The state-of-the-art building brings together architectural sophistication and efficiency through innovative technology.

The shareholders' meeting has resolved to liquidate Hoechst AG, most recently held by Aventis - now sanofi-aventis - as an intermediate holding company. Minority shareholders will be required to sell their stock to parent company Aventis as part of the squeeze-out.

2003
Aventis, now called sanofi-aventis, invests a nine-figure sum in building a new insulin plant.

2001
The record 450 million euros invested in the Industriepark Höchst by on-site companies continue to drive the Park`s growth. The new structures include a multi-purpose laboratory building and a nine-story office block in the south of the Park.





2000
Some 350 million euros are invested in the Industriepark Höchst. In December, the Industriepark Höchst unveils the world's largest distribution system for purified water.

1998
Management of the site transfers to operator Infraserv GmbH & Co. Hoechst KG at the start of the year.

1997
The Industriepark Höchst is opened to non-Hoechst companies.

1995
The management systems for quality, occupational safety, plant and system safety, health and environmental protection are merged to form the Hoechst Integrated Management System (HIMS).

1994
The "Transition `94" program marks the beginning of the Hoechst AG's restructuring and the launch of a new organizational structure.
A demolition program opens up the northern half of the park. All told, 138 buildings are demolished, freeing up ten hectares of open space for development.

1991
Construction begins on the sewage-sludge-incineration plant, which harnesses the energy of 100,000 metric tons of sewage sludge every year. This reduces the amount of waste landfilled dramatically.

1983
The chemical/mechanical portion of the third stage in the biological treatment system goes on stream in December. The biological portion, with two Biohoch reactors starts up in 1984. Some 40 million euros are invested in this stage.



1981
Construction begins on the third stage of the biological treatment system. The two Biohoch reactors form the beating heart of the new system.

1979
The chemical-analysis team gets a new building in the research center.

1978
The new residue-incineration facility goes on line. The energy it generates is fed into the site`s power grid, reducing fuel-oil consumption by 20,000 metric tons per year.

1972
The Industriepark Höchst is still growing strong: now it needs a second bridge across the Main River. The combination road-and-rail bridge connects the south of the Park to the railroad system.
The southern port is expanded to enhance container-loading capabilities.
A new building is built for the Plant Medical Department at the East Gate.
Over 10,000 employees work in research.

1967
A new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility is built for 60 million deutschmarks.
Europe's first large-scale purification plant for chemical wastewater goes into operation in the west of the Park. At the North Gate, the "Farbwerke Hoechst" commuter-train stop improves the site's accessibility.

1963
Representatives in over 100 countries have made the names Höchst and Hoechst a household name the world in this anniversary year. The new drugs Streptase and Haemaccel gain a foothold on the market. The Hoechst Jahrhunderthalle conference center is a powerful cultural force in Western Frankfurt for decades to come.






1960
G 830 - the main laboratory - is the first complex to be finished in the new research center in the south part of the Park.
Chairman of the Board Karl Winnacker and Hessian Prime Minister Georg August Zinn inaugurate the first factory bridge.
The new training center near the East Gate is completed (now Provadis).

1959
Construction begins on the first factory bridge and the new research center to the south of the Main Rriver. Facilities for organic and petrochemical products are being built in the new southern part of the park. This is also home to a port that is completed in 1967.

1957
Harbingers of a new age: the IBM 705 mainframe goes into operation. The dyeworks endow a scholarship for college students. Production begins for Remazol dyes, which render cotton lightfast and washable.

1956
Time to optimize the infrastructure: Hoechst builds an east-west axis to connect the West Gate and C 660.

1954
The factory site closes its doors to public traffic between Höchst and Sindlingen. Frankfurt's Mayor Walter Kolb opens up a beltway around the site called "Hoechster Farbenstraße". This road connects the two suburbs.

1951
Establishment of Farbwerke Hoechst AG, formerly known as Meister Lucius & Brüning. Two large research facilities are constructed: one for pharmaceutical research and one for dye and intermediate product research. Chairman of the Board Karl Winnacker strengthens the firm`s focus on traditional fields and adds synthetic fibers and plastics to the product range. The company internationalizes.

1947
Market launch of a penicillin-based wound powder that is manufactured using a process developed during the war.


1945
The Allied Forces dissolve I.G. Farbenindustrie AG in 1945. The Höchst plant is put under US control from 1945 to 1951.

1938
The factory celebrates its 75th anniversary. 9,580 people work at the plant. Plant manager Carl Ludwig invests heavily in drug research. Hoechst has the first industrially used electron microscope.

1935
A hydrogen gas pipeline is built from the plant to the Rhine-Main airport. It provides zeppelins with up to 180,000 cubic meters of hydrogen a month. Supply begins in April 1936.

After 1933
The new rulers start controlling more and more of the plants` day-to-day operations. One such example is the practice of "arianization". The economic run-up to World War II and the war-driven economy leave a mark on I.G. Farben and its plants.

1930
Under the management of Otto Scherer and Franz Schloffer, the plant produces fluorocarbon polymers that make a name for themselves as Hostaflon.

1925
In December, the consortium companies fuse to form IG Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft. The company is headquartered in the IG-Farben high-rise in Northern Frankfurt. The factory becomes an IG Farben plant, headed up by plant manager Paul Duden. 10,500 employees are on the payroll.

1921
After many years of research, the plant starts producing fertilizers and pesticides.




1919
The Berlin architect Peter Behrens designs and builds the new Technical Administration Building for Farbwerke Hoechst. Construction starts in the spring of 1920. The engineers and office staff move into their offices in June 1924. The building is considered to be an outstanding example of expressionist architecture.

1916
Germany’s major chemicals companies create a consortium. The individual companies remain legally independent, but act as a cartel and make business decisions en bloc.

1914
Almost half of all employees are drafted. 564 do not return. A large number of plants are shut down.

1913
As of its 50th anniversary, nearly 8,900 people are working at the factory site.

1910
After many years of research, Paul Ehrlich develops the drug Salvarsan, an arsenic compound which proves to be highly effective in the treatment of syphilis. This preparation and its successors are produced by the dyeworks.

1909
The site's infrastructure continues to grow. An in-house print shop is set up with flat-bed high-speed presses to print materials (swatches and circulars) for the dyeworks and for the pharmaceutical operations.

1904
The age of motor vehicles comes to the Industriepark Höchst. It begins in 1904 with an electromobile produced by Scheele in Cologne. It is followed one year later by an electric cart manufactured by Lohner in Vienna. The first gasoline-powered vehicles start their engines in 1906 und 1907 - a Horch passenger car and two delivery vans for the department store. The electric cars prove to be cost-prohibitive to run, mainly due to battery-maintenance costs. The combustion engine gains acceptance.




1898
A central electric light and power plant powers the entire site. It replaces many smaller local units. Drive technology undergoes a fundamental change in the late ‘90s: electric motors replace steam-driven engines.

1894
A factory for curative serums starts production. This is where serums and vaccines such as Emil von Behring’s diphtheria antiserum were produced until the ‘30s. This is followed three years later by a tetanus antitoxin and the antipyretic Pyramidon. Chemists also succeed in synthesizing indigo dye.
The factory courtyards' gas lighting is replaced with electrical lights.

1892
The production of immunological drugs begins at the Höchst dyeworks, starting with Robert Koch's development of tuberculin to treat pulmonary tuberculosis. Renowned scientists continue to conduct beneficial research with the dyeworks for years to come.

1891
A complex is built for the fire station and coach house in the same location where the East Gate stands today.
The site gets the first telephone connected to the German postal service’s network.

1889
The first "research center" (main laboratory) is built on the site where D 725 currently stands. The main laboratory also houses the Science Library.

1888
The site celebrates its 25th anniversary. It has grown to 600,000 m², of which 95,000 m² have been developed. The narrow-gauge railway system has ten kilometers of trackage.

1886
The site's first dock facilities go into operation after the Main River's canalization is completed.



1885
The first "consumer establishment" – the forerunner of today’s department store – opens near the East Gate. Customers get a profit rebate at the end of the year.

1883
A new chapter opens in the site’s history: the start of drug manufacturing.

1879
The site is connected to the Prussian railway network. Horses pull the site’s narrow-gauge train. Until, that is, they are replaced by a steam locomotive in 1884.

1874
Construction of an on-site waterworks with an hourly output of 200 cubic meters. An 8-km-long pipeline network delivers the water to the production facilities and the 90 fire hydrants scattered throughout the site.
Two sickrooms are set up and a plant physician is hired for the 400 employees.

1869
A new factory site is created west of the Liederbach River for the production of intermediate products and alizarin. Alizarin, a red dye, is the first major synthesis of a natural dye. The new site also houses the first washroom and shower facility for factory workers.



1867
The firm is renamed to Meister Lucius & Brüning. It goes public in 1881. The founding families get involved in protecting the local communities for decades to come. They establish foundations and make donations to welfare organizations. Construction on the first factory-owned apartments starts in 1875.

1864
A building permit is granted for the first laboratory at the Höchst site.

1863
Chemische Fabrik Meister Lucius & Co. takes up operation with five factory workers, a chemist and an office clerk. Its first product is fuchsine, a blue-violet dye, followed later in the year by a lightfast aldehyde green. The two products are the basis for the successful rise of “The Red Factory”, as it comes to be called.
The site purchases its first steam engine, which has an output of 3 hp.


1862
Eugen Lucius, Wilhelm Meister and August Müller obtain a permit to operate an aniline und aniline-dye factory. The first production facility is built in the countryside to the west of Höchst.