ALTEX - 50 YEARS OF COMPANY HISTORY
1936
FROM RAG PICKER TO FLEECE PIONEER.
The roots of ALTEX go back to 1936: Bernhard Stienemann senior started out in Münsterland with a traveling trade license and a cargo bike as a trader in old goods, metals, hides and other recyclable materials.
In 1951, he founded the first company together with his son Günter. The company traded in scrap metal and a wide variety of waste materials.
In 1956, Helga Stienemann, Günter's wife, joined the business and expanded it further - particularly in the area of processing raw materials.
The textile companies located in Münsterland and the neighboring Netherlands supplied sufficient raw and waste materials, so that the idea of recycling and reprocessing soon emerged.
1988...
ALTEX GRONAUER FILZ GmbH & Co KG.
The site at Overdinkelstraße 22 in Gronau soon became too small, so at the end of the 1960s the family decided to purchase a plot of land measuring around 30,000 square meters at Düppelstraße 12 in Gronau, where the first ripping machines and baling presses were acquired - an important milestone in the company's development.
In the early 1970s, Bernhard Stienemann junior, the son of Günter and Helga Stienemann, joined the growing family business.
In 1975, Günter and Bernhard Stienemann junior finally founded ALTEX Gronauer Filz GmbH & Co KG together. This marked the transition from pure raw materials trading to industrial production - a decisive step on the way to becoming the modern recycling and nonwovens specialist that ALTEX is today.
1989...
MILESTONES ON THE WAY FORWARD
At the end of the 1970s, Bernhard Stienemann decided not only to sell the recycled fibers, but also to use them for the production of nonwovens. The purchase of the first needled nonwoven line marked the beginning of a new era at ALTEX - and laid the foundations for our current direction.
From 2002...
ROOTED IN GRONAU - AT HOME IN THE WORLD
In 1980, ALTEX presented itself to an international audience for the first time at the "Heimtextil" trade fair in Frankfurt - and promptly received its first major export order. Together with our partner TAG, we produced nonwovens and ribbed goods for prayer and oriental carpets in Iran. More than twelve containers were shipped with the very first delivery - a strong sign of quality "Made in Germany"
and the start of a continuously growing export business.
2016...
THINK BIG - ACHIEVE MORE
The company continued to grow steadily in the following years. New sales opportunities in the automotive supply industry and in the geotextile sector for building construction and civil engineering opened up additional prospects. In order to keep pace with this development, production was continuously expanded: Additional needled nonwoven lines were installed, a warehouse and shipping hall were built, and an administration building was erected.
2019...
TWO STRONG PILLARS
The foundation of ALTEX Textil-Recycling GmbH & Co. KG, based in Gronau-Epe, in 1989 marked a strategic change of course:
Sustainability developed from an idea into an independent, professional business area. As a result, a clear division developed within the Stienemann family with two locations:
Bernhard Stienemann junior specialized in the production of needled nonwovens at Düppelstraße in Gronau, while his younger brother Karsten Stienemann supplied the necessary recycled raw materials, fibres and fibre blends with the company ALTEX Textil-Recycling - and still supplies them today.
A shared DNA thus gave rise to two strong pillars on which the ALTEX company still stands today - and which contribute significantly to the continued success of the family business.
2020...
PASSING ON RESPONSIBILITY, SHAPING THE FUTURE
In 2019, Bernhard Stienemann handed over the management of the company to his daughter Dania and his son Nico Stienemann.
ALTEX TODAY
Today, decades of experience meet state-of-the-art technology at the Gronau site. With currently over 100 dedicated employees, we produce around 10,000 tons of needled nonwovens every year. This corresponds to an area of over 4,000 soccer fields.
Our strengths lie in state-of-the-art production facilities, an optimally coordinated use of raw materials and in our team. With decades of experience, technical understanding and a spirit of innovation, we set new standards in quality and efficiency day after day.
This makes ALTEX a modern, reliable partner for the automotive industry, the geotextile sector, home, Oekotech and many other industrial applications.
More than half of our products find their way to markets all over the world - a strong sign of quality, innovative strength and trust "Made in Gronau".