Metal facade specialist | History of the POHL Group

1856 - 1946 The beginnings of the POHL Group

ARNOLDUS POHL was a trained cooper and in 1856 laid the foundation stone for the group of companies. His son WILHELM POHL was fascinated by carriages and wagons and in 1884 converted facilities in the Niehl district of Cologne into a carriage-builder’s workshop. When his son HEINRICH POHL took over in 1921, the way people travelled was rapidly changing. And 10 years later Henry Ford opened his first factory in Cologne. Of course, POHL kept up with the times: instead of wood, they now supplied iron and steel for the automotive industry.

1947 - 1988 The focus changes to architecture

In the immediate post war period, CHRISTIAN POHL established the first ties to the architectural scene and expanded the company’s metal working to include sheet metal. The close contacts with to Ford provided a firm basis for the business – both professional and private. In 1974, responding to customer inquiries, HEINRICH ROBERT POHL decided to focus the company completely on aluminum processing for facade elements. In 1978 he moved the growing business to a new industrial estate in the north of Cologne. Only 10 years later, POHL opened a production industry in Salt Lake City, consolidating the expansion of its facade business to the USA.

1989 – 2022 Powerful group of companies for facades and roofs

The jump over the Atlantic should not be the end of the expansion. The POHL GROUP workforce now numbers around 500 employees at seven production sites in Germany and abroad and the family of companies has grown to six companies for facade, substructure, roof and roof safety. Group CEO HEINRICH ROBERT POHL prepares the transition to the 6th GENERATION with daughter Katja Boden (CEO POHL Administration). The POHL GROUP is currently facing the challenges of worldwide digitization and is investing more and more in the promotion of young talents.

In January 2022 Konrad Kaiser succeeds Heinrich Robert Pohl in overall responsibility for the core business and takes over management of POHL Metal Systems GmbH.