An old Northern German family enterprise

Bricks have been part of the life in the Shire Bentheim for a long time. During summer the clay was excavated, formed into bricks and deposited in the sun for drying. Clay was found in sufficient quantity.

Already in 1485* the earl of Bentheim gave permission to the town of Schüttorf to run a "Tiggelhof" (brick factory) in Suddendorf. They baked bricks, roof tiles and pottery. This "Tiggelhof" was leased by the town of Schüttorf, the leasing fee (300 roof tiles) was to be delivered to the town annually.

This „Tiggelhof“ is the origin of our works in Schüttorf. Facing clinker and lining bricks were manufactured in the coal fueld kilns. The head of the first generation to commit itself to the production of tiles was Hugo Berentelg, *1846 +1922. He was considered to be a far-sighted, energetic and quite humorous business man who also managed a textile trade, a hotel and several quarries. His quarries provided the sand stones for the basilica in Rheine from 1899 to 1905. In 1887 Hugo Berentelg became a co-partner of a brick work and some years later (1904) he built his first new factory, the brick works in Recke.

Hugo Berentelg verantwortete den kaufmännischen Bereich und nahm den lippischen Ziegelmeister August Hebrok, *1868 +1939, als Teilhaber mit in die Firma auf.

He was responsible for the commercial administration and took a master craftsman for brick production named August Hebrok (*1868 +1939) from Lippe /Westphalia as partner into his company.
August Hebrok was responsible for the fabrication of the bricks. Still today – meanwhile in the fifth generation – the commercial administration lies in the hands of Berentelg and the technical with Hebrok.

Literature: Ernst Schrörlücke, Norbert H. Siekmeyer, "Traces of time", Suddendorf a chronic. Bad Bentheim 1996 page 132