July 1908 Rudolf Mankel and his brother-in-law Wilhelm Dörken
found Dörken & Mankel KG.
Their product range comprises double action hinges and cut-thread screws.
1913 Relocation to a 500 sq m new building on Breckerfelder Strasse in
Ennepetal – still the site of company’s headquarters and primary German
production facility. The product range is extended to include double-
action door springs, cabinet sliding door gear and glass sliding door gear.
1919 Entry into the export market with expansion of production facilities by a
further 400 sq m.
1927 The Dorma brand name – derived from the initial letters of the founders’
surnames – is officially registered at the Patent Office on 21 December
1927. However, the company’s former name is retained well into the 1970s.
1933 Now with a workforce of 40, the company celebrates its 25th anniversary.
New products include index springs and slide-action control gear.
1941/45 Rudolf Mankel junior takes charge of the company. During the Second
World War the factory survives several air strikes, but suffers extensive
damage – production ceases for one year.
1950 The company starts manufacturing door closers, the first being an over
head door closer (the TS 50).
1958 Production of a flat-profile door closer with a constant closing force
commences on the company’s 50th anniversary: the TS 58 remains in the
range until 1983.
1962 The company launches its first automatic operators onto the market.
1966 Product innovations such as the TS 66 aluminium door closer with a rack
and pinion mechanism and the RTS 69 transom closer underpin Dorma’s
success in the USA, which is now one of the company’s most important
export countries.
1970 Karl-Rudolf Mankel joins the company, representing the third generation
of his family. Dörken & Mankel KG is renamed Dorma GmbH + Co. KG.
1973 The TS 73 door closer proves an outstanding product innovation for pre
ventative fire protection applications – millions of units are sold.
1975 The acquisition of a stake in Eldor marks the start of automatic door
production.
1976 Dorma adds glazed and glass door hardware and accessories to its product
range and founds Dorma-Glas in Velbert-Heiligenhaus in 1977.
1986/87 The TS 93 establishes a new generation of precision-engineered door
closers with a wide range of models.
1987 Dorma moves into security and emergency escape technology, giving it
access to new markets.
1988 The company acquires Otto Großsteinbeck GmbH, subsequently OGRO,
in Velbert and enters the field of lever handle production.
1989 Dorma is one of the first door closer manufacturers to obtain certification
in accordance with the ISO 9002 international quality standard.
2000 Sales of one billion German marks (DM) generated.
2002 The simultaneous acquisition of Hüppe Form Raumtrennsysteme
(Germany) and Modernfold Inc. (US) results in the creation of a fifth
division, “Movable Walls”.
2003 Dorma launches further innovations onto the market, for instance the
PHA 2000 and 3000 panic hardware sets, the Ogro Create system of
architectural lever handle customisation and the standard Dorma System
55 hardware design solution.
2005 Market lead further extended: Dorma unveils 15 new developments, of
which no fewer than three are world innovations, at the premier European
construction trade show Bau 2005. Through Premium, the company’s
plan of action for the future involving efficiency-enhancement measures at
the parent Ennepetal site up to the year 2008.
2006 Dorma is declared a “Top 100” company and thus counts among the most
innovative German small and medium-sized enterprises.
2007 Dorma develops, for the first time, a high-quality product range for the
“private home” segment. Dorma Gulf opens new office and production
facilities in Dubai.
2008 Dorma concludes the Premium programme for the future success of its
Ennepetal site having made an overall investment of ten million euros.
Dorma is not only voted the best employer among German SMEs for the
fourth year in succession, but is also ranked top in the personnel
development category for the first time.
July 2008 Dorma marks its centenary with simultaneous celebrations at many of
its sites around the world.
