

Conrad Krahnen and Wilhelm Gobbers laid the foundations of the textile company for the production of silk fabrics. These were used in particular for speciality items for hat and cap production.
Installation of the first mechanical looms on the Lower Rhine. This was a bold undertaking at the time, as mechanical looms were considered an absolute innovation and were far from fully developed. At that time, the main transmission belt ran from the drive shaft of the steam engine down into the cellar vault. From here, the looms on the ground floor were controlled individually via deflection rollers.


The rapidly growing demand for textiles from Krahnen & Gobbers could no longer be satisfied with the existing resources. New ways were found in the course of industrialisation.

A further production facility with 500 indirectly steam-driven looms was thus put into operation at the Wassenberg site. At the end of the year, the number of power looms totalled 1000.
