Böttcher & Gessner was founded on March 18th, 1889 by Paul Böttcher and Otto Gessner as a special factory for barrel manufacturing machines. The first business premises were located in Mörkenstraße in Altona. As early as the second business year, the company's activities were expanded to include the construction of general woodworking machines.
More and more models were created, the advantages of which were generally recognized in professional circles, and after a short time the company was able to expand to 30 to 40 workers. The partner O. Gessner left the company for personal reasons after just three years.

In 1897 there was another opportunity to expand the company on the site where it had been founded, as neighboring rooms became available, so that the production area and the number of workers could be doubled. However, a really noticeable increase in size and an easing of production that did justice to the actual state of development did not occur until 1905, when the entire factory premises, i.e. land and production rooms with all equipment and models, could be purchased from the former competitor factory Hespe & Co. A further expansion took place in 1913 with the construction of a completely new and modern factory building on the industrial site in Bahrenfeld, a suburb of Altona, so that in 1914, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the company, the new factory could be inaugurated.

Altona was incorporated into the city of Hamburg in 1937, and since then the machines have no longer been labeled “Altona” but “Hamburg”.

Böttcher & Gessner particularly distinguished itself in the introduction of direct electric drives in its products by means of built-in or attached motors.
The company founder Paul Böttcher died in 1937, by which time his sons Paul Böttcher, Ernst Böttcher and Max Böttcher had already taken over the management of the company.

After the Second World War, there was a second plant in Bennigsen near Hanover.
Despite good business results until around 1970, Böttcher & Gessner had to file for bankruptcy in the spring of 1974. This was due to management mistakes and quarrels within the owner family. Several hundred workers lost their jobs and their entitlements under the company pension scheme after they had not been paid for several weeks.

Business continued in a very limited way. The company had to leave its traditional location in Gasstraße in Bahrenfeld. Further business activities were limited to the repair of old wide belt sanders and double-end tenoners. In the early 1980s, these activities took place in Ruhrstraße in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. Around 1985 the mechanical engineering company Wehner-Technik in Wedel was purchased and the company moved to Wedel (close to Hamburg). A short time later, the company moved again to Kibitzreihe (near Elmshorn). In 1988, Böttcher & Gessner finally filed for bankruptcy and was wound up.

The second plant in Bennigsen was able to save itself and, as Böttcher, Renardy & Co. GmbH, it continued to manufacture wide belt sanders and double-end tenoners starting in 1975.
Since 2009, the company has been operating as bur-Service Grendel & Wolf GmbH and moved to a new site in Duingen in 2023. Böttcher & Gessner spare parts are also offered.

Information Sources

• Anniversary publication 50 Jahre Böttcher und Gessner, Hamburg 1939
• Arbeitereinheit Nr. 1, Hamburg April 26th, 1974, page 11f describes the circumstances of the 1974 bancruptcy
• Homepage of bur-Service Grendel & Wolf GmbH
• Email conversation with Mr. Helmut Hoops from Ingenieurbüro Helmut Hoops who used to work for and with Böttcher & Gessner in the 1980s.


• Information on specific machine types built by Böttcher & Gessner can also be found at hoechsmann.com