WERKZEUGSCHMIEDE KRENZER
In June 1911, Friedrich Wilhelm Krenzer acquired the old, defunct hammer mill located at Upper Peddenöde. During the 19th century, its broad hammer was likely used to forge shovels, spades, and plowshares.
Concrete plans were subsequently developed for a new hammer mill incorporating the latest technical capabilities available at the time. The facility's equipment included, among other things, pneumatic hammers, presses, and drop hammers. Power—totaling 32 horsepower—was generated via hydropower using a horizontal shaft turbine. Until 1949, the energy produced by this water-powered system was sufficient to meet the facility's operational needs.
To this day, the Krenzer family continues to manufacture excellent specialized tools using equipment and machinery—some of which is over 100 years old. Thanks to decades of experience in forging and subsequent processing techniques (such as hardening), these tools are ideally suited for professional tradespeople who value high quality and traditionally crafted implements.
The Krenzer family invests a great deal of work and energy into the *Förderverein Krenzer Hammer e.V.* (Krenzer Hammer Support Association). Their goal is to preserve the company's historic building—which is a designated cultural monument—along with its technical facilities, to safeguard the heritage of the local ironworking industry, and to pass this knowledge on to children, adolescents, and adults.
Text and information sourced from *Chronik der Werkzeugfabrik Krenzer von damals bis heute* (Chronicle of the Krenzer Tool Factory: From Then Until Now), compiled by Ehrengard Krenzer, 1st Edition (2014), Förderverein Krenzer Hammer e.V.
The Krenzer Hammer
... is a historic tool factory in the Ennepe Valley. The last open-die forge still operating in the Ennepetal region still produces specialty tools—most of it on the same production lines that have been hammering through the Ennepe Valley for over 100 years...
