The Hinrich Feldmeyer Story

In 1912 Hinrich Feldmeyer founded a timber company in Bremen under his own name. When he had finished his apprenticeship in timber trade, he became responsible for all timber purchases for one of the largest German shipyards. Consequently he first specialized in timber used in the shipbuilding industry. For establishing a company for this branch of timber business, he had to be an allround-man with comprehensive practical knowledge on all European and exotic timber species, logs and sawn, construction timber as well as veneers.

After the 2nd World War in 1945 the German economy had totally collapsed. During the war, the warehouse of HIF had burnt down, all property in the eastern part of Germany was lost, only the outside walls of the office building in Bremen still existed. All that remained where friendship, knowledge and the strong will to maintain the tradition in the timber trade and to rebuild HIF.

The German currency had lost its value, wood was only sold with allotment vouchers at prices fixed by the state. But based on the close cooperation with the shipbuilding and fishing industry, there was a new beginning. Apart from the allotment vouchers the fishing companies "paid" with fish for the lumberjacks and forest officers. In exchange HIF took over the wood supply for those shipyards and fishing companies which where of major importance for the country in the political-economical point-of-view and just for the simple need of food.

With the recovery of shipbuilding in Germany and the reconstruction of the town of Bremen, 70 % destroyed during the war, also HIF started its reconstruction placing the company very rapidly again in a significant position among North-German timber importers.

In 1932 a second company HINRICH FELDMEYER was founded in Rotenburg. From the beginning it concentrated on European hardwoods and specialized in oak logs and lumber.
When the use of timber on large vessels was banned by new fire-regulations end of the 1950ies the company looked for new markets which where open for the export of German hardwoods. For expanding the business, it became more and more important to have own production facilities.

In order to have the wood processing under its own control, to centralize production and to achieve a high level of flexibility, HINRICH FELDMEYER took over a sawmill in Hemsbünde (near Rotenburg) in 1970. The installations were transformed immediately into a modern sawmill with new machinery, kilns and warehouses on an area of more than 80.000 m². Today HIF is one of the most important specialists for oak and beech in northern Germany with a significant export business.