History of the Kessler Group

It all began in 1923 in Braunfels-Bonbaden, Germany, when 24 year old Otto Kessler, a skilled glove-making craftsman, established a small production factory and provisional tannery in his barn, employing three seamstresses, and thereby laying the foundation of the Kessler Group.

Otto Kessler’s son-in-law, Werner Hofmann, joined the company in 1947 and took on the leadership role in 1955. Under his direction, a constant expansion to over 100 employees was sustained until his untimely death in 1973.

Claus Dirk Hofmann, son of Werner and current Chairman and Managing Director of the Kessler Group then took over, with a priority approach of “customer care” rapid expansion followed.

This growth, in a time when even traditional European glove companies had to close their own productions, demonstrates the power of this “customer care” maxim which has been critical to the Kessler group success story.

Together with this expansion, through an intense and complex knowledge-transfer, the traditional glove-making craftsmanship of the founder Otto Kessler today lives on and thrives in all locations of the Kessler Group.