Theodor Stephan KG –

A traditional company for more than 120 years

Theodor Stephan KG is a real traditional company. Founded in 1902 in Essen by Theodor Stephan Senior, it began operating sand pits for foundry applications, processing blast furnace slag for road construction and trading in mineral products for the construction industry quickly built up a raw material supplier known throughout the Ruhr area.

Over the years, contacts were established with the clay companies in the Westerwald and the decision was made to invest there. With the acquisition of the mining rights for the “Stoss” mine in 1919 and “Auf dem Kreuz” in 1935, the production of special clays under the brand names “Stosston” and “Kreuzton” also became part of the portfolio of Theodor Stephan KG.

After the Second World War, the clay division became independent and its headquarters were relocated to Haiger/Hesse. From there, the second generation, Theodor Ludwig Stephan, further expanded the businesses in the border triangle. In 1969, the expansion of the processing facilities led to the construction of the first vertical roller mill in the clay industry. This production method is now a standard in the ceramic industry when it comes to the production of extremely dry clay powder. Finally, in the 1970s, both Theodor Stephan KG clay pits were converted from underground mining to opencast mining. In 1979 the “Augusta” pit in Oberbrechen/ Taunus was added. In the 1980s, the third generation, Iris Loh-Stephan, expanded the business and the second vertical roller mill was put into operation in 1989.

In the 2010s, the company headquarters were relocated to the main location in Burbach/North Rhine-Westphalia. The mining rights for the “Auf dem Kreuz” opencast mine there were extended until the middle of the century and the operation was expanded to include the extraction of basalt and the establishment of a landfill site. Today Theodor Stephan KG is run in the fourth generation by Arndt Nikolaus Loh.