Company
QualityThe Prange company
A company with its own development, its own patents, and its own up-to-the-minute manufacturing facilities.
In 1993 Karl-Heinz Prange, a qualified engineer, founded an engineering office in Sprockhövel and undertook the development, manufacture, and marketing of equipment, ball valves, hoses, and hose fittings.
In 1996 he developed a hose connection which is suitable for almost all
media up to very high pressures. This rapid safety connection was initially used under the name "Steck-Schalenklemmverbindung" (SSKV - shell snap connection) system mainly in the coal industry in the German Ruhrgebiet.
Karl-Heinz Prange registered the patent for the "shell snap connection", and on 15 October 1996 was awarded German patent: DBP 196 42 338 and later European patent: EP 0836043. The first employee was Klaus Nickel, also a qualified engineer, and the nephew of Karl-Heinz Prange; other early staff members were Barbara Müller, responsible for financial matters, and
Christoph Nickel, the son of Klaus Nickel, and responsible for manufacturing. The success of this team grew increasingly, and so the engineering office became a limited company.
On 13 July 1998 Prange GmbH with headquarters at Waldweg 12, 45549 Sprockhövel, Germany, was registered as HRB 15081 in the Company Register of the Essen District Court. Today's share capital is € 25,600.00.
Initially, the manufacture of the SSKV fittings was carried out exclusively by
outside companies. The demand continued to increase, and therefore in March
2003, the offices moved to Hattingen, and at the same time we started our own manufacture, with stock management. Since then, staff numbers have grown from 4 to 18 today.
From 1999 until today, turnover has grown by a factor of 10, of which approximately 10% is exported. These SSKV fittings are supplied with great success to all types of industry worldwide.
