Death of Ernst Hugo Kern, Dr. Kurt Steim takes over the company
After the unexpected death of Ernst Hugo Kern, the now 83-year-old Hugo Kern decides to transfer the management of the company to his grandson, Dr. Kurt Steim. Dr. Steim lays the foundations for growing the company to its current size.
Reconstruction of the company after World War II
Immediately after the difficult war years, Dr. Kurt Steim starts rebuilding from the remnants of the company with materials procured by means of barter exchange. By September 1945, there are already 42 people again working for Hugo Kern KG. Because of the shortage of the raw materials required for spring production, the company initially manufactures garden equipment, oven scrapers, shoe fittings and saws under the brand name "3-Tannen". Thanks to the Dr. Kurt Steim's skills as a salesman, the company is soon exporting ski bindings with spring tensioners through the French military government in Baden-Baden to the Youth and Sports Ministry in France.
Dismantlement and opening up of new fields of activity
The occupying Allied Powers order the complete dismantlement of Hugo Kern KG. In tough negotiations, Dr. Kurt Steim manages to reduce the quota to 30%. The machines are finally dismantled a year after the currency reform, but the small company quickly finds new fields of activity. With deliveries from the Russian zone of occupation not possible after the war, knitters and knitting machine manufacturers in the west increasingly suffer from a shortage of sinkers. The resulting demand prompts Dr. Kurt Steim to manufacture these precision stamped parts, quickly winning a large customer base that soon requires the expansion of the production facilities.