Dyckerhoff, Wilhelm Gustav

Entrepreneur

born: 06.10.1805 in Elberfeld

died: 16.12.1894 in Mannheim

Dyckerhoff was trained as a merchant and was a representative of the Mettlach earthenware factory Villeroy & Boch in Mannheim from 1835-59, whose goods he transported to their destination, in particular as a haulier. In 1859, Villeroy & Boch shifted the distribution of its products to the railways and gave up its business association with Dyckerhoff.

Dyckerhoff found a new field of activity and founded the company "Dyckerhoff und Brentano" in Hattenheim with the engineer Carl Brentano in 1861. Here, tests were carried out on the production of Portland cement, the building material that had started its triumphal march from England to the rest of the world. The partnership agreement stipulated that Brentano was to produce the cement in Hattenheim and Dyckerhoff was to distribute it from Mannheim. The parties could withdraw from the contract if, after two years, each party did not make a profit of 2,000 fl. However, this remained a pipe dream; eventually the production was moved to Amöneburg and the businessmen parted company.

Dyckerhoff, who had invested his entire fortune in the factory, decided to move forward: he brought his sons Gustav Wilhelm Wernhard Dyckerhoff and Rudolf Philipp Wilhelm Dyckerhoff to Amöneburg and together they founded the parent company of today's group, the Portland cement factory Dyckerhoff & Söhne with a branch in Mannheim. One year later, he co-founded the cement goods factory Lang & Co. in Mannheim. Dyckerhoff was actively involved in the management of the company until his old age.