Chronicle

It all started with him. E. Helmut Beermann was not yet 20 years old when he followed his entrepreneurial spirit and registered his first business in his hometown of Gevelsberg: a commission shop selling razor blades.

E. Helmut Beermann, the grandfather of current partner Sonja Hendricks, relied on Solingen blades from the very beginning. The first razor blade he sold was called NUR DIE. Tools such as pliers were soon added to the range.

E. Helmut Beermann recognised the value of the brand early on. The first logos were created. The design suggests a close business relationship with the American tool trade. Later, the marten was added. With its razor-sharp teeth, it is considered the namesake of MARTOR. In 1960, the company name changed to MARTOR-ARGENTAX. ARGENTAX is derived from Argentum (Latin for silver) and stands for "valuable, shiny".

Our current service quality can also be traced back to the attitude of our company founder. He knew that service is not an extra, but a real distinguishing feature. Finding the right services to go with "really good tools" is one of the reasons why customers choose MARTOR. Then as now.

MARTOR becomes a "specialist manufacturer of knives with replaceable blades". The first models, UNIVERSAL and SPEZIAL, were already geared towards different customer needs, as their names suggest. The range grew rapidly – including in terms of blade selection. Scrapers were a useful addition.

The differentiation of the product range gained momentum in the 1960s. Even at this early stage, MARTOR demonstrated its commitment to providing the right solution for every cutting problem. In addition to all-round and special cutters, it was also worthwhile trading in "speciality products for wallpapering".

The "Martor Trio from Solingen" not only did its job reliably, it also had a uniform look. The future MARTOR design took on a more concrete form. Target groups were defined and addressed, and they were delighted with new features such as the retractable blade and lightning-fast blade changing.

A milestone for MARTOR – and for occupational safety as a whole. The PROFI was the world's first TÜV-tested safety knives, with an aluminium handle and patented automatic blade retraction. From then on, the motto was: piercing, cutting, thumb off the slider. Red was for right hander, yellow for left hander.

Our self-image became increasingly clear in the 1970s. We see ourselves as "idea generators" who develop "sharp-cutting, safe products". This is still our claim today: to produce innovative safety knives that combine perfect cutting performance with optimum occupational safety.

One of our first safety knives with a concealed blade was the RUCKZUCK. Initially positioned as a first aid knife for cars, these cutting tools quickly found their way into the company. As specialists in film and strapping, they became indispensable, especially in goods receiving. Our SECUMAX family still guarantees the highest level of user and product safety today.

Our family business is taking the next steps. Gudula Polei, daughter of E. Helmut Beermann, and her husband Emil Polei support the company founder in the management of the business. Because MARTOR grew significantly overall, the company moved to its current headquarters four years later.

MARTOR is becoming increasingly well known beyond Germany – and increasingly successful. In France, the first MARTOR sales company with its own warehouse was established. Many international business relationships were formed or strengthened. MARTOR products are sold on all five continents.

In the 1980s, the safety knives segment became increasingly important for us. Many companies, both nationally and internationally, had set themselves the goal of preventing cuts. Professional tools with built-in occupational safety features were more in demand than ever. This was all the more true when, like MARTOR, ergonomics were also optimised.

twenty years after the automatic blade retraction, MARTOR achieved its next technological leap: the invention of fully automatic blade retraction. The innovation was continuously perfected through the GLOREX and PROSAFE, until it found its current form in the OPTISAFE. Since then, there have been safety knives that protect you 100%.

Contamination in the production process must be avoided at all costs, especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, your metal detectors do not detect plastic. Unless it is metal detectable plastic, such as our high-quality MDP safety knives. A new product that quickly won over industries prone to contamination.

Gudula and Emil Polei pass on the baton. Sonja Hendricks, née Polei, becomes majority shareholder. Jan Hendricks supported the family business from 2010 to 2019 as managing partner. Topics such as brand management and design became even more central and were consistently expanded.

The MARTEGO was our first SECUPRO safety knives with an ergonomic plier grip. In addition to its functionality, its shape was also very well received. The SECUMAX 350, our first all-round safety knives with a concealed blade, won even more design awards. Our brand relaunch took place between these two new products, which also influenced our choice of colours.

Just in time for the A+A 2013 trade fair, we presented our new brand identity, which still defines us today. The redefinition was holistic: from the brand idea to the brand colour, from product design to the product naming system, from brand language to the claim. In 2021, we changed this to: THE SAFER WAY TO CUT.

These professional tools are still among our bestsellers today. Following the SECUMAX 350, we launched our premium squeeze-grip knife SECUPRO 625 in 2015. This was followed by the SECUNORM 380, the first safety knives with blade retraction and a cutting depth of over 7 cm. In 2018, the SECUNORM 500 replaced the legendary PROFI.

Our international expansion meant that our headquarters at Heider Hof became too small. So we expanded and renovated. A new administration building and a new production hall were built, and the existing building was thoroughly modernised in 2021. This laid the foundation for future growth. In 2023, we inaugurated our showroom – the crowning glory.

The collaboration has always been very close, and now it has been further strengthened. In addition to MARTOR Sàrl in France, MARTOR USA has also been a wholly owned subsidiary of our group of companies since 2019. MARTOR UK has also been part of the MARTOR family since 2022. In 2024, MARTOR USA moved into its new, significantly larger company building.

Brand experience and training location: We have officially opened our new showroom, MARTOR WORLD, at our headquarters in Solingen. Here, visitors can experience the MARTOR brand with all their senses, and cutting knowledge is conveyed in a particularly impressive way. Our visitors are enthusiastic – as are the judges of the major design awards.

As part of our corporate strategy, we are committed to sustainable growth. A sustainability strategy has been adopted and the first sustainability report in accordance with the DNK standard has been published. We switched our first safety knives to recycled plastic. Our PV system went into operation – to name just two of many examples.