The History of the
JÄGER Group
Our philosophy is to listen and find solutions. Our qualified employees work with our customers to find the best solutions—which leads to unique and sustainable products.
1942
1949
The Beginning of a Success Story
In the early 1940s, Arnold Jäger Sr. established branches in Hamburg, Siegen, Neuss, and Stuttgart, thereby leveraging the company’s proximity to its customers as a competitive advantage.
Reconstruction
In March 1945, during the final Allied air raid on Hanover, the company’s entire inventory and records were destroyed when its office building on Nikolaistraße was razed. Together with his 76-year-old father, August—a man with a distinctly practical mind—Arnold Jäger Sr. began rebuilding the company from the rubble for the second time.
The Second Generation Joins the Ranks
In 1948, the older son, Arnold Jäger Jr., joined his father’s company. In addition to his business apprenticeship at Gummi-Jäger in the afternoons, he completed technical training in the mornings at a Hanover-based rubber goods manufacturer, Gummi-Hansen, and then attended technical school in the evenings. With his technical expertise and drive for technical perfection, Arnold Jäger Jr. ideally complemented his father’s business acumen.
1950
1959
Growth Through Customer Focus
In the early 1950s, Arnold Jäger Sr. established branches in Hamburg, Siegen, Neuss, and Stuttgart, thereby leveraging the company’s proximity to its customers as a competitive advantage.
Expansion of the Portfolio to Include Plastics
Arnold Jäger Sr. was an entrepreneur who always took a long-term view and tailored his decisions to meet future market needs. Together with his son, he recognized the importance of a broader product range that went beyond rubber goods. It was therefore only natural that Gummi-Jäger would also incorporate plastics into its range of services.
Development of Our Own Product Families
Starting in 1956, Arnold Jäger Jr. began developing special ultra-high-pressure flush drilling hoses and rubber molded parts for pumps and drilling accessories for the oil industry, which was then based in the Celle/Hanover region. Jäger remains active internationally in this market segment to this day, supplying stators and rotors for downhole oil pumps and deep-drilling drives. In 1959, Arnold Jäger Jr. began producing sieve bar belts for potato harvesters, thereby significantly improving the harvesting process. The basis for this was a rubber-fabric construction—the “Jäger Agricultural Machinery Belt”—which he played a key role in developing. Continuous further development and patents laid the foundation for additional manufacturing facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.
1960
1969
25 Years Gummi-Jäger
By the time Gummi-Jäger celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1967, the company had established itself nationwide as one of the largest technical distributors, with its expertise in consulting backed by its own manufacturing facilities.
Room for New Ideas
The opening of additional offices in Braunschweig, Bremen, Frankfurt, and Nuremberg reinforces the principle of “customer proximity.”
Expansion of the Agricultural Machinery Division
In 1963, the agricultural machinery assembly operation moved into its own production facility in Hannover-Anderten. The Jäger agricultural machinery belt has since replaced the iron chains previously used by all major harvesters due to its low weight, smooth operation, and long service life, and has become established as the international industry standard. In 1968, the company established its own production facilities for industrial stators, shaft bearings, and large-volume molded rubber products.
1970
1979
A Smooth Generational Transition
In 1973, Arnold Jäger Sr. passed away at the age of 77, and his son, Arnold Jäger Jr., took over the business. Arnold Jäger Jr. and Dr. Klaus Pfennig, a business graduate who joined the company in 1972, devoted all their energy to steering the company’s future in line with the founder’s vision. Thanks to a sensible division of responsibilities within the management team, Arnold Jäger Jr. is able to devote more of his time to the technical development of products and processes.
In-house production complements retail operations
In 1974, Arnold Jäger Jr. became the sole owner of Gummi-Jäger and its affiliated companies. In 1975, Gummi-Jäger’s two production facilities for molded rubber products and screen mesh belts were consolidated under the name Artemis Kautschuk und Kunststoff-Technik in a new 5,000-square-meter building in Hannover-Anderten.
Focus on Quality
In 1985, Regina Jäger joined Artemis as managing partner, built up a dedicated sales organization for the various product groups, and established Artemis-specific product and process development. Today, Artemis Kautschuk- und Kunststoff-Technik provides key services in elastomer chemistry—such as compound development and the central testing laboratory—for the entire JÄGER Group. Furthermore, Artemis operates a modern, computer-aided compounding facility for high-quality rubber compounds.
1980
1989
Relocation: New Headquarters in Hannover-Kleefeld
To accommodate the growth of the Gummi-Jäger business, the company’s headquarters in Hanover moved to new offices with state-of-the-art facilities in the Kleefeld district of Hanover in 1982.
1990
1999
People Shape the Future
In 1992, Gummi-Jäger’s 50th anniversary was celebrated extensively in Hanover with all employees. The company remains true to the founder’s formula for success: motivated, dedicated professionals who work independently in their fields and identify with their company. To this day, the company places a high priority on training. Since the company was founded, 420 apprentices have completed their training in various trades at the company.
New Eco-Friendly Products
To accommodate the continued growth in rubber and plastic products, a new facility was built in Hannover-Misburg in 1992. A particular focus here was on rubber membranes for the treatment of industrial and municipal wastewater. This product was developed by Arnold Jäger Jr. together with his sons in the wake of the emerging environmental protection debate in the early 1980s and has helped save large amounts of energy in wastewater treatment worldwide. These products led to the establishment of Jaeger EnviroTech GmbH in Hanover and, later, Jaeger Rubber & Plastics in Shenzhen, China.
Jäger Family Business
As forward-thinking entrepreneurs, Arnold and Regina Jäger are preparing to pass the JÄGER Group on to the next generation. To ensure a smooth transition, Arnold Jäger Holding is founded, bringing together all of the JÄGER Group’s individual companies and central services under one umbrella. In 1994, the third generation—Andreas and Sebastian Jäger—joins the JÄGER Group’s management team. Regina Jäger gradually handed over management of Artemis to Sebastian Jäger, while Arnold Jäger transferred technical management of Gummi-Jäger to Andreas Jäger. After management responsibilities were fully transferred to Andreas and Sebastian Jäger, Arnold and Regina Jäger joined the advisory board of Arnold Jäger Holding in 1996.
Agricultural Technology: A Market of the Future
In the agricultural technology sector, an opportunity arose in 1996 to acquire the then-market leader in screen conveyor belts, the Dutch company Ernst August Broekema in Veendam, along with its U.S. subsidiary, Broekema Beltway USA, in Hinckley, Minnesota. The decades-long relationship between the Broekema and Jäger families and their similar corporate philosophies facilitated the swift integration of Broekema into the JÄGER Group. Today, Artemis’s “Belts and Conveyor Belts” division in Hanover, Broekema in Veendam, Broekema Beltway in Pine City, and the spare parts specialist Windgassen in Paderborn form a production network.
2000
2009
The Next Millennium
Marius-Quintus Jäger joined the management team of Arnold Jäger Holding in 2002 and assumed responsibility for all central services of the JÄGER Group. Due to structural changes in the German agricultural machinery industry in the late 1990s, Windgassen in Paderborn—at that time a customer of Artemis for agricultural machinery belts and a competitor in the screen bar belt market—joined the JÄGER Group in 2003. Today, Windgassen specializes in supplying the agricultural machinery trade and large end users with replacement belts and drive components for potato and vegetable harvesters.
New Markets in China
China’s rapid industrialization is opening up a large future market for Jäger products, particularly in wastewater technology. The establishment of Jaeger Rubber & Plastics Ltd. in Shenzhen, China, enables local production and the development of a nationwide sales organization.
2010
2019
Consistent Internationalization and Specialization
To serve existing German customers in the U.S. and strengthen the JÄGER Group’s operations in North America, Jaeger-Unitek Sealing Solutions was founded in August 2010 in LaPorte, Indiana, with a core business focused on elastomer and thermoplastic extrusion. Within just a few years, the company is so successful that it moves to a larger facility in 2014. Broekema Beltway USA, which operates in the agricultural technology sector, also expands with a new location in California and an expansion of its production facilities in Pine City, MN. In 2012, the JÄGER Group acquires a production site from a supplier in Gryfino, Poland, near Szczecin. Jaeger Polska z o.o. specializes in the manufacture of rubber and silicone molded parts and traditional rubber-to-metal assemblies.
Sustainability as a Key to Success
In 2012, the JÄGER Group acquired Cleartec Water Management GmbH, a company known for its cutting-edge fixed-bed technology for wastewater treatment.
Closer to the customer
In Airdrie, near Calgary, we partner with Spira Systems Ltd. There, worn-out drill motor stators are re-rubberized on-site using Artemis’ rubber technology. This eliminates the need for long-distance transport and time lost in “re-rubberizing” the stators in Germany, allowing us to serve customers more quickly.
Foundations for Further Growth
In early 2017, Jäger Polska moved into a newly constructed production facility and is a major employer in the region.
75th Company Anniversary
In October 2017, Jäger celebrated its 75th anniversary with 300 employees and invited guests at a stylish ceremony at Herrenhausen Palace.
New Headquarters
Jäger Umwelt-Technik will move to its new location at Lohweg 1 in 2017. The building is adjacent to the Artemis property, allowing the two companies to share the existing infrastructure. Adjacent to this, the new headquarters of the JÄGER Group is being built in Hannover-Anderten.
Leading the Way into the Future by Setting a Good Example
Innovation is a driving force at the JÄGER Group, which is why we are also keeping a close eye on developments in the offshore wind power sector. Looking ahead, the company Jaeger Maritime Solutions was founded in 2019 with the goal of offering environmentally sustainable solutions in the offshore sector that combine natural materials and renewable energy.
2020
2026
The JÄGER Group’s Future-Oriented Headquarters
After 1 ½ years of construction, JÄGER will move into its new headquarters at Lohweg 1 in Hannover-Anderten in May 2021. The new building offers modern, open-plan office spaces and is located in the immediate vicinity of the production companies Artemis and Jaeger EnviroTech, as well as the logistics center.
For the first time in the company’s history, it will operate its own employee restaurant.
New Materials
With the founding of Jaeger Precision Elastomers GmbH in 2022, JÄGER is launching operations at its Lohweg facility, including the production of small-volume precision parts made of silicone and fully automated assembly of components, in order to meet growing demand—for example, in the field of electric mobility—through its own manufacturing capabilities.
Generational Transition
In June 2023, Julius Jäger will join the company as a representative of the fourth generation. After two years as managing director at Jäger Gummi und Kunststoff GmbH, Julius Jäger will move to Arnold Jäger Holding GmbH in January 2026. At Artemis Kautschuk und Kunststoff-Technik, Rebecca Goetze will succeed long-time managing director Jeffrey Gillis in 2024.
