Our History
We might be new on the market, but come with a strong heritage of more than 150 years of technical experience.
In 2019, two of the world‘s most recognised ceiling manufacturers have joined forces to combine over 150 years of their specialist experience, expand their range of services and logistics solutions and strengthen their long-term international market-leading position. This was the birth of Knauf Ceiling Solutions.
Along with the strong heritage and technical experience from both AMF (a Knauf company) and Armstrong, we are in the process of becoming ONE strong Knauf Ceiling Solutions.
We are multi-material ceiling providers and underline this by dividing our harmonised portfolio of proven product brands into four categories: Mineral Solutions, Metal Solutions, Wood & Wood Wool Solutions and System Solutions.
GROWING INTO A GLOBAL LEADER
The Knauf Group began from a passion of construction materials and over the company’s long and eventful history, it has grown from an exclusively family-owned company to a global leader – all
without abandoning our core values of Menschlichkeit, Partnership, Commitment, and Entrepreneurship.
Today, with a remarkable mix of tradition and modernisation, we continue to transform the construction industry from all sides, as seen by our sustainable products, superior performance, and
trusted collaboration. And just like our beginnings in 1932, it is all made possible by the passion and creativity of our people.
To understand more about our roots, take a look at our history timeline below.
Our History
How it all started
It all began in 1932, when the brothers and mining engineers Alfons and Karl Knauf secured the
mining rights for the gypsum deposits in the municipality of Schengen (Upper Moselle). Success
came fast the following year, with the Knauf brothers building their first gypsum plant at the same
location, laying the foundations for today’s Knauf Group.
A new beginning
With the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, a new beginning was also on our
horizon as we set our sights on a new headquarters location, moving from the Moselle to Iphofen in
northern Bavaria. Cementing a new milestone in our history, we successfully built a new modern
gypster plaster plant at our new headquarters in Iphofen.
Iphofen and leadership in innovation
After many years of success, in 1958 we began to emerge as an innovative partner in the building materials market. With the production of new types of gypsum boards, we established completely new ways of building. In the mid-1960s, we produced the world’s first machine plaster “MP75” and developed the corresponding mixing and conveying machines as well as modern flowing screeds based on anhydrite – all at the same time.
Investing in new material
In 1970, we used the knowledge gained from decades within the industry to venture outside of gypsum-based products and make an investment in Perlite from Deutsche Perlite GmbH (Dortmund). In the following years, the product portfolio was expanded, including construction chemicals, lime- and cement-bound plasters, insulating materials, and mineral ceiling systems, as well as the cement board Aquapanel. Never one to shy away from a challenge, during this time we also developed moulded parts made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) for packaging and injection-moulded parts for the automotive and consumer electronics industries, which were produced primarily in France. Today, this part of the company operates under the name Knauf Industries.
New Division in the company
Looking further abroad, in 1978 we entered the North American market by taking over a production facility for glass wool insulation in Shelbyville (U.S.) and thus laid the foundations for the insulation division, Knauf Insulation, which is an integral part of our Group.
A new generation of leaders
At the beginning of the 1980s, Nikolaus and Baldwin Knauf, the sons of the company’s founding fathers, took over the management of the Knauf Group. With the consistent conversion and continuation of the corporate philosophy, they played a significant role in Knauf’s worldwide rise.
Global footprint grows
Between 1989 - 2013 we grew the business into the global leader we are today. Starting manufacturing in Turkey, CIS, China, South America, North Africa, Central & Eastern Europe, Australia and South East Asia.
Knauf Ceiling Solutions is born
Continuing to reach even higher in 2019, Armstrong Ceiling Solutions, WAVE, and Knauf AMF united to establish a new division within the Knauf Group known as Knauf Ceiling Solutions (KCS). This collaboration cemented Knauf Ceiling Solutions into a prominent position within the ceiling market, providing an extensive array of multi-material ceiling solutions encompassing mineral, metal, wood, and wood wool, alongside system ceiling solutions.
New Knauf Ceiling Solutions Plant in Illange
Knauf Ceiling solutions is launching a brand new facility producing soft mineral ceilings at a combined manufacturing site with Knauf Insulation in Illange, France. Knauf Illange combines both ceiling solutions and insulation materials, working together and reinforcing a shared commitment to excellence. Production is planned to start 2025.