1972 A VW bus for the Jubilee

"When a person has crossed the 50-year threshold, the awareness may grow that no one is wise who does not know the darkness that inescapably and silently separates him from everything," Kurt Weinstock quotes Hermann Hesse in his congratulations on the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary, to continue: "A company, however, which ultimately symbolizes the interaction of man and matter, can often become 50 years old and young again and again. This is impressively proven by your company, which was re-invigorated by the second generation, grew internally as well as externally and became even more beautiful. Long live the 50 years old and yet so young company GEBR. OVERLACK!

The WESTDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG was pleased about the social commitment of the two managing directors in its birthday article in June 1972: "The decision fits into the company history as well as into the social commitment of the owners: instead of a commemorative publication and a cold buffet, Gebrüder Overlack provided a brand new VW minibus, which Haus Hephata had been looking forward to for a long time."

1973 The oil crisis

The first major oil price crisis in 1973 not only leads to dramatically rising gasoline prices at filling stations, Sunday driving bans, extended school vacations and the closure of indoor swimming pools, but also puts the Overlack company in a tight spot. "Due to the oil crisis, the extent of further, serious supply shortages (with prices soaring) can no longer be foreseen. [...] until further notice, we have to talk to you about every order in petroleum-dependent products (that is almost our entire supply range) in order to coordinate with you about supply possibilities and price."

Somehow, today, in April 2022, this seems downright eerily familiar. Back then, the combination of inflation, energy crisis and recession had led to an apocalyptic mood throughout the Western world. Today, there is additionally a most cruelly waged war in Eastern Europe. Where are we heading?

In the circular letter to the purchasing departments in December 1973, the management promises at least this: "You may be convinced that we will not take advantage of the deplorable supply bottlenecks and the associated price development, which seems almost unacceptable even to us, to demand unjustified price surcharges from you."

1974 Employee participation at Overlack

In 1974, already in existence for five years: employee asset sharing according to a model developed especially for the Overlack company. This idea is very much in line with the trend of the times in the social 1970s.

The possibility of free choice between consumption and investment is important to Eduard and Hans Overlack: “We wanted to challenge each of our employees: to think economically, to take an ownership attitude toward their workplace, and to share in the interest of the company in achieving the highest possible annual profit.' So we chose the form of the loan that every employee – if he wants to – can grant to the company from his annual premium and annual bonus (both of which have long been a matter of course for Overlack)," according to the WESTDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG on July 5, 1972. The RHEINISCHE POST is also enthusiastic: "Almost 80 percent of the employees put a large part of their annual premiums into the company."

No wonder, given the interest rates granted in return. From today's perspective, they are simply breathtaking: 16–18 percent in 1970 and 1971, for example.

One drop of bitterness remains – this story is not a fairy tale, but unfortunately, alas: old news!

1975 Mönchengladbach as a business location

In March 1975, Hans Overlack answers a questionnaire from Prognos AG in Basel, which is drawing up an economic development plan for the city of Mönchengladbach. In his honest answers, he laments the "poor economic development in the area on the left bank of the Rhine" and the fact that the "sharp death of our customers due to the closure of many textile companies" has led to a significant drop in sales. Now there are long distances: "The travel distance to a large part of our customers in the Cologne, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Ruhr area is too far." In addition, against the objection of "Gebr. Overlack", the city has rezoned the neighboring site from industrial to residential – a less than satisfactory situation in view of the not inconsiderable quantities of chemicals that are stored here.

1976 The „Rokalinchen“ – Insolvency of a major customer

For many years, a beautifully shaped glass jar will stand on Hans Overlack's desk, filled with 280 pfennigs. On it, in gold letters, the inscription: "ROKALINCHEN!" His friend Marga Dornieden has given Hans these lucky pennies – after all, each one symbolizes a thousand-mark bill and is supposed to help him get over the loss from the bankruptcy of the automotive supplier Rokal. Fortunately, the loss of the major customer does not threaten the company's existence. Hans Overlack describes the situation in this image: "It's as if a bear had been shot in the backside. We have been hit. The matter is very painful and we are also lame a bit. However, it's not life-threatening. It's healing and we can handle it. None of the Overlack employees need fear for their jobs because of this."

1977 Number games

This is what Hans notes in 1977:

"In 1953, the company has 47 employees, of which 30 are blue-collar and 17 white-collar.

In 1977, the company has 100 employees, 44 of them blue-collar and 56 white-collar.

The average personnel costs in 1953 amount to 6200 DM, in 1977 to 34,600 DM per head."

The workforce has more than doubled in these 24 years, and at the same time the ratio between manual and cerebral work has clearly shifted in favor of office work. The fact that fewer warehouse workers are doing more handling is only possible thanks to increased use of machines and automated processes.

Certainly, some of the newly added white-collar workers are also thinking about the most efficient structures possible within the company – a task that is becoming increasingly important if the company wants to remain competitive.

1978 Hiking day

In the Overlack company it is a tradition that has been cherished over the years, if not for decades: the joint hiking day in spring or summer every year. Impressive distances are covered, at lunchtime people camp out on idyllic meadows for a picnic they have brought with them and otherwise willingly follow the hiking guide Hans, who, as a passionate midday sleeper, also relaxes on an improvised wooden bench if necessary.

Only once did the excursion, which had begun so cheerfully, come to a bitter end. That happened in May 1973, when Erich Meyer, an authorized signatory, died of a sudden heart attack just a few months before his well-earned retirement. In those lost times before cell phones, it takes a whole relay of hiking companions to even reach the oh-so-distant next phone booth.

Too late!

In personal words, "The relatives of Gebr. Overlack" bid farewell to Erich Meyer: "He was one of our best. He felt a close bond with us and we with him from the bottom of our hearts. We owe thanks and reverence to this splendid man."

After this fateful day, there are initially no more joint excursions – the shock is still too much in the bones of everyone involved.

1979 Farewell to the Honnefers

Ed Overlack, who so daringly invested in his brothers' company in 1925, never regretted this financial investment. This is exemplified by his letter of April 1935. The fortune he had acquired in Bolivia in his younger years allowed Ed to live a private life; he settled with his family in Honnef am Rhein after returning to Germany in 1926. The younger brothers receive great praise in the letter of April 1935: "The excellent result of your balance sheet fills me with great gratitude and pride. I am grateful to you for having driven the rise of the company forward in a unique way and thus also for having served my interests in the most unselfish way. I am proud to belong to such a company as a limited partner."

In 1961 Ed dies, a few years later after the death of his wife Elisabeth, their daughters Ingeborg, Renate and Christa join "Gebr. Overlack" as partners in place of their parents. Their later payout is an agreed matter from the outset. The company is not to be split up into countless hands. Thus, in the second half of the seventies, Eduard and Hans buy back the shares of the "Honnefer" according to precisely specified provisions in the articles of association. In January 1980, the Ed Overlack family finally left the company.

1980 Turn-of-the-century villa becomes social building

An important land acquisition for the company on Aachener Strasse dates back to 1973 – after decades of paying annuities to the Niedergesäs ladies, their property is transferred to Gebr. Overlack. The turn-of-the-century villa adds an essential historical component to the ensemble on Aachener Straße. In the following years, the building, now known as the "Türmchenvilla", is converted from a residential house into a social building, which offers Overlack employees a spacious canteen, a table-tennis room and a separee for their skat friends. The two bosses are pleased to have taken "a big step in the company's social policy" with manageable investments.

Along the way, the street frontage of Gebr. Overlack increases from 100 to 225 meters and now includes the house numbers Aachener Straße 238 to 284. By the end of the 1980s, the property of "Gebr. Overlack" on Aachener Straße will be more than 30,000 square meters. 

1981 Acquisition of Carl Arnsperger

The year 1981 marks a major turning point in the company's growth policy. "Gebr. Overlack" acquired the long-established Cologne chemicals company Carl Arnsperger in exactly the one hundredth year of its existence. Only the chemicals division of the company is taken over, while the seller Dieter Jacobi initially retains the paints and coatings business.

A good deal for the brothers – just two years after the acquisition, the investment costs of DM 300,000 had been recouped. Franz-Josef Gormanns, who had just completed his training as a wholesale and export merchant at Overlack and actually wanted to study, proves himself as a dynamic managing director. The offer to manage the newly acquired Cologne branch is too tempting. Franz-Josef Gormanns accepts and thus makes a decision that both sides will never regret.

Acquisition of Carl Arnsperger, Cologne    
today: OQEMA GmbH, Germany