“It all started in 1882, when the Berlin cotton company Samuel Wolle took over the weaving mill in Aue and entrusted my great-grandfather with managing the company,” Michael Bauer looks back on the company’s history. Over the years, the company grew fast and gained an excellent reputation for tablecloths, bed linen and towels. The export business flourished in the 1920s. “My great-grandfather Alwin had 11 siblings, some of whom emigrated to America. So every month, a whole freight container of cloth was shipped across the big pond.” But the problems started when the National Socialists came to power. Since Samuel Wolle was of Jewish origin, the company was renamed after Alwin Bauer’s son, Curt Bauer. On top of that, it had to give up several parts of the building to the arms industry. Curt Bauer protested against this and against the inhumane treatment of employees in the arms industry in Aue. To avoid imprisonment and probable hanging by the National Socialists, he chose to take his own life in 1944. His sons Alexander and Wolfgang took over the company’s management after the Second World War and fought against the influence of the state in communist East Germany. During this time, they had to take any opportunity they could while still retaining their creative spirit. In the mid-60s, an interesting business proposition cropped up at Leipzig trade fair, which still has the orders rolling in today: They were asked to supply the West African market with cloth for the so-called Grand Boubou, initially via English re-exporters. The Boubou is a festive and everyday robe worn by men and women. “The Boubou is a status symbol in West Africa,” Michael Bauer explains. “Like cars here. The texture and gleam of the cloth play a key role. With our machines, we can supply damasks with extremely fine thread, a high-quality finish and unusual designs. Each country has its own fashion, so we often travel to West Africa to keep up with the trends.” One such fad is air permeability, achieved with a certain weaving technique, and which Michael Bauer jokingly calls “Boubous with air conditioning”. In West Africa, they are then usually embroidered and batik-dyed. A woman’s Boubou, for example, requires as much as six metres of exceptionally easy-to-wear fabric.

Starting from scratch
Following the political turnaround in 1990, the traditional firm was forced to reposition itself and find a new strategic approach. “In 1972, my father had to watch the business being nationalised, but he carried on working until he retired in 1981,” Michael Bauer remembers. “After the Berlin Wall came down, my brother and I, both of us trained in textiles, took the opportunity to apply for reprivatisation. It was approved, and slowly we managed to return the company to its former strength with the help of investment schemes set up by the Free State of Saxony. Today, we see ourselves as a modern company that is more than aware of its history.” This is also apparent inside the administration building: The stucco on the ceilings has been renovated, the art nouveau windows restored and the marble staircase lovingly cared for. The workshops have also been modernised in line with environmental standards, not least due to a devastating natural catastrophe in 2002 that flooded the weaving and finishing departments, which had themselves only just been refurbished. The real advantage of the factory is its location on the river Schwarzwasser, which supplies the water that is essential for the finishing process. But the river was also its undoing as it inundated all the production facilities. Nothing could be done: Everybody pitched in and did their best to minimise the damage which ran into millions. A tour de force successfully mastered by the Curt Bauer team.
The company’s portfolio currently comprises more than just table linen. High-quality classical bed linen that guarantees a good night’s sleep is popular in Germany and abroad. For more than 100 years, the name Bauer has been synonymous with fabulous designs and the highest standards in terms of product lifespan. But Curt Bauer GmbH isn’t resting on its laurels: “The current fashion is for bathrooms joined directly to the bedroom as well as a matching product range.” The company’s new lifestyle concept follows this trend, combining traditional bed and table linen with blankets, matching towels, eye masks, dressing gowns and neck rolls. Textiles such as serviettes, ecclesiastical textiles or head rests for business class flights round off the product range.

Not at all old-fashioned
“Unfortunately, textiles have now become low-cost products. The concept of quality has been forgotten in the textile industry. Having said that, our products are durable and of high quality so they don’t wear out so easily,” Michael Bauer points out. “What’s more, the textile industry has to get rid of its old-fashioned image. It has nothing in common with the industry it was 25 years ago.” This is obvious at Curt Bauer GmbH, especially with the company’s new line of technical fabrics. The weaving machines in Aue produce covers for car boots to such a degree of precision, that even the openings for the rails that are inserted later can be woven into the covers. The high-quality machines can even cope with polyester. This is the main focus of new developments. For example,
the company is currently refining a new fabric with incorporated ducts for air or cables. “In future, textiles like this will replace metal. Just imagine the energy that can be saved,” Michael Bauer is enthusiastic about this new branch of the business. Overall, he is very positive about the future: Over 60% of the company’s products are exported and this figure is likely to grow. The major markets are Europe, the Gulf States, North America, the Far East, Russia and West Africa. The products are sold directly ex-works as well as by a travelling sales team at Curt Bauer GmbH and
through the company’s own offices, for example in Shanghai. For many years now the company has focused on training and recruiting in-house as a way of retaining skilled personnel and securing workplaces at the plant in the heart of the Ore Mountains. As a “native of Aue”, this is something that Michael Bauer wants to maintain. As an appointed ambassador of the Ore Mountains, he always takes a folder with glossy pictures of his home in Saxony with him wherever he goes, ready to convince foreign business partners of the beauty of this mountainous landscape.