More than 130 years of work, change and new beginnings.

Schnakenbeck steam sawmill and planing works

Master carpenter and building contractor Wilhelm Schnakenbeck relocates his business from Paulinenstraße 5 to Lagesche Straße 15. There he builds a residence with a steam sawmill and planing works, producing doors, windows and staircases, moulded strips, strip flooring and more.

The Kondor aircraft works come to Lemgo

After the death of Wilhelm Schnakenbeck, Kondor-Flugzeugwerke GmbH buys the property at Lagesche Straße 31 in June 1918. A new factory hall is built, manufacturing wooden propellers and wings made of plywood, lattice panels, wire and canvas.

Kondor E 3, first flight September 1918 (photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Treaty of Versailles – the end of aircraft construction

Germany is prohibited from building aircraft – the aviation chapter is over for Lemgo. The sawmill carries on: windows, doors, staircases, interior fittings, roof and timber-frame structures as well as construction and joinery timber shape production.

Traction engine of the Kondor works in 1926

A deep caesura

The war marks a turning point for Kondor as well. Furniture production comes almost to a complete standstill; instead, ammunition boxes and other war-related goods have to be manufactured.

A new start with furniture

From July 1945, tables, wardrobes, upholstered furniture and small furniture are produced once again. Added to this is the production of music cabinets as well as radio and television cabinets for Siemens and Nordmende.

A new production building

A new three-storey production building is erected by the railway line. Kondor manufactures desks, chairs, cabinets and typewriter tables – ranking among the ten largest table specialists in West Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

Expansion on Lagesche Straße

A four-storey company building is erected on Lagesche Straße – the high point of the site’s structural development.

The end of the Kondor furniture works

The oil crisis, falling sales and competition from low-wage countries take their toll. On 6 October 1992, the company has to file for bankruptcy – the end of Kondor’s eventful corporate history, but not the end of the site.

The start of a new era

With the takeover in February 2022, a new chapter begins: the old industrial charm is preserved while the building fabric is systematically refurbished – 800 m² at Lagesche Str. 15d have already been fully modernised, and photovoltaics and district heating are making the park fit for the future.

Kondor Business Park today