Our history
Technical businessman Jens Andresen has been working in the laundry industry since 1968.
Among other things, he worked as the managing director of a southern German defect processing company.
After 8 years of successful work, he returned to his home in Hamburg.
In Bargteheide, on the northern outskirts of Hamburg, he founded Andresen Bargteheide as a sole proprietorship on October 1, 1979.
A warehouse and a small office were rented. The company started with a managing director, a sales fitter and a part-time secretary.
The founder was well acquainted with the many commercial and hospital laundries in northern Germany at the time, and contact was never broken off.
The company’s strengths were its experience with state-of-the-art machines, its flexible service and its ability to deliver quickly. This was well received by the laundries, and the success did not fail to materialize.
The founder’s national and international contacts were resumed and cultivated.
There were particularly good connections to the numerous manufacturers of laundry ironers and laundry presses at the time.
The company had experience in developing new machines and was able to help solve problems.
As a result, important accessory products were developed and supplied as original equipment:
- Spring windings for ironers and presses
- Mange cloths for all requirements
- New generation ironer belts
- Shortage waxes for all performance requirements
- Oilcloths with barrier layer for every type of mangle
- Highly effective new design trough cleaning cloths
- Visible insulating hoods in segment design
These new developments have gradually become established on the market.
As the premises became too small, larger storage rooms and production facilities had to be built.
The new company building was occupied in 1985 and more employees were added.
Foreign connections were expanded at trade fairs.
As downtime in the laundries was extremely costly, fast delivery became very important.
The motto for the future was therefore: EVERYTHING IN STOCK NOW.
To remain a leader in the industry, this costly approach was chosen.
An extension was completed in 1995.
In the meantime, the market had changed: Hospitals, care homes and hotels handed over their laundry to newly established industrial laundries.
They invested in ultra-modern machinery. Laundry presses disappeared completely from the market; pass-through finishers were used for smocks and inflatable mannequins for shirts.
New generations of ironers with roller diameters from 1200 mm to 2000 mm and trough temperatures above 10 bar became the norm.
Thanks to its good contacts with the remaining machine manufacturers, the company developed products that met these new requirements. These were combined under the protected name Antex .
Special products for high-performance ironers are used successfully worldwide under the name High Power Products.
In 2007, the neighboring property with a large production hall was acquired, allowing production to be consolidated and raw materials to be stored centrally. The team grew to 15 people, with each employee being a specialist in this niche sector.
A generational change took place in 2024. Founder Jens Andresen handed over the company to his daughter Vibeke Laatz.
Ms. Laatz has been with the company for several years and has gained experience in all departments.
The senior partner will continue to provide advice. There have also been changes in the team:
After more than 20 years, the Managing Director of International Operations retired, and the Inside Sales Manager retired after more than 30 years with the company. They have been succeeded by a new generation of young, technically skilled professionals.
The company’s objective remains unchanged: to continuously evaluate and improve laundry ironer accessories and laundry equipment components, while maintaining extensive inventory levels to ensure immediate product availability and prompt delivery to customers worldwide.
„We have been associated with Andresen for 20 years and have always been satisfied with the cooperation.“
Laundry management, Clinic North
