History

Carl Wilhelm Cleff founds a company in Wuppertal for mouldings and fittings for vehicle interiors and shopfitting. His idea: developing and marketing high-quality products at fair prices.

Demand for high-quality products is strong. The company grows quickly, hires new staff and expands its production area. Carl Wilhelm Cleff, an entrepreneur full of ideas, drive and energy, stands up for his employees and turns his workforce into a strong community.

The war does not pass the company by, but the new start succeeds quickly. After reconstruction the company establishes international contacts. Growing individual mobility worldwide brings a considerable increase in buses and trains in the 1950s – and with it the demand for vehicle windows.

A whole generation is on the move and the signs point to economic success – exactly what Wuppertal is working on. Engine room, entrance and partition doors join the vehicle windows. Window construction develops ever more complex and comfortable solutions, for example sliding and hopper windows, so that a complete product portfolio is soon available and continuously developed.

The company keeps growing dynamically, buys land and builds new production facilities – remaining loyal to Wuppertal and to Germany as a location. Sensible investment, including in in-house development, brings numerous patents. The skills of the workforce in building vehicle windows open up the international market for rail and commercial vehicles of all kinds.

With the construction of the “Solar Tower” and new halls with solar systems, Carl Wilhelm Cleff consistently relies on solar energy – part of a corporate philosophy that combines high productivity with nature and the environment. With success: Cleff vehicle windows, partition and engine room doors are now in service on roads and rails in 25 countries, already offering complex folding and sliding mechanisms, comfort and safety. Innovation shows in forward-looking projects such as the window development for the Lirex experimental train and in the many variants of the “Flush Window”, the flush-mounted window that combines technical sophistication with comfort.

True to its commitment to continuous improvement, Cleff carries out an extensive restructuring. Following an in-depth analysis of the status quo, modernised products and production processes are introduced. This optimises the cost structure and thus profitability and flexibility, and enables attractive pricing that is passed on directly to Cleff customers – strengthening the company's position in a fiercely competitive world market.

Building on the process improvements introduced since 2014, the company develops positively. The team wins numerous new projects with rail and special vehicle manufacturers and equips them with innovative window and door solutions. Niche markets receive attention, so windows for excursion boats and heritage trains are realised too. A special prestige project was the demanding window construction for the Wuppertal Schwebebahn suspension railway, entrusted to the traditional manufacturer by the municipal utility. With system solutions Cleff provides complete systems: for vehicle doors this means the full implementation of a complex door system with frame, seals, lock, door and window mechanisms. “Everything from a single source” has become a matter of course.

Cleff now stands not only for modern window solutions but increasingly for the development of complex door systems. New areas are opened up, e.g. renewed access to the ship window market. In 2020/21 Cleff equipped around 4,000 driver workplaces with 100 different self-developed glass driver protection systems, making public transport buses future-proof and economical in terms of safety and hygiene. Regular customer satisfaction surveys reveal potential for improvement – and show that the Cleff brand embodies customer orientation and reliability more than ever.

Innovative LED lighting concepts, energy-saving machines, more efficient air purification systems and a 3,145 m² photovoltaic system: in 2022/23 the company made use of all its roof areas for solar energy. Nearly 1,700 solar modules now save almost 250,000 kg of CO₂ per year – equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 176 households. The mobility transition is in full swing; Cleff accompanies the growing public transport sector with products for original equipment and for the refurbishment of older vehicles.

The company no longer stands for the development of vehicle windows alone, but also for complex door systems and vehicle partitions – as a recognised system supplier. The state-of-the-art test centre provides an additional service; the “spare parts competence centre” enables the overhaul of vehicles at the highest level. Thinking under the sign of the Cleff diamond is service-oriented: direct communication, quality, fair prices and reliability. The Cleff brand is well positioned for the markets of tomorrow.