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 Company history.

1912
Heinrich Völker I., the grandfather of the present owner, founds the Völker company as a cabinetmaker's workshop.

1939
The founder is succeeded by his son, Heinrich Völker II. He begins producing furniture for commercial facilities.

1967
The grandson of the founder, Heinrich Völker III., takes over the company and begins specializing in the production of specialized healthcare furniture.

1970
IEver-increasing volume makes it necessary to expand to industrial production and move into larger premises.

1981
Völker launches the first wooden healthcare bed with the now-classic rounded corner design.

1986
All Völker healthcare beds are equipped with the revolutionary integrated side rails developed by Heinrich Völker.

1991
The Völker 2080 E electric healthcare bed is launched.

1993
The 2080 E is complemented by model 2090 E, today's model FS.

1994
Expansion makes it necessary to move into today's plant.

1995
The K 960 hospital bed is launched.

1996
Völker healthcare beds are awarded the design prize in their class for the best product for seniors by the Design Centre, Stuttgart.

1997
The growing demand for Völker hospital beds makes it necessary to establish a new plant in Hainichen, Saxony.

1999
Launch of the Völker 3080 healthcare bed. The newly developed undercarriage is equipped with the superstructure of the already well-established 2080.

2000
The beletto convenience bed for the private market is launched in the autumn.

2001
Transformation into a public limited company with the divisions of Healthcare beds for institutional and domestic care; Convenience healthcare beds for private use; Hospital beds and the service division B.O.S. (bed optimization system).

2002
Ceremonial openings of Völker subsidiaries in France and Belgium.

2003
Völker healthcare beds with optimized undercarriage, improved and patented assist rails and the patented Völker MiS® Micro-stimulation system are presented at the Altenpflege fair in Nuremberg; Völker hospital beds with waterproof height adjustment unit, developed in cooperation with Porsche Engineering, improved and patented assist rails, new design platform and pressure reduction, the Völker MiS® Micro-stimulation system, are launched at the Medica fair in Düsseldorf.

2004
Home market share for healthcare beds (whole product line) increases to approx. 60 percent and for hospital beds (middle/high-end) to approx. 40 percent, confirming Völker's innovative power. With associates in more than 20 countries worldwide and an export market share of approx. 35 percent, Völker is well positioned - also globally.