History

Occasionally, we still supply gasket sets for the mixing valves that our founder Heinrich Janssen manufactured 50 years ago. It looks like “JAnssens STahlgeschweißte Armaturen” have kept their promise of quality.

When Heinrich Janssen founded JASTA-Armaturen in 1959 in a wooden hall next to his parents’ house in Essen, he was just taking his master craftsman’s examination. What today sounds like a romantic founding myth was, in view of scarce resources, a courageous step based on diligence, improvisation and perseverance.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Ruhr region was booming as an industrial location, and with it the need for housing. JASTA served the high demand for mixing valves in heating construction. But Heinrich Janssen did not just want to react. With his eagerness to experiment and innovate, he laid the foundation for the company that successfully cultivates these characteristics to this day: Janssen developed maintenance-friendly valves that allowed seals to be changed during operation. Thanks to this patent, heating systems could be maintained at a significantly lower cost. Subsequently, JASTA grew rapidly and sold its fittings throughout Europe and in some cases as far as Asia.

In 1967, JASTA needed more space, so Heinrich Janssen rented the company locksmith’s store on the site of the former Levin colliery in Essen-Dellwig and bought the 300 m² hall together with the 2500 m² site the following year. Regular new buildings and acquisitions of the neighboring properties followed. When today’s managing director Jürgen Hengst joined JASTA in 1967 as a commercial apprentice, the company had about a dozen employees, consisting of merchants, technicians and locksmiths.

50 years of JASTA 2009Small economic fluctuations and major economic crises were met by JASTA with the proven virtues of innovative spirit, flexibility and reliability. At times, the company also operated as a contract chipping company. At the same time, the valves have been continuously developed and adapted to new requirements, such as pneumatic and electric actuation. This enabled the company to enter the market as an original equipment manufacturer for the industry.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Heinrich Janssen was able to win Jürgen Hengst, his managing director, as a partner. Plant engineering projects became more complex, and JASTA hired engineers for the first time. Sales representatives and partner companies now also distributed the special butterfly valves in large nominal sizes and for high temperatures beyond European borders.

Today, in 2016, JASTA continues to grow as a modern medium-sized company in the tradition of its founder Heinrich Janssen. Employees from different nations develop and assemble reliable solutions at the continuously expanded site in Essen. With the introduction of new product lines, the company is preparing for the demands of the industry of the future.