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History

Tradition and Innovation

Good ideas, ground-breaking innovations and entrepreneurial responsibility: that sums up the history of B. Braun.

From pharmacy to global player

Corporate history

Continuous growth

14,000 thalers of start-up capital, plus courage and boundless enthusiasm

What plans did 31-year-old Julius Wilhelm Braun have in his head when in 1839 he bought a pharmacy in Melsungen? He paid 14,000 thalers, quite a tidy sum in those days. The young entrepreneur had courage and a good head for business. His vision was quite clear: turn the small Rose Pharmacy into something bigger. In his wildest dreams, he could not have foreseen that his modest enterprise would one day become a company that spans the globe. 

Milestones

Clinical nutrition

B. Braun defines parenteral nutrition therapy

Medical nutrition therapy has only been possible since the 1960s. Before, survival was impossible for patients who could not ingest nutrients in the normal manner. Amino acids, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and trace elements – these substances are essential for human survival. But how could they be administered to people parenterally, i.e., intravenously, without passing through the digestive system first? This was insurmountable for many years, especially the delivery of fats. 

Milestones

Extracorporeal Blood Treatment

Purifying blood to save lives

Blood purification has always been an extremely complicated branch of medicine. After the breakthrough in clinical dialysis in the 1950s, B. Braun invested in the latest technology and started as a supplier for extracorporeal blood treatment. This filtration procedure is used to remove many toxins from the blood. At the end of the 1960s, the company began to manufacture its own dialysis machines in cooperation with FRABA.

Milestones

Infusion Therapy

Pioneering work: safety, quality and comfort

Infusion solutions, rigid metal cannulas and fragile glass vials — that’s how infusion therapy started back in the 1930s. B. Braun did pioneering work in the early days of infusion solutions: Sterofundin was one of the first infusion solutions to be produced industrially. To this day, it is an indispensable part of modern medicine. 

Milestones

Surgery and Orthopedics

With sensitivity and precision

Manual dexterity, an eye for details and the right “tools” are indispensable for surgeons. Gottfried Jetter started manufacturing surgical instruments in Tuttlingen in 1867. What began as a small workshop expanded rapidly after his brothers-in-law Karl-Christian und Wilhelm Scheerer joined him, and they quickly became famous, thanks to outstanding quality and precision craftsmanship. Their vision is what led to success. Scalpels, scissors, tweezers, needles, forceps – the company, which later changed its name to Aesculap, has always specialized in the production of instruments for diagnostics, dentistry, veterinary medicine and, of course, surgery.

Surgery Museum Asclepius

The way forward can frequently be found by going back and retracing paths already trod, and by recognising that the successes and failures of past eras can serve as lessons for the future.

Journey to the past with Aesculap

Milestones

Wound Closure

A revolutionary idea for wound therapy

Open, operate, close, remove stitches: everyone is familiar with the wound closure procedure. Wound treatment is a field of therapy with a long tradition at B. Braun. Guaranteeing the sterility of sutures posed a big problem until the beginning of the 20th century, because sutures only close the wound. It is just as important to ensure that no infections endanger the healing process that follows. 

Our social responsibility timeline

Year  

Event

1919  

B. Braun sets up a pension fund for company employees, with a capital investment of 50,000 Reichsmarks.
1923Foundation of B. Braun’s company health insurance.
1929Establishment of the Carl Braun Memorial Pension Fund, later known as the Carl Braun Memorial Relief Fund.
1963  First wide-ranging employee volunteer commitment through the foundation of the B. Braun Works Sports Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013.
1966Establishment of the B. Braun Foundation for promoting basic and advanced training of doctors and nursing staff. The foundation’s capital comes from the proceeds from the sales of the magazine “Die Schwester” (“The Nurse”).
1972B. Braun sponsors the Karl Thomas Prize for contributions to the development of surgery.
1980B. Braun Prize for the promotion of qualified young healthcare professionals awarded for the first time.
1989In cooperation with the University of Kassel, the company sets up the Otto Braun Fund to grant doctoral scholarships.
1989B. Braun creates the Environmental Protection department.
1989Program for better compatibility of career and family life; the program now exists in a number of countries. B. Braun enables employees with young children or dependents who need care to take the necessary leave and return to work afterwards.
1996B. Braun Melsungen AG is the first European company in the medical-pharmaceutical sector to receive an Environmental Audit certificate.
2001Signing of the first Location Retention Agreement secures long-term investments in the Melsungen location.
2003B. Braun sets up the initiative “Perspektive Plus”, which enables young people without an apprenticeship an easier way to enter the job market.
2004“B. Braun for Children” is founded. By 2014, activities were promoted to improve the long-term prospects of 28,704 children.
2007B. Braun offers its employees basic cover with its “Vorsorge Plus” supplementary company pension scheme.
2008B. Braun agrees on a uniform global Corporate Social Responsibility concept to promote social projects.
2012B. Braun introduces its “Code of Conduct”, which defines the ethical behaviour of all employees worldwide.
2015The first B. Braun Sustainability Report is published.
2024B. Braun publishes policy statement on human rights and environmental due diligence in accordance with the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

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