Heinrich Voelter (January 1, 1817 in Heidenheim – September 13, 1887 in Heidenheim) was a German inventor and paper manufacturer. Heinrich Voelter grew up in Heidenheim and attended elementary school there, where he was taught by his grandfather. At age 14, he began an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

at a Heidenheim weaver shop. In addition, he learned from his father, who operated a local

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

, the art of paper production. After the apprenticeship Voelter went to

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budi ...

to continue and complete his studies of paper manufacturing. While in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

, he met

Friedrich Gottlob Keller Friedrich Gottlob Keller (born 27 June 1816 in Hainichen, Saxony; died 8 September 1895 in Krippen, Saxony) was a German machinist and inventor, who (at the same time as Charles Fenerty) invented the wood pulp process for use in papermaking. He i ...

(1816–1895), from whom he took over an 1846

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

for manufacturing paper from wood fiber mash. He further developed the method such that mass production of paper from wood became possible - until then, paper had been produced from rags. He returned to his hometown after his father's death in 1848, where he benefited from the help of Johan Matthäus Voith (1803–1874), who in 1852 constructed two grindstones for the Voelter paper mill. From 1856 to 1861 Heinrich Voelter served in the Parliament in Stuttgart. Voelter and Voith sold grindstones to paper manufacturers in the whole world, including the Kübler und Niethammer paper factory in

Kriebstein Kriebstein is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad ...

in Saxony. In 1864 the Voelter paper mill burnt down, and paper production in Heidenheim ceased for good (paper had been manufactured there since 1530). Voith AG, founded by Voith, still develops and produces paper machines for international customers.

References

External links

* http://www.voith.com.br/index_d.php (Voith AG site, including company history) {{DEFAULTSORT:Voelter, Heinrich 19th-century German inventors People from Heidenheim 1887 deaths 1817 births Pulp and paper industry German politicians History of forestry Papermakers