History

The early 20th century is the century of reinforced concrete. This is where the roots of our company and our passion for fastening, reinforcement and connecting technology lie. Immerse yourself in the history of JORDAHL. Get to know the inventor of the anchor channel. Find out how the entrepreneurial drive of two men gave rise to a brand that planners and architects from all over the world trust to this day.
 

It all began with the vision of Ivar Kreuger

At the beginning of the 20th century, Julius Kahn, who was of German origin, invented a revolutionary reinforcement system in America: the Kahneisen. Together with his brother Albert - one of the most famous architects of the modern age - he had already been testing it in spectacular buildings and thus laid the foundation for the worldwide triumphal march of reinforced concrete construction. In 1907, the Swedish civil engineer Ivar Krueger secured the European marketing rights for exactly this Kahneisen. In the same year he founded the Deutsche Kahneisen Gesellschaft mbH (DKG) in Berlin together with his friend Anders Jordahl, also a civil engineer.

Anders Jordahl - the inventor of the anchor channel

With Kahneisen, the still young company stood on solid ground. But it was not the only successful product in the range. Just six years after the company was founded, the Deutsche Kahneisen Gesellschaft launched a completely new product onto the market: the c-shaped anchor rail. Anders Jordahl had developed it himself. On 11 December 1913, he applied for a patent for the rail under the name "Slotted hollow reinforcing iron for reinforced concrete structures to accommodate fastening bolts for bearing blocks and the like". This invention by Anders JORDAHL later became known as the very first "anchor channel". It is a milestone in the history of fastening technology and a component that still shapes architecture today.

The development of the studweldable fasteners produced by CONTINENTAL Studwelding Ltd. began in 1946 when three entrepreneurs Frank Keleman, Basil Spalding, and Charles Mikulka founded KSM Products Inc. in New Jersey. This was followed in 1958 by the formation of KSM Canada Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary to cater to the Canadian “studwelding” market. In 1983 KSM Canada was sold to its management team and became CONTINENTAL Studwelding Ltd.

In the 1970’s research started to find to find an efficient, economical and simple solution to enhance punching shear. This research led to the commercial development of Studrails^® in Europe, which dramatically simplified and improved design for punching shear in flat slabs. The technology was commercially introduced back into North America by DECON which was established in 1989 as a partnership between DEHA of Germany and CONTINENTAL Studwelding Ltd.

In 2009 CONTINENTAL and DECON USA became the North American distributors of JORDAHL^® anchor channels and in 2011 it became a fully owned subsidiary of Deutsche Kahneisen Gesellschaft mbH which has subsequently been re-named JORDAHL GmbH,

To provide a better and faster supply to our customers on the West coast JORDAHL USA Inc. opened a manufacturing site in Palm Desert (CA) in 2019 to increase the manufacturing capacity in North America.

Based on this history and incorporating the best of North American and European technology JORDAHL^® continues to drive its business forward on the principle of engineering excellence combined with the highest standards of customer service. Our well trained and dedicated staff continues to be the keystone of our success. Currently JORDAHL has subsidiaries and distributors across Europe, North America, and Asia.