It was on 21 September 1904 when two brothers, Hendrik A and Bernadus J Bakels, registered the first Bakels company in Amsterdam. The Bakels Group as we know it today is largely the result of the vision and lifetime work of the son of Bernardus, Bernard J Bakels. He led the company into manufacturing with the establishment, in 1943, of Nordbakels in Sweden. Through a mixture of investment and innovation additional companies, and successful products, were added through each decade up until his death in 1986. Since then this successful mix continues to be applied – investment increases every year to accompany innovative new products. By remaining a private company owned by a foundation established by Bernard J Bakels we have grown to become a group nearly 40 companies, manufacturing on all five continents.