Smart Fluid Systems

History of COHLINE

"The little things lead to perfection. However, perfection is not a little thing." Hans Cohnen.

1932

Cohline was founded in 1932 in Germany, following an opportunity for its founder, Hans Cohnen, involving the repair of glow plugs on early vehicles. From glow plugs, the company rapidly moved to solving the engineering issues faced by the transmission of fluids around a vehicle and began working with the vehicle manufacturers of the day to help solve the problems with oil, fuel and water transmission.

1940er

The situation came to a head during World War II, in 1944. Therefore, Hans Cohnen decided to move to Dillenburg in Hesse. He took along his most important machines and materials to continue production for the truck industry.

1950er

New technologies were introduced due to a high demand in the 50’s. COHNEN took advantage of the aforementioned technology shift and specialized in media-carrying lines. By doing so COHNEN became an important supplier of hose assemblies for the most famous automotive manufacturers.

1960er

The company’s growth continued and in the 1960’s a second production site in Montabaur was established. Today, this production site is an independent sister company.

1970er

In 1970, Wolfgang Cohnen succeeded his father and led the company to become a modern industrial enterprise. Through the use of new types of connections in production, the expansion continued and numerous innovations were patented. This strengthened the company's position as a supplier. The automotive industry was developing rapidly and COHNEN seized the opportunity to consolidate its place in the market. The big change came with the company's own development of solutions for diverse line systems from injection lines to hydraulic couplings.

1989

In 1989 COHNEN became an international employer by building another site in Manston (England). Thereby COHNEN became COHLINE GmbH, as it is known today.

1993

In 1993 the first robot was bought.

1996

The first cycle bending machine for radiator lines for hydraulic steering systems was built in 1996 (shown here is a further development).

2008

In 2008, the management of the COHLINE group was taken over by Mrs. Gabriele Cohnen-Andres.

2011

The production site in Chodov (Czech Republic) focused its production on polyamide pipes and the assembly of complete line components made of polyamide, abbreviated PA, with the help of rotation welding.

2013

In 2013, the production site in Lipova (Romania) was built. The manufacturing focus in Lipova is on hose line systems, but also on aluminium and stainless-steel brazing. With an ambition of growth, COHLINE constantly expands its manufacturing facilities with additional equipment.

2022

After 40 years with the company, including 35 years as Managing Director, Mrs. Cohnen-Andres will retire from active day-to-day business on 1 January 2022 and move to the COHLINE Group's Advisory Board as Chairwoman. The Advisory Board was founded on 25 November 2021 in a constituent Advisory Board meeting and is headed by Gabriele Cohnen-Andres as Chairwoman of the Advisory Board. She is supported in this role by Dipl.-Kfm. Henrik Hänche and Professor Dr Bernd Engel.

2024

Mr. Bernhard Beck has been a member of the Advisory Board since January 2024 (see picture on the left). Mrs. Cohnen-Andres stepped down as Chair of the Advisory Board at the end of 2024. She will remain a member of the Advisory Board and will continue to put her many years of experience at the service of the company. Mr. Henrik Hänche took over as Chairman of the Advisory Board in January 2025.

As an expert and leading manufacturer of pipe and hose line systems in the application areas of cooling, oil supply, fuel, turbochargers and hydraulics, the family-owned company employs more than 600 people.

Quality is still the main priority at COHLINE GmbH, as confirmed by the numerous certifications. This corporate philosophy is appreciated by the nationally and internationally based clientele of the automotive, commercial vehicle, construction and agricultural machinery industries as well as the largest automotive manufacturers worldwide.