The history of our company begins with Josef Krampe. Since 1949, he ran an electrical installation business in Ascheberg-Herbern, located in the beautiful Münsterland region. And, as was often the case in rural areas, such a business sold not only televisions and radios, but also kitchen appliances, washing machines, and all manner of other everyday electrical devices. To run a business successfully in the post-war period, it was often necessary to focus not only on selling items, but also to develop other business areas in parallel. At that time, electrical appliances were considered pure luxury items, and not many people had the money to afford them. As a result, Josef Krampe's shop also offered electrical appliance repairs. He also installed electrical systems in homes and businesses.

Due to the numerous repair jobs he had to perform – there was a shortage of good tools at the time – he developed tools that made his life easier in the shop and in the home installation. Furthermore, DIY was a growing source of income in the 1950s, bringing Mr. Krampe another business segment and more customers. At the beginning of the 1960s, the wires and cables used in domestic wiring changed. NYM wires were increasingly used, and a type of jackknife was usually used for stripping. Those who weren't very experienced at this quickly damaged the inner conductors. Josef Krampe addressed this problem and searched for a better and simpler solution. After some tinkering, he developed a knife that, using a metal bracket and a spring, secured the wire in such a way that the wire could be stripped with a rotating hand movement. The cable knife, which is still used in its basic configuration today, was invented! Josef Krampe received a patent for the world's first cable knife in 1966.

Of course, a good idea and a patent don't necessarily guarantee resounding success. So Mr. Krampe began looking for a sales partner while he devoted himself to new development and production.

The success continued, and in 1974, the classic electrical workshop with a garage production facility for stripping tools transformed into an industrial business. This was followed by the construction of a production hall with an office wing in the industrial area of Ascheberg-Herbern, our current company location. From then on, the workshop was managed by son-in-law Heinrich Grosserichter. In the following years, further tool inventions simplified the stripping of cables and wires. In 1983, the electrical business was finally discontinued. Heinrich Grosserichter and his wife Maria, Josef Krampe's daughter, continued to run the JOKARI company in the second generation.