History

Joachim Böhme was a qualified chemist and turned his hobby, aquatics, into a profession. After moving from Dresden to Ludwigshafen he set up a specialist pet shop from which the company JBL soon emerged.

Here are the milestones of the company history:

Specialist pet shop

The opening of a small specialist pet shop in the Mundenheimer Str. in Ludwigshafen am Rhein (Germany). Joachim Böhme’s love of aquatic animals and his expert knowledge in the field of aquatics earned him many customers. Through the focus on aquatics the pet shop became a live fish wholesaler.

1960

Company name JBL

Fish diseases, especially the white spot disease, led Joachim Böhme, with his expert knowledge of chemistry and medicines, to produce his first remedy for ornamental fish. He took his initials JB and the L from Ludwigshafen for his company name and named the product JBL Punktol. This was the start of the company JBL. Products for tortoise and turtle food and “Die 7 Kugeln” for the plant fertilization followed.

1968

Specialisation

Discontinuation of the fish wholesale business and a specialisation in JBL production articles and a wholesale product range for the pet supplies.

1970

Move

Move to Mannheim because of lack of space, arising from the permanent extension of the product range and a higher demand.

1972

Further location

Our company expansion means we have outgrown our space. We have therefore opened an additional location in Ludwigshafen.

1975

First fish food range

Launch of the first official fish food range BRG (braun, rot, gelb – brown, red, yellow; colours of the fish food tins)

1980

Company name

Change of the company name into a GmbH. His son Roland Böhme became a partner.

1983

Property purchase

Initial purchase of a commercial space in the form of a developed plot in Neuhofen (current company office), which was completely renovated and ready to move in to within a very short time.

1984

Product manager

After completing his studies Roland Böhme took up the position of product manager at JBL.

1988

NOVO product range

The quality of the fish food product range was upgraded to a superior level and called NOVO product range.

1989

Handover of the company management

Joachim Böhme handed over the company management to his son, after he had amassed 3 years of operational experience, but continued to support him as his consultant.

1991

Production facility

The rapidly growing range required an extension of the company headquarters and led to the construction of a new production facility.

1995

Company name

Change of the company name into its present one, JBL GmbH & Co. KG.

1997

SOLAR fluorescent tubes

Launch of the first JBL Solar fluorescent tubes. Nature as a model for the full daylight spectrum.

1998

First expedition

First official JBL research expedition to Manado on Sulawesi, Indonesia. Exploration of underwater fauna with incredible variety!

2001

CristalProfi external filters

Launch of the first JBL CristalProfi external filter series with a large selection of filter materials.

2003

Logistics center

Extension of the company premises with the construction of a 5600 qm logistics center and the opening of a research laboratory. The completion was celebrated on the occasion of the first Open House event with customers and friends of JBL.

2008

1-2-3 algae-free

Launch of the 1-2-3 algae-free concept for ponds. JBL guarantees you a pond without algae problems, if you follow our 3 steps.

2008

Anniversary

50 years ago JBL started off with a small specialised pet shop. The company quickly developed further to a wholesale company. Through its large number of own products JBL gave up the wholesale business and became the well-known industrial company with a full product range it is today. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated with a major open house event.

2010

Click doser

First JBL food with click doser. Always the right food amount, no more grabbing food with your fingers and your neighbour can easily take over the feeding while you are away

2011

Zero-energy house

After 33 years the former administration building became a real passive house, powered without any external energy! By completely renovating the total building, we were able to reduce the heat and cooling output which was 150 kWh/m2 per year by 24 kWh/m2 (= 16%).

2011

Online water analysis

JBL sets up a fully online laboratory, 365 days a year, free of charge, and scientifically verified, which evaluates water analyses and gives tips for solving problems.

2011

Online Hospital

Findings in the field of fish pathology, photos of ill fish and the JBL remedy range „plus“ led to the first online hospital. With the help of this, any aquarium enthusiast and pond owner can diagnose fish diseases free of charge.

2011

Social media

Start of the first social media channels for direct communication with the consumer. Our team is there to help and provide deeper insights into the world of JBL 24/7.

2011

Spare parts shop

To relieve its specialist retailers and to supply aquarists very quickly with spare parts at a recommended sales price, JBL offers a direct order service for spare parts on its homepage.

2012

Online meets offline

Start of the annual fan meeting at the production site Neuhofen. 25 JBL fans receive the opportunity to get to know more about the company. An exciting program lasting 24 hours is offered on site, with unique insights into the company and its partners.

2013

ProScape

Launch of the ProScape series. EQUIPMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL AQUASCAPING Every aquarium enthusiast eventually comes to the point where he wants more than „just“ an aquarium with fish and plants. They possibly want to reproduce an overwater landscape of a mountain range with forests or a special biotope in their aquarium. This is the first step to becoming a ProScaper!

2014

ProScan

Launch of the first water tests with a smartphone app for entering the water parameters.

2014

New building extruder hall

Under the motto "Fit for the future", a new approx. 2000 m² production landscape is being realised and, along with it, a modernisation of the entire existing feed production. It is the largest project in the company's history.

2014

ProFlora CO2 range

The new ProFlora CO2 series introduces two great innovations. A pH controller with touch control and an inline diffuser to conceal CO2 dissolving in the water column. The existing products have been completely updated and contain numerous innovations.

2015

ProCristal product range

New technical products for crystal-clear water.

2015

Responsive Website

The new JBL homepage has nearly 15,000 comprehensive and helpful product and information pages, which you can view (responsive web design) on any display device (responsive web design), from smartphone to film screen. Brilliant pictures for retina displays and extensive background knowledge help the consumer to greater success with their hobby. The new company blog allows users to engage with JBL experts and ask questions.

2015

Import Bans

In common with the BNA and various other organisations JBL is taking a stance against the hostility of natural law theorists who are against pet keeping. JBL’s biologists have been advising representatives from the German government on the issue “ban of exotic pets & call for import ban of wild animals” from the point of view of aquatics. As a result the politicians have acknowledged that fish keeping does not result in any negative consequences for the natural world.

2016_1
2016

Cooperation with Bresser

JBL is cooperating with the microscope manufacturer Bresser, whose microscopes all JBL customers can order and sell at special conditions. Furthermore Bresser supplies JBL with high-quality microscopes for the fish disease training courses and we also use them on our JBL expeditions.

2016_2
2016

Shark Protection

We have intensified our cooperation with the shark protection scene: JBL is not only sponsoring the shark project but also the free-diving world record holder Christian Redl with his film project for the protection of the sharks.

2016_3
2016

Manuals

For the first time JBL is issuing separate manuals for terraristics and pond Instead of a complete catalogue. The manuals have been very well received by the trade and by terrarium and pond enthusiasts alike.

2016_4
2016

New Building for Food Production

Our new production facilities for extrudates have been inaugurated with a large ProPond Opening. More than 2000 trade visitors were present at the opening ceremony to enjoy guided tours and lectures.

2016_5
2016

ProPond with NEO Index

Launch of JBL ProPond. The JBL ProPond concept for koi and other pond fish is acknowledged as the only food concept which takes all the decisive factors for pond fish nutrition, such as age, season, water temperature and living conditions, into account.

2017_1
2017

Sharks close up

At the beginning of the year, the first shark workshop was held near the Bahamas with shark researcher Dr. Erich Ritter. The team has never been so close to sharks! They’ve now learned so much about the body language of sharks that now they’d even go into the water with great white sharks without a cage…

2018

More and more bans

All manufacturers of aquarium, terrarium and pond products are experiencing more and more bans on product ingredients. This year JBL AlgoPond Direct, an algae remedy against thread algae, has been affected. Fortunately, JBL has always adopted a two-prong approach and has a second pond algae remedy in its range, JBL AlgoPond Forte, which is still allowed!

2018

Indian Ocean Expedition

The expedition took the JBL team into the Indian Ocean and brought forth lots of new findings on coral growth. Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles were on the research programme.

2018

First §11 trainings

Working with the BNA, JBL carries out its first training courses for the specialist examination in accordance with §11 of the Animal Welfare Act. Interest is high and almost everyone passes this very demanding examination in the field of pond & aquaristics.

2019

JBL LED SOLAR

The new JBL LEDs are a massive hit. Despite its many competitors, the new JBL LED SOLAR concept establishes itself in a very short time. It is set apart by its high PAR value which represents the strong photosynthetically active radiation of the LEDs for perfect aquarium plant growth.

2019

COVID-19

The corona crisis strikes. Fortunately, the pet shops are generally allowed to stay open! Unfortunately, JBL has to temporarily suspend its field service for retail stores and has switched to short-time work.

2020

The next generation

On January 4, 2021, the third generation of the Böhme family took over the management of the JBL company. Stella Kaltenmeier-Böhme, daughter of Roland Böhme, became managing director alongside her father. The entire JBL team was delighted to have the JBL company remaining in family hands and wished Stella all the best for the management of the company, which is now 190 people strong.

2021

New & most modern CO2 concept

With a high-precision CNC-milled and titanium-coloured anodised CO2 pressure reducer at its heart, JBL introduced a complete, new CO2 concept in Corona year 2021. Corona was a huge boost for aquaristics, so the timing was perfect for new CO2 systems.

2021

JBL PRONOVO - the most comprehensive innovation in JBL history

JBL is launching the sustainable PRONOVO food range based on the latest research results. It has completely replaced the previous Novo range while extending it with a species concept. 60 food types in container sizes between 100 ml and 5.5 l make up the largest new range in the company's history!

2022

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