The Hövelmann group of companies has its origins in 1905, when the Walsum merchant Karl-Albert Hövelmann opened his own beer shop. Like many of his guild, Hövelmann produced lemonade and sparkling water using hand-operated machines. The company was split up in 1925. The mineral water factory and beer wholesaler went to Heinrich Hövelmann, the oldest son of the company founder. The forwarding agency and the coal trading company, which were also operated in order to be able to utilize the vehicle fleet (horse and cart) all year round, went to his brothers. After 1945, under the direction of the founder, the family developed the Rheinperle lemonade brand, which launched the first sugar-sweetened fruit juice drink with a juice content of 11% on the German food market in 1949.In the 1960s, the founding sons Heinrich and Hermann took over the company under the name Rheinperle -Beverages H. Hövelmann and benefited from the continued good demand, which enabled further investments to be made in expanding the company. In 1969, Hövelmann relocated the production facility within Walsum (Duisburg) to Römerstrasse, where it is still located today. At the time, the plant had the largest bottling plant in Europe. After the successful development of a mineral spring, the Rheinfels Quelle mineral water brand was launched in 1972. At the same time, the beer wholesaling was brought into the newly founded company Bier-Hövelmann as an independent beverage wholesaler. Another bottling line was put into operation as early as 1973. Production capacity rose to 50,000 fillings per hour. In 1980, Bier-Hövelmann expanded its drop-shop in North Rhine-Westphalia with the involvement of independent beverage wholesalers. Bier-Hövelmann is now active all over Germany and is considered the second largest national company of its kind. As early as 1984, the “Rheinfels Quelle” bottle with the number 1,000,000,000 (one billion) was bottled. From the formerly local in the mid-80s company had already become one of the largest beverage manufacturers in North Rhine-Westphalia, a further mineral water resource was developed in the Rheinaue nature reserve. Four years later, the mineral springs and beverages H. Hövelmann passed a further investment program amounting to 70 million DM expanded to 1.8 million boxes. Five filling lines were now available in production. In 1993, Bier-Hövelmann took over its previous competitor, Bernhard Ahr Getränke Logistik GmbH in Oberhausen. The company also got involved in the new federal states through its 50% stake in Gelos Getränke Logistik und Gastronomie Service GmbH & Co. near Dresden. A technical center was set up at the company's headquarters in Duisburg-Walsum for product quality assurance and optimized production control built with all the necessary laboratories and a multi-line blending system for the sweet drink recipes. The inauguration took place in 1994. Together with the Franken Brunnen from Neustadt an der Aisch, the family company started the revival of the Sinalco brand in 1994 with the establishment of Deutsche Sinalco GmbH Markengetränke & Co. KG. The total sales volume of the production companies reached the record mark of 350 million bottles sold. 1995, just in time for the company's 90th anniversary, a new branding was launched for the Rheinfels Quelle mineral water brand. The completion of the new communication center with an attached in-house brewery, the Walsumer Brauhaus Urfels, also marked the end of the investment program of 70 million DM. In 1999, the first returnable PET system was put into operation. In doing so, the company is responding to the growing consumer demand for lightweight plastic bottles. Sales reached a new record with 450 million bottles sold. In 2001, production capacities were further expanded with the installation of a disposable PET system. In 2003, Römerwall Naturbrunnen & Getränke GmbH, a company in the Hövelmann beverage group, took a 26% stake in Ardey Quelle GmbH & Co. KG in Dortmund. The shares came from Westdeutsche Getränke Logistik (WGL), a 100% subsidiary of the C. & A. Veltins GmbH & Co. KG brewery, together with the previous 25.2% from Bier Hövelmann, the second largest beverage logistics company in Germany The Hövelmann beverage group initially owns more than 51% of the Ardey Mineralbrunnen. With the brands Ardey, Seltina and Reinoldus, the Mineralbrunnen, which is mainly based in Westphalia and the Münsterland, had around 20% brand shares in its core market with around 140 million fillings in the 2003 financial year.