The Nobilia-Werke J. Stickling GmbH & Co. KG is a German fitted kitchen manufacturer. The company is situated in East Westphalia at a place known as Verl.
Nobilia was launched in 1945 by two brothers, namely Johann Stickling and Willy Stickling. Johann Stickling was an expert in making cabinets, while Willy Stickling was a businessman. The two came together and formed a non-trading partnership. They rented a hall where they started producing occasional furniture and sewing cabinets. In the course of that year, they employed a total of seven people.
By 1947 the company had started growing, and they were able to establish their own production hall in Avenwedde. During this time, their number had increased to 25, and the company focused on producing kitchen buffet furniture.
Starting from 1st December 1949, the company's name changed to J. and W. Stickling OHG, and this time the partnership changed to a general partnership. In 1956, the two brothers went their separate ways. Johann Stickling continued being in charge of the original company while Willy Stickling started producing living room furniture in a small plant they had established in Avenwedde. He named his company Wista.
In 1961, Heinz Stickling, their elder brother, joined the original company, and together with Johann Stickling, they aimed to improve the company's public image. During this year, they purchased the company's first lorry. In 1962, they converted the company to a limited partnership NOBILIA-Werke J. Stickling KG. Their younger brother Werner Stickling also joined the company. The headcount also rose to 145, and Nobilia started producing fitted kitchens exclusively.
In 1970, Johann Stickling stepped down and handed the company over to his two sons Heinz and Werner Stickling. To increase production, they launched a new production site in Verl-Sürenheide during their 25th-anniversary occasion.
In 1976, the brothers established another factory n Verl-Kaunitz and named it Dominanta. They shut down the initial plant in Avenwedde and did all the kitchen furniture productions in Verl-Sürenheide. Heinz and Werner Stickling, in 1989, stopped living room furniture production and sold Dominanta.
In 1994, Nobilia had around 1,300 employees and had made more than 680 million sales, with over 1000 kitchens leaving their factory every day.
Later in 1996, Heinz and Werner Stickling handed over the company's operations to an external board of directors.
In 1999 Dr. Günter Scheipermeier took over as the executive board chairman. This was a few months after Heinz Stickling passed on in an accident.
Ever since 1999, Nobilia's leadership has changed several times, and they have established other plants. They have improved their kitchens to a great extent and have invented technologies to make their kitchens more desirable. In 2019, they started constructing a plant in Gütersloh and another one in Saarland to increase production.