The first Ortlieb bike panniers were created in pure personal need for waterproof equipment – it wasn’t available at that time! Ortlieb's first products were hand-made on his mother’s sewing machine: dry bags and bicycle panniers made of truck tarps. These prototypes were tested by Hartmut and his friends on self-organized bicycle and climbing tours. What started very simple has soon developed into a story of success.

In the meantime, the company has more than 140 employees, and Ortlieb's collection has grown to include over 500 individual products. Even today, everything is located under one roof: from development and design to engineering, production, sales, marketing, and shipment. All waterproof products are produced in a high frequency welding method at the German headquarters in Heilsbronn. „Made in Germany“ guarantees high quality outdoor equipment for all demands, all weathers and all terrains.