Compay was founded by two brothers: Balthasar (1848-1896, mechanic) and Philipp Helfmann (1843-1899, mason). In 1872 Philipp Helfmann moved to the Bornheim district of Frankfurt to start up in business as a lumber merchant, then as a building contractor.
His brother Balthasar followed him in 1873, shortly before the ‘Gründerkrise’, the economic crisis after foundation of the German Reich, started. In 1874 the Bornheim address book first recorded the firm as “Helfmann Brothers”.