Joseph Hebmüller was a trained wheelwright and took over the wagon maker Sauer in Wuppertal-Barmen, where he worked at the time, in 1889. He continued the company under his own name. After Joseph Hebmüller's death in 1919, his four sons took over the company and from then on called themselves Karosseriewerk Joseph Hebmüller Söhne. In 1920, they designed the first car bodies. In addition to one-off production, some series production was added over time. As the business grew, two more plants were built in Wülfrath. The newspaper "Wülfrather Zeitung" wrote on 26 January 1935 that Hebmüller produced around 50 cars every month. The best-known car is probably the Hebmüller convertible, of which a total of 675 were produced in 1949 and 1950. The list of cars that received a Hebmüller body over time is long and select: Adler, Austro Daimler, Borgward, Buick, Bugatti, Chrysler, DKW, Delahaye, Dixi, Fiat, Ford, Grät & Stiff, Hanomag, Hansa, Humber, Körting, Krupp, Ley, Mannesmann, Mercedes-Benz, NAG, Opel, Packard, Röhr, Steyr, Stoewer, Tempo, Tornax, Vertias, Volkswagen, and Wanderer. But some lorries and delivery vans were also built. In 1949, a Wülfrath plant burned down. Large parts of the factory were completely destroyed. This was rebuilt, but despite full order books, Hebmüller never recovered. In 1952, the long-established company had to close for good.