Alstom Transport Germany

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Alstom Transport Germany GmbH

logo
legal form Company with limited liability
founding 1839
Seat Salzgitter
management Jörg Nikutta (spokesman), Burkhard Reuter
Number of employees approx. 2700 (2011)
sales 402.6 million euros (2008/2009)
Branch Manufacture of rail vehicles
Website http://www.alstom.com/de/germany/

The Alstom Transport Germany GmbH (formerly Linke-Hofmann-Busch GmbH (LHB) ) is the French Alstom belonging Corporation manufacturer of rail vehicles .

history

1834 to 1867, Gottfried Linke

Gottfried Linke, born on December 18, 1792 in Baudiß ( Neumarkt district ) in Silesia , took over his father's cartwright in Breslau in 1834 , Büttnerstraße 32. In 1839 he founded the Gottfried Linke wagon construction company . She received her first major order for 100 open freight cars from the Upper Silesian Railway. In 1858 the workshops were relocated to Striegauer Chaussee on the outskirts of Wroclaw.

1867 to 1897, Linkes sons

After Gottfried Linke's death on February 28, 1867, the sons continued their father's company under the name G. Linkes Söhne, Waggonfabrik, Breslau . The company grew rapidly. After the war of 1870/71 the company was converted into a corporation . In 1889 the 120,000 left. Waggon the factory premises in Wroclaw.

1897 to 1900, public limited company

In 1897 the company was converted into a joint stock company , which was named Breslauer Aktiengesellschaft für Eisenbahnwagenbau . It took over Linke's factories on Striegauer Chaussee and also acquired a plot of land in Pöpelwitz near Breslau. On May 26th of the same year the Breslauer Aktiengesellschaft (BAG) took over the Maschinenbauanstalt Breslau GmbH vorm. GH from Ruffer . This was founded in 1833 as the mechanical engineering company GH von Ruffer in Breslau and in 1861 had delivered the first locomotive to the Upper Silesian Railway Company . In 1895 it was renamed and at the same time laid the foundation stone for a new factory for locomotive and mechanical engineering in Mochbern near Breslau. This became the department for locomotive and mechanical engineering of the new company.

1900 to 1918, expansion

Type plate with the logo of Linke-Hofmann-Werke from 1913

Locomotive construction began in the new workshops in 1900, and the former Ruffer workshops were gradually shut down by 1920.

The BAG for railway car construction received the Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 . On April 9, 1906, the locomotive and mechanical engineering department and the wagon construction department of the Breslauer Akt. Ges. Für Eisenbahnwagenbau were merged. The company name (company) was now Breslauer Aktiengesellschaft für Eisenbahnwagenbau und Maschinenbauanstalt . This should also become clear when the old wagon factory in Striegauer Chaussee was given up and wagon construction was relocated to the new locomotive and machine factory in Mochbern near Breslau.

At the world exhibition in Milan in 1906 the company received an award. The company received two further prizes in 1910 at the International Exhibition for Railway Operations and Land Transport in Buenos Aires and at the World Exhibition in Brussels . At the international industrial and commercial exhibition in Turin in 1911, the company again won a prize.

The company continued to grow: in 1912 it merged with local competitor Waggonfabrik Gebr. Hofmann & Co. Aktiengesellschaft, Breslau . This emerged in 1872 from the railway carriage construction company and syringe factory Gebr. Hofmann founded in Wroclaw in 1856 . The company name was now Linke-Hofmann-Werke with the addition: Breslauer Aktiengesellschaft für Eisenbahnwagen, Lokomotiv- und Maschinenbau . In the same year, the move of the wagon construction department to Mochbern was completed. The Linke-Hofmann-Werke (LHW) received the Royal Prussian Golden State Medal for commercial achievements in 1912 . In 1917 the company was shortened to Linke-Hofmann-Werke Aktiengesellschaft Breslau . And another merger in the same year: The one founded in 1866 and since 1888 under Waggonfabrik Aktien-Gesellschaft vorm. P. Herbrand & Cie. companies known in Cologne-Ehrenfeld were merged with Linke-Hofmann-Werke Aktiengesellschaft. During the First World War , the company tried its hand at the new field of aircraft development and created two types of large aircraft for the German air force - the Linke-Hofmann RI and the R.II.

1919 to 1945 until the end of World War II

Type 4201 railcar, built in 1937 for the Athens – Peloponnese railway; in use at the Thessalian Museum Railway
Torso of an electr. Locomotive for the passenger train service EP 242 or DR E 50.42, built in 1926 in the Dresden Transport Museum
Linke-Hofmann-Werke AG shares in excess of RM 1000 in April 1936

Expansion continued in 1920 with the incorporation of the H. Füllner machine factory in Warmbrunn , which was founded in 1854, and the purchase of 75% of the shares in the Lauchhammer stock corporation, which was founded in 1725 . In 1921 the wagon factory JP Gossens, Lochner & Co., founded in 1862, was incorporated in Brand near Aachen and the Linke-Hofmann-Werke merged with the AEG . The Lauchhammer stock corporation was incorporated into Linke-Hofmann-Werke in 1923, which was renamed Linke-Hofmann-Lauchhammer Aktiengesellschaft (LHL) . In the same year, Archimedes Akt. Ges. Für Stahl- und Eisenindustrie , which had been in existence in Mochbern near the company premises since 1875, was taken over.

1926 founded Linke-Hofmann-Lauchhammer along with the united steel plants AG the Central German steel plants Akt.-Ges. in Riesa. In the same year Lauchhammer left again, the company name was changed to Linke-Hofmann-Werke Aktiengesellschaft in Breslau . As a result of the global economic crisis , the production capacities were underutilized, so that further mergers and company acquisitions followed in order to get greater production quotas. The Deutsche Reichsbahn introduced a quota system for orders in 1926, with the LHW accounting for the largest share by far with 14%. The following takeovers increased this rate to 23%. LHW manufactured diesel engines in its own department , as an advertisement from 1927 shows. In 1928 the company Waggon- und Maschinenfabrik AG merged. Busch, Bautzen , the Saxon. Waggonfabrik Werdau AG in Werdau and the Linke-Hofmann-Werke Aktiengesellschaft , Breslau, under the new company Linke-Hofmann-Busch-Werke Aktiengesellschaft . The Sächsische Waggonfabrik Werdau AG emerged in 1907 from the Schumann Wagenfabrik in Werdau, which was founded in 1876 .

The production of the former JP Goossens, Lochner & Co. , Brand near Aachen , was shut down in 1928. Also in 1928, after the acquisition of all the shares that belonged to the Werdau wagon factory, the Zwickauer vehicle factory, vorm. Schumann AG shut down. The Norddeutsche Waggonfabrik in Bremen - Hastedt was taken over in 1929 and closed in 1930. Locomotive construction was stopped in 1929 and the Reichsbahn's locomotive construction quota was sold to Krupp and Henschel & Sohn . In 1930 almost all shares in the Waggonfabrik Gebr. Schöndorff AG in Düsseldorf, and in 1931 the majority of the share capital in Hannoversche Waggonfabrik Akt. Ges . The former Herbrand plant in Cologne-Ehrenfeld was shut down in 1931, and production in Werdau was discontinued in 1932. Some of the production facilities and office space were leased to Fahrzeugbau Schumann GmbH in Werdau.

In 1934 the Linke-Hofmann-Busch-Werke Aktiengesellschaft was divided into sub-companies. Linke-Hofmann-Busch continued to run under the stock corporation for Waggonbau-Werke, Berlin as an umbrella company . The new operating companies were: Linke-Hofmann-Busch-Werke Aktiengesellschaft , Breslau and Waggon- und Maschinenfabrik Aktiengesellschaft vorm. Busch , Bautzen. The holding company was dissolved again in 1936.

In 1934 the H. Füllner machine works, Warmbrunn, was sold to the Wagner & Co. machine works from Köthen , and in 1935 the mechanical engineering department of the Linke-Hofmann works was sold to the vehicle and motor works (FAMO) in Breslau. The majority of shares in the Düsseldorfer Waggonfabrik (formerly Gebr. Schöndorff) was sold to the Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in 1935 . The remaining company demonstrated its efficiency with the delivery of the first vehicles of the DR series ET 171 for the S-Bahn in Hamburg in 1939. The Second World War also had an impact on the production program: in 1940 a large assembly hall (180 × 80 m) for freight wagons was built in Wroclaw . The staff worked here on a clocked basis and completed around 36 cars per day. The German Wehrmacht declared Breslau a fortress in 1945, which led to extensive destruction of the existing industrial facilities as well as the city.

1945 to 1958, separate development in East and West

The outcome of the Second World War led to the loss of the plants in Breslau and Bautzen, but there was a new beginning in western Germany. This resulted in a total of three companies, one in the West and one company each in Poland and the GDR:

Crawler tractor LHB Robot (25 HP; manufactured in small numbers in 1953)

After 1945 was between the Linke-Hofmann-Werke AG and the Waggon- und Maschinenfabrik AG vorm. Busch, on the one hand, and Stahlwerke Braunschweig GmbH, founded in 1939 as an armaments company, on the other hand, signed an interest group agreement and sealed it in 1949. The Braunschweig steelworks built six production halls in Salzgitter-Watenstedt in 1941/42. In 1945, on a British initiative, the repair of freight wagons began in two undamaged halls. From this the largest private wagon repairer in the bizone developed . From 1946, locomotives were also repaired in another hall. Several hundred former workers of the Deutsche Reichsbahn who had fled or expelled from the eastern regions were used to build the works. On the basis of this agreement, the Braunschweig steelworks made their production facilities available, while the Linke-Hofmann-Busch Group left its name, its licenses and its experience in the field of vehicle construction to the interest group for use. From 1950 new vehicles produced in Watenstedt were delivered under the well-known LHB company name. The Braunschweig steel works were renamed in 1950 to Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau Watenstedt GmbH (FAMAS). The Salzgitter Group took over all shares in LHB in 1957/58 and deleted the company from the commercial register. Subsequently, in 1958 FAMAS was renamed and this company operated under the old traditional name Linke-Hofmann-Busch GmbH Salzgitter-Watenstedt as a pure wagon construction factory.

The Wroclaw plant became the property of the Polish state and was renamed PAFAWAG from 1953 . After the political upheaval and the dissolution of the Comecon , Adtranz bought the factory in Breslau in 1997. Since Bombardier Transportation became the new owner in 2001, the official company name has been Bombardier Transportation Polska .

The Bautzen and Werdau plants were initially operated under the name LOWA (Lokomotiv- und Waggonbau). In 1952 the Werdau plant became the "Ernst Grube" Werdau motor vehicle plant , today SAXAS Nutzfahrzeuge Werdau AG . The Bautzen plant, from 1953 Waggonbau Bautzen , was merged into Deutsche Waggonbau AG in 1990 , which has also been part of Bombardier since 1998. Today the Bautzen plant specializes in light rail vehicles and trams.

1958 to 1989, Linke-Hofmann-Busch in Salzgitter

The development of the business community, which was favorable despite all the difficulties, contributed significantly to the solution of the great problems in the border area created by the division of Germany. The Famas gave up their other branches of manufacture. The result of the interest group was the founding of Linke-Hofmann-Busch GmbH (LHB) as part of the Salzgitter Group in 1958 . The factory was operated as a pure wagon factory under this old and traditional name. The company also got involved in tank car construction, with the handover of the first heating oil tank cars on June 18, 1962. A new administration building was erected in 1965 and a factory museum was also built. Under the leadership of Linke-Hofmann-Busch GmbH , the development of a European standard passenger coach took place in 1974 . This standard passenger coach was never built, but has had a major impact on the development of various European coaches. The group also played a leading role in the development of the ICE 1 high-speed intermediate car. A new hall for the production of aluminum shell structures was put into operation for the ICE 1 production.

1989 to 1996, restructuring after the fall of the Wall

On October 1, 1989, Preussag bought the parent company Salzgitter AG . Linke-Hofmann-Busch GmbH was thus also part of the Preussag Group. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of the borders to the GDR , several contracts for close cooperation with the VEB Kombinat Eisenbahnfahrzeugbau der GDR , which also included the factory of the former Busch company in Bautzen, were concluded. In 1990 a new repair hall was built in Salzgitter. The first ICE passenger and service cars for high-speed traffic were rolled out on September 11th, and the 2000th new freight car was handed over to Transwaggon a week later (September 18th) .

The continued corporate restructuring of Preussag led in 1994 to the sale of 51% of the shares in Linke-Hofmann-Busch to GEC-Alsthom . The development and construction of new vehicles in Salzgitter continued: on November 7, 1995 the first S-tog train was delivered for the Copenhagen S-Bahn, and the new DB class 474 was delivered on November 21, 1996 for the Hamburg S-Bahn . Linke-Hofmann-Busch was one of the first rail vehicle manufacturers to be certified in accordance with the EU Eco-Audit Regulation in 1996 . The following year, on June 13th, GEC-Alsthom took over the remaining 49% of the shares in Linke-Hofmann-Busch. The shares of this group, previously a joint venture of GEC Ltd. and Alcatel , were listed on June 22nd. GEC Ltd. and Alcatel sold most of their shares.

After 1996, Alstom

The group was renamed Alstom in 1998 , and Linke-Hofmann-Busch has been operating as Alstom LHB since then .

The cooperation with Transwaggon resulted in the delivery of the 5000th new freight wagon on May 14, 2003. In the spring of 2006 the first two-system vehicle of the 474.3 series was delivered for the Hamburg S-Bahn . They were the first German S-Bahn vehicles that can run on both direct current from the side busbar and alternating current from the overhead line . The company has been operating as Alstom Transport Deutschland GmbH since April 2009 - the name Linke-Hofmann-Busch has thus finally disappeared after 170 years of company history.

Locations

In addition to the plant in Salzgitter, Alstom has also rented the former repair shop in Braunschweig since 2010 . Mainly railcars are serviced here. There is also the Alstom Lokomotiven Service (ALS) in the former Stendal repair shop . In Stendal u. a. Diesel locomotives modernized and maintained. As a base for southern Germany and Switzerland, the workshop serves Waibstadt the SWEG that no longer needs it.

Products

  • Freight wagons of all kinds

Awards

In 2014/2015, Alstom Transport Deutschland received the innovation award from Privatbahn Magazin for the development of the H3 hybrid shunting locomotive and in 2018/2019 for the development of the hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint .

literature

  • LHB GmbH: Company brochure with company history At a glance , Salzgitter 2000.
  • Linke-Hofmann Werke AG: Festschrift for the 50th anniversary (1871 to 1921) . Wroclaw 1921.

Web links

Commons : Linke-Hofmann-Busch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Compressorless diesel engines. In: Vossische Zeitung . January 1, 1927; P. 15 (below).
  2. Wolfram Bäumer: Future of the LHB Museum Salzgitter In: The Museum Railway . 3/2012, p. 33.