Anton Freissler
Anton Freissler (born March 13, 1838 in Klantendorf ( Kujavy ), Moravia , Austria-Hungary , † February 29, 1916 in Hinterbrühl ), also written Anton Freißler , was an Austrian industrial entrepreneur, technician and elevator developer . He was the first manufacturer of electric passenger and goods lifts in Austria. His company was a leader in his time and he was appointed purveyor to the court .
Youth, training, first years
The spelling of his name can be found in various forms. Anton Freiſsler is on his baptismal certificate, he signed the first patent specification with Freisler, his company was registered as Freissler.
Anton Freissler was born as the 10th child of a farming family in Klantendorf in North Moravia (near Fulnek ). His childhood was characterized by modesty and frugality. Even so, the family was ready to help others in times of hunger; Freissler later became known for social welfare for his employees.
In school he got good grades and later, against the resistance of his father, attended the lower secondary school in Opava . At the age of 18 he was allowed to move to Vienna to study there. He started at the Polytechnic , where he was able to finish his studies under very difficult financial circumstances with the help of his younger brother, who was now a businessman.
At first he could not find a job and was finally accepted as a volunteer in 1861 after 31 personal interviews at the Ferdinand Dolainsky machine, boiler and metal goods factory . Dolainsky employed more than 400 workers and produced various equipment for factories. Freissler was able to get used to the job in a short time and put his skills to the test. The lack of care for the workers drove him to be the first in Vienna to set up a general health insurance , of which he later became an honorary member. However, his thirst for knowledge and his ambition soon led him to look for a new position. In 1866 he joined the civil engineering office of Erb and Henrici , which dealt with the construction of urban water pipes that were needed for the construction of Vienna's Ringstrasse .
Freissler belonged to the Lower Austrian Trade Association and was sent to Paris for the World Exhibition in 1867 with a number of other young engineers . There he was supposed to study municipal institutions and write a report on the subject, which was received with great enthusiasm in Vienna. In his report he wrote about the latest developments in the field of hydraulic elevators. He was very interested in this topic and began to work on the construction of technical elevators . In 1867 he applied for a privilege, at that time a predecessor of today's patents . In it he suggested a major improvement in this technique; the privilege was checked by the Vienna Polytechnic and granted under number 2618/493.
Entrepreneur
In order to implement his ideas, he went into business for himself and, with the help of relatives, bought a small locksmith business in the 4th district . On January 15, 1868, he and four workers began building hand-operated elevators. Due to his technical knowledge and commercial skills, he was soon able to expand his business. On September 18, 1869, he married the daughter of the former owner of the business. In 1870 he built his first elevator in Vienna.
A hydraulic passenger elevator was installed in Wipplingerstraße 2 in Vienna's 1st district and was the first of its kind in Vienna. At the Vienna World Exhibition of 1873 he presented eight of his elevators. Due to his success, he soon relocated his factory to Erlachplatz 3 in the 10th district . In 1876 he received the first export order for Rotterdam train station .
His care for his employees was well known, and in 1889 he had a house built especially for them.
With the invention of the dynamo by Werner von Siemens , the development of elevators could take a further step. In 1883, the electric motor in an elevator was demonstrated for the first time in Austria-Hungary at the International Electrical Exhibition in the Rotunda .
In 1884 Freissler received the title of kuk Hof machine manufacturer . In 1895 a branch was opened at Davidgasse 2 in VI. District of Budapest opened. In 1896, he installed two wagon lifting platforms with a load capacity of 30,000 kg at the main customs office , which was a sensation at the time. A few years later he manufactured a locomotive hoist with a lifting capacity of 60,000 kg for the workshop of the kk priv. Ferdinands Nordbahn .
In 1909 he set up a paternoster in the House of Industry on Schwarzenbergplatz. This elevator of this type, the oldest in Austria, is still in operation today. In 1910 he applied for patent no. 41612, an improvement on the push-button control, which was mainly used in hospitals. He also suggested further improvements in the area of urban facilities such as electricity and water supply, which were also put into practice. Between 1910 and 1914, over 100 different elevators were produced annually.
At the age of 70 he retired from working life and handed over management of the company to Max Steskal, who worked until 1920.
Anton Freissler died in 1916 just before his 78th birthday. He was buried at the Hinterbrühl cemetery.
As a member of the Liberals, he was a member of the Vienna City Council from 1875 to 1878 .
Continuation of the operation
The First World War and the collapse of the monarchy brought difficult times for the company. Franz Freissler (1879–1967), a nephew of the founder, took over the company from Max Steskal, who resigned for health reasons. The company found it difficult to rebuild. During this time, an elevator with a lifting height of 96 meters was manufactured for the Leopoldau gas tank.
After the Second World War , it was modernized and redeveloped. In 1950, 300 elevator systems were exported to Greece; in 1958 there were export connections to over twelve countries in Europe, South America and the Middle East. In addition to elevators, electric pulley blocks and escalators were also produced.
The company existed independently for around a hundred years, in 1969 Otis became the majority owner. As an Otis subsidiary, in the 1970s, following the corporate philosophy, Freissler was renamed Freissler-Otis. In 1991 the name was changed to Otis Austria GmbH. After 123 years, the traditional name of the Austrian elevator industry was history.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolfgang Flemming: Manufacturer of Paternosters
- ↑ death. In: Pester Lloyd , March 3, 1916, p. 9 (online at ANNO ).
literature
- Felix Czeike : Freissler, Anton. In: Historisches Lexikon Wien. Volume 2: De-Gy. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-218-00544-2 , p. 395.
- Friedrich Dittes. Anton Freissler, a pioneer of Austrian elevator construction. In: Leaves for the history of technology . Volume 20, Research Institute for the History of Technology, Technical Museum Vienna , Springer, Vienna 1958, ISSN 0067-9127 . Pp. 63-73.
- Ingrid Haslinger: Customer - Kaiser. The story of the former imperial and royal purveyors . Schroll, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85202-129-4 .
- Harald Sipple: “Freissler” and the Austrian elevator industry 1868 to 1969 , Lit, Berlin / Münster / Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-643-50160-8 (dissertation Vienna University of Economics and Business 2002, 235 pages). ( Digitized version )
- P. Payer: Freissler, Anton . In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 . 2nd revised edition (online only).
Web links
- Entry on Anton Freissler in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
- Website of Otis Austria (formerly A. Freissler)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Freissler, Anton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Freißler, Anton; Freihsler, Anton; Freisler, Anton |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian entrepreneur and technician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 13, 1838 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Klantendorf ( Kujavy ), Moravia , Austria-Hungary |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 29, 1916 |
| Place of death | Vienna |