August Schultze (entrepreneur)

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August Karl Friedrich Schultze (born April 5, 1848 in Varel ; † January 24, 1920 in Hochkamp near Hamburg ) was a German entrepreneur , founder of the Oldenburg-Portuguese Steamship Rhederei ( OPDR ) and a member of the Oldenburg State Parliament .

biography

Professional career

Schultze was the son of the entrepreneur Julius Schultze (1811–1881) and his wife Catharina born. Hemken (1827-1871). After leaving school, he began a commercial apprenticeship in a tobacco company in Bremen . In 1870/71 he took part in the Franco-German War as a lieutenant and then joined the iron and steel company in Augustfehn, which his father ran .

In 1872 he founded a steelworks with several partners at the same location under the name of Schultze, Fimmen & Co. The plant was economically very successful and was converted into a stock corporation in 1882 .

At this time, Schultze had also taken over the management of the Oldenburgische Glashütte in Osternburg , in which his father was also involved. The company had specialized in the production of bottles on the basis of the local raw materials sand and peat , which were initially exported to England and from 1879 mainly to the wine-growing regions of Portugal . In 1880, Schultze had the steam-powered cargo ship Oldenburg built in order to ensure that the company could be regularly transported to the sales areas. The ship was financed by a partner shipping company. On the return voyage, the ship transported wine and cork wood and made profits on the first voyages. Because of this favorable business development, Schultze soon planned the commissioning of further steamers and founded the Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampfschiffs-Rhederei ( OPDR ) in 1882 , of which he became the sole director.

In the years that followed, both the glassworks and the shipping company under Schultze's management developed positively and expanded rapidly by expanding to new sales markets in Spain , Morocco and the Canary Islands . In 1910, due to the high workload, he stepped down as head of two companies, which in the last pre-war years was one of the leading bottle producers in the German Reich with an annual production capacity of 35 million bottles . He concentrated on managing the OPDR , which in 1913 was the most important shipping company in Oldenburg with a fleet of 25 steamers. The outbreak of the First World War led to a catastrophic setback due to the Allied blockade of the German ports. In 1915 Schultze went to Hamburg with the OPDR . The line service was completely discontinued and after the end of the war the shipping company had to deliver all the remaining ships except two to the Allies. As a result, Schultze handed over management of the company to his sons.

Further engagements

In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Schultze was also involved in a variety of other areas. From 1884 to 1899 Schultze was a member of the Oldenburg state parliament and was elected first president of the Oldenburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1900 , which he headed until he moved to Hamburg in 1915. From 1904 onwards, as President, Schultze also devoted himself to the tasks of the German Nautical Association , whose management was closely associated with the Chamber. In the same year he also took over the chairmanship of the Association of German Bottle Manufacturers that he had set up .

family

On August 16, 1874, Schultze married Clara Sophie Marie b. Schaumburg, the daughter of the Osnabrück inn owner Georg Schaumburg and his wife Clara Anna Christiane geb. Quickly. His two sons Johannes and Julius Schultze (1877–1947) took over the management of the OPDR after the death of their father .

literature

personal data
SURNAME Schultze, August
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schultze, August Karl Friedrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur, shipowner and MdL
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH Varel
DATE OF DEATH January 24, 1920
Place of death Hochkamp near Hamburg