Fafnir works

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Fafnirwerke Aktiengesellschaft
(Aachener Stahlwarenfabrik)

logo
legal form Corporation
founding 1894
resolution 1926
Reason for dissolution insolvency
Seat Aachen , Germany
Number of employees some 100 (1925)
Branch Motor vehicle manufacturers , engine manufacturers

Fafnir works Aachen around 1920

Fafnir was a German company in Aachen that manufactured automobiles from 1903 to 1926 - at times also under the Aachener brand .

history

From sewing needles to bicycle spokes

The company was founded in 1894 as a subsidiary of the Iserlohner needle factory Carl Schwanemeyer and began with the production of sewing machine needles . After the bicycle had become a means of mass transport, the company switched to the production of bicycle spokes . In 1897 the company moved from downtown Aachen to Jülicher Strasse in the new Aachen-Nord industrial area . In 1898 the company was converted into a stock corporation and traded under the name Carl Schwanemeyer, Aachener Stahlwaarenfabrik AG .

Motorcycle engines

Fafnir motorcycle engine, around 1900

After the bicycle market was saturated, from then on the company mainly produced built-in motors for motorcycles and automobiles . The products were seen to be inexpensive and of high quality. From 1902 a separate name was introduced for the products: "Fafnir" - the dragon from the Nibelungen saga . The single-cylinder and two-cylinder V-engines developed 2 to 8  HP and were equipped with controlled intake valves as early as 1903.

From car kit to racing car

Fafnir type 471
Restored Fafnir 472 from FEV GmbH on the 1st RWTH Motor Day (2015)
Advertising sheet for Fafnir cars from 1912

Between 1904 and 1925 the company developed into a small but well-known automobile manufacturer. In 1912 it was renamed Fafnir-Werke . In the factory at the Jülich road was up to the final task of the former Fafnir works in some parts of the building of the research company FEV to internal combustion engines research.

In 1904 the switch to automobile production began with the production of car kits under the name Omnimobil . The kit included a two-cylinder engine with 6 HP, 700 cm³ and later a four-cylinder engine with 16 HP. From 1908 onwards, finished cars were produced, which were initially marketed as Aachener . The type 274 with up to 14 hp and a top speed of 60 km / h and the type 284 with 16 hp and 70 km / h were known. These were so-called men's vehicles, i.e. H. Cars for self-drivers that did not employ a chauffeur .

In the sales catalogs of 1912, six different types were listed at prices between 4,100 and 16,000  marks . Fafnir cars showed notable advanced features for the time, such as moving the gearshift lever inward or the rear springs under the axle . In 1919 the name was again changed to Fafnir Werke AG - Aachener Stahlwarenfabrik , and Rheinische Nadelfabrik AG took part as a shareholder and took over, among other things, the spoke and nipple production for the vehicles.

The First World War almost brought German automobile manufacturing to a standstill. From 1920, Fafnir started producing modern vehicles again. One of the last models produced was the Type 471 , which was built until 1927, as well as the Type 472 . In 2013, a model of this series, which was initially built in the body shape of a Phaeton and converted into a pickup in 1930 , was restored by FEV GmbH from 80% original parts and 20% replicas .

During its boom , Fafnir also ran his own racing team with up to seven racing cars. Participation in the Eifel races devoured a lot of money. The cars were not up to the narrow and steep Eifel roads and required a large staff of mechanics . Rudolf Caracciola began his racing career at Fafnir.

Type Construction period cylinder Displacement power V max
Type 274 1908–? 4 row 14 hp (10.3 kW) 60 km / h
Type 284 (8/16 hp) 1909-1912 4 row 2012 cm³ 16 hp (11.8 kW) 70 km / h
Type 384 (10/25 hp) 1910-1914 4 row 2496 cc 25 hp (18.4 kW) 75 km / h
Type 486 (6/16 hp) 1913-1920 4 row 1559 cc 16 hp (11.8 kW) 60 km / h
Type 394 (14/35 hp) 1914 4 row 3990 cc 35 hp (25.8 kW) 85 km / h
Type 471 (9/30 PS / 9/36 PS) 1911-1927 4 row 2250 cc 30–36 hp (22–27 kW) 60-70 km / h
Type 472 (8/22 hp) 1914-1920 4 row 2100 cc 22 HP (16 kW) 50 km / h
8/50 hp sport 1923-1927 4 row 2000 cc 50 HP (37 kW)

The end

Fafnir was a " craft business " that failed to switch to assembly line production . In 1925, Fafnir only produced around 120 cars a month with a few 100 fitters. Competitive companies such as B. the Opel works already produced 30 times this number.

The end came in 1925. Outdated production methods, insufficient standardization of parts and the high taxation of cars as luxury items hampered competitiveness. In addition, under pressure from the USA, the high import duties on foreign automobiles were lifted. The result was that cheap US mass vehicles came to Germany. At first it was believed that massive price cuts could keep the company going. But after the vehicles had to be sold well below the manufacturing costs, the creditors could no longer be satisfied. The liabilities amounted to 1.8 million Reichsmarks . At the end of 1925, the banks took over business supervision. In 1926 the company filed for bankruptcy .

literature

  • Günther Schnuer: The automobile manufacture in Aachen 1896–1928. A contribution to the technical and industrial history of the Aachen region. Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 1990, ISBN 3-89124-082-1 , p. 31 ff., P. 177 ff.
  • Michael Käding: Fafnir-Werke Aachener Stahlwarenfabrik. In: Peter Johannes Droste , Michael Käding (Ed.): Made in Aachen. (= Contributions to regional technology, economic and social history , volume 1.) HISTECH eV, Aachen 2000, pp. 17–26.
  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .

Web links

Commons : Fafnir vehicles  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
  2. ↑ Bertold Strauch: Fafnir built in Aachen from 1919 is running again. In: Aachener Nachrichten of July 14, 2013
  3. ↑  Caracciola achieved his first victory - at the AVUS in Berlin - with a Mercedes in 1926, after the end of Fafnir

Coordinates: 50 ° 47 ′ 21 ″  N , 6 ° 7 ′ 2 ″  E