Falgard

The Fal kensteiner Gard inenweberei (FALGARD) was an important company in Falkenstein in the Vogtland that from 1883 until 1995 under various names and legal forms the core of the residents in the city textile industry accounted for. The original owners moved to the west together with the company AG in 1948 and returned to Gera in 1994 .

Legal forms

Founded in 1883 as the G. Thorey factory, Falkenstein / V.
From 1888 Falkensteiner Curtain Weaving and Bleicherei Actiengesellschaft.
Eastern branch: From 1946 VEB "Falgard" Falkensteiner curtain and lace weaving mills in Falkenstein.
Eastern branch: From 1970 Combine "Plauener Gardine" in Plauen.
Eastern branch: 1992 privatization of the combine and takeover by Hans Wiebe and the Hof textile group. 1995 bankruptcy.
Western branch: From 1948 continuation of the AG in Neuss am Rhein, from 1953 in Mering near Augsburg.
Western branch: 1975 conversion to GmbH (Thorey Textilveredelungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG).
From 1994 Thorey Gera Textilveredelung GmbH (continuation of the "western" branch).

history

Textile production in Falkenstein since the 14th century

An early industrial development began in the Vogtland in the 14th century, especially with the textile trade and mining for copper, iron and tin. In Falkenstein, however, mining remained a rather insignificant industry compared to textile production. The weaving was traditionally a strong presence as a manufacturing industry in Falkenstein, it has sprung an older, rustic Nebengewerbe linen weaving. The hand loom was introduced in Falkenstein around 1608, and from the middle of the 17th century the city rose to become a leading textile location, wool and linen and later cotton were woven, the product was called " muslin ". The weavers' guild was founded in Falkenstein in 1721, and it was at this time that Falkensteiner weavers took part in the Leipzig trade fair for the first time . The first jacquard looms came to Falkenstein in 1836, and only a little later the first mechanical looms (looms) came to Vogtland. From around 1848 onwards, mining was replaced by the textile trade as the most important branch of industry in the entire Vogtland. In 1870 a consumer cooperative was founded in Falkenstein against the opposition of the entrepreneurs , which is considered to be the nucleus of the local labor movement .

Thorey and Falkensteiner AG from 1883 until the Second World War

In 1883 the businessman Georg Thorey finally founded the Thorey factory in Bahnhofstrasse. The working time was 12 to 15 hours a day with a 7-day week. Looms were initially obtained from England and the twisted yarns , which were also produced in the city, were processed . In 1885, the plant was annexed with its own bleaching and processing plant. On February 26, 1889, the company was transformed into the Falkensteiner Gardinenweberei und Bleicherei Actiengesellschaft . In 1890, the company's workers began to engage in broad political activity, a social democratic workers' association was founded and preparations for the Second International took place. The daily working time was reduced to 12-14 hours. In 1892 the sons Emil and Fritz Thorey took over the company. In 1898, many workers joined the new trade union, the German Textile Workers ' Association. In 1907, the unionized workers went on strike to force major concessions from management. The number of employees was 700. In 1908 and 1909 the factory was greatly expanded with additional buildings on Bahnhofstrasse. In 1910, workers struck a union strike to introduce the 10-hour day.

Share over 1000 marks in the Falkensteiner curtain weaving and bleaching mill from April 22, 1922

During the First World War, production suffered greatly from the confiscation of raw materials for war material. Production for civilian needs was discontinued, cotton was banned from the web and working hours were reduced to 5 days a week. In some cases, the company switched to armaments production (metal processing).

During the Weimar Republic , the first works council election in the Falkensteiner curtain weaving and bleaching mill took place in 1920 . The first consequence of the work of the works council was that all workers who have been with the company for 5 or more years received 5 days of vacation per year. In 1922, like almost all German companies, the company suffered from hyperinflation and was repeatedly hit. In 1923 there was the first big wave of layoffs, the number of employees fell to 400, but a year later there was a strong economic recovery and in 1925, after an upturn, more than 900 employees were working in the company. In 1926 the number of employees fell back to 750. In 1927 the 50th anniversary celebration took place and the company proudly owned 75 curtain looms, 162 mechanical looms and its own power station ("Kraftzentrale"). The main field of work extended to the manufacture of the products of the English tulle curtain chair, in particular tulle curtains, blinds , cotton lace fabrics , blankets and edges. In cotton weaving, these are: Linon (a cotton fabric that imitates linen), Renforcé (a cotton weave mainly used for bed linen) and window twill .

The takeover of power by the National Socialists in 1933 and the subsequent Second World War resulted in a shortage of raw materials and an orientation towards arms issues. In 1943 the company took a stake in the Lengenfeld / Vogtl cotton spinning mill . and HG Eckstein GmbH, Falkenstein / Vogtl.

Split after 1945

In the post-war period , the company was legally relocated to Neuss am Rhein in 1948 by the owner family (major shareholder: the Thorey family) . In 1950 the Thorey-Textil-Veredelungs-Gesellschaft, Augsburg, was founded and a new company with finishing, printing and dyeing was built in Mering near Augsburg. In 1953 the Falgard moved from Neuss to Mering and was now called the Falkensteiner Gardinen Weberei Mering . In 1975 the AG was converted into a GmbH and traded under the name Thorey Textilveredelungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG.

The older facilities in Falkenstein, from 1945 in the Soviet occupation zone and from 1949 in the GDR located, were under the name VEB Falkensteiner curtain and lace weaving from 1946 (Falgard) as a state-owned enterprise continued. From the operation with fragmented department store production in Falkenstein, a highly specialized, socialist large-scale enterprise developed, in which other local textile companies were merged. In the course of this expansion, buildings from other companies outside the town were taken over, for example the facility of the Schadlich textile weaving mill in Grünbach in 1959 . In 1970 the companies Plauener Gardine, VEB Falgard and Gardeko Zwickau were combined to form the Combine Plauener Gardine , with headquarters in Plauen . The Plauener Gardine was a mixed operation with 10 factories, which in addition to weaving mills, bleaching mills and dyeing works also included a printing plant and which in turn was the parent company of the Plauener VVB Deko (from 1979: VEB Kombinat DEKO). In this combine, which was under the Ministry of Light Industry, the entire production of curtains and lace, decorative and furniture fabrics, plush, textile floor coverings, ribbons and trimmings in the GDR was brought together.

In 1975, among other things, the Falkenstein dam was built to supply Falgard with process water .

Post-turnaround time

Branch of Plauen curtain

After the fall of 1989 , sales fell sharply due to the changed conditions. A number of production sites were shut down, including the building of the former Schadlich textile weaving mill. In 1992 the Plauen Curtain was privatized and the former combine was taken over by the Hans Wiebe company and the Hof textile group. In 1994, the insolvency proceedings , and the company went 1995 bankruptcy . Between 1995 and 1999 the company buildings in Falkenstein were demolished.

In 1999 the city of Falkenstein acquired the industrial wasteland of the former "FALGARD" from the bankruptcy estate of the "Plauener Gardine" and began to develop it as a new industrial area on a total area of around 10 hectares. The new "Falgard" industrial park was officially handed over in 2001. In June 2002, the move of the DuoDental Zahntechnik GbR company was the first new company to be welcomed in the industrial park. However, textile companies can no longer be found on the site.

Thorey branch

1994 reported Volker Thorey, descendant of the founding family Vogtland, founded by his father in 1950 Mering Thorey textile finishing company, and built in Gera the Thorey Gera Textile finishing GmbH . Until 1999, the company was mainly active in the home textiles sector as the European market leader in curtain blinds contract finishing and, from 2000, expanded the production range to include other segments of the technical textiles sector. In September 2004 it employed 69 people. In Mering, the Thorey Gardinen sales point is reminiscent of the company's former southern German branch.

Number of employees

1907: 700
1914: 800
1923: 400
1925: 900
1926: 750
1975: approx. 2000 (VEB Falgard, estimated)
1994: 69 (Thorey Gera)
2011: 75 (Gera)

exhibition

From March 8, 2008 to May 25, 2008 the Falkenstein Local History Museum showed an exhibition on the subject of 100 years of Falkensteiner curtains all over the world.

literature

Peter Kuttig: Falgard - history of a world company. The rise and fall from 1883 to 2000. Verlag bibliofidel, Falkenstein 2000, ISBN 3-925820-75-2 .
SED company party organization of the VEB Plaugard plant FALGARD (ed.): We and our company - operating history of the VEB Falkensteiner curtain and lace weaving mills until 1970. Falkenstein: o. J. (Remaining copies of this brochure are available from the publisher bibliofidel)
Archives in the Chemnitz Archive, Department 8 .: Economy: VEB Plauener Gardine and predecessors, Plauen / V., (1839–1954) 1962–1992.