Fritz Honsel

Fritz Honsel (born July 7, 1888 in Werdohl ; † September 3, 1964 in Meschede ) was a German industrialist. He was the founder of the Honselwerke .

Life

Honsel was one of ten children of a small entrepreneur who had become disabled. Even as an apprentice as an engraver and mold maker, he made casting tests in his parents' house. Immediately after completing his vocational training, he and his brother Otto founded a small company in Werdohl in 1908, which manufactured casting molds for other companies. Just one year later he was producing aluminum cutlery himself . In Eveking , Honsel manufactured aluminum parts using the gravity die casting process instead of the usual sand.

During the First World War , Honsel managed to win over the authorities to support the construction of the first remelting plant for the reuse of the raw material aluminum. Meschede was the ideal location because of the existing hydropower and a favorable labor supply. The factory was built on the site of the old Ruhrmühle, which had been closed since 1900. Honsel was able to take over the water rights. In addition to the remelting plant, foundries, a rolling mill and equipment for the production of drawn or pressed household appliances such as saucepans and pans later appeared. Another die-casting foundry followed in 1929.

In 1922 the brothers converted the company into a public company. Around 1924 it supplied the entire automotive industry in Germany with products made of light metal castings. In 1925 the company headquarters were relocated from Werdohl to Meschede. The broad-based company was able to survive the global economic crisis relatively unscathed. Production had to be cut in half at times, but in order to prevent skilled workers from leaving, Honsel laid off relatively few workers.

During the time of National Socialism , Honsel benefited from the general economic upswing and in particular from armament. Even if Honsel was not exactly a staunch National Socialist, he joined the NSDAP on May 1, 1933. In 1939 he succeeded Hugo Siepmann as President of the Arnsberg Chamber of Commerce. He was also NSDAP district economic advisor. Integrated into the party, he was of the opinion that the interests of the regional economy could best be asserted through coordination with the party and participation in its committees.

During the Second World War , the number of employees exploded from 500 to 3500 at the end of the war. The factory was 85% destroyed in 1945. Honsel was expelled from Meschede by the occupation authorities and the company was on the list of companies to be dismantled. Honsel was able to return in 1946. As early as 1947, 250 workers were again employed in the plant, although the plant was still threatened with dismantling until the end of 1948. Honsel and his sons began to rebuild the plant. When he died it had over 2,000 employees.

Honors

In 1953, Honsel was granted honorary citizenship for its services to the city of Meschede. In the same year he received the Federal Cross of Merit . He was also an honorary citizen of Wenholthausen and an honorary citizen of the Technical University of Munich . Honsel was also Dr. ing. hc. A street was later named after him. A lecture hall in the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences bears his name.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rolf Stremmel: In times of democracy and dictatorship. The Arnsberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry 1914/18 to 1945. In: Karl-Peter Ellerbrock / Tanja Bessler-Worbs (eds.): Economy and society in southeastern Westphalia. Dortmund, 2001 p. 349f.

literature

• FS: Fritz Honsel In: De Suerlänner 1967 p. 21

Web links

• Mescheder street names
• Honorary Citizen of the City of Meschede (PDF; 944 kB)