Fritz Hopf

Fritz Hopf (born April 14, 1907 in Welzheim ; † January 7, 1999 in Nördlingen ) was a German engineer , entrepreneur and patron in Nördlingen's post-war cultural life.

Life

Fritz Hopf's father Albert Hopf was a senior postal worker. When he was transferred to Stuttgart in 1911, the family came to the state capital. The father was liberal, a member of a Masonic lodge and the German Democratic Party . It was through him that Fritz came into contact with Reinhold Maier , with whom he remained connected until his death.

At the age of 17, Hopf graduated from high school and enrolled in engineering at the Technical University of Stuttgart . During this time (1925) he also joined the Alemannia Stuttgart fraternity ; at a scale he won a time of his life clearly visible scar .

He interrupted his studies in order - not yet of legal age - to work as a stoker on overseas ships. After his return in 1931 he finished his studies. During his last internship, he invented a new construction method for speedometers at a small company in Stuttgart. The invention was sold to the Mühle & Sohn company in Glashütte in 1932, to which Hopf then also went.

In 1935 he became a partner in the Pilz & Hayard company in Glashütte , took over the management of the company that same year and married the owner's daughter, Lieselotte Pilz, on May 27, 1939. The company thrived until 1939 and had around 300 employees. He founded Feinmaschinenbau GmbH in Dresden . Here he also experienced the air raids on Dresden . Its production facilities in Dresden and Glashütte were destroyed by air raids, and relocation to Perlesreut in Bavaria failed. In May 1945, the Pilz & Hayard KG company was completely dismantled by the Soviet occupying forces.

Lion tower

In 1945 Hopf decided to return to Swabia. During the trip he had to stay overnight in Nördlingen due to the curfew imposed by the Americans . There, District Administrator Richard Stahl persuaded him to stay in Nördlingen. Soon afterwards he founded the company Schwäbische Uhrenfabrik GmbH , which produced simple Swabian watches for post-war needs. The first production facility was set up in September / October 1945 in the premises of the former Schaffitz glue factory in Schwallstrasse (today Glashütter-Strasse ). The customers themselves had to collect metals for production because there was a scarcity of raw materials. At the end of the 1940s, competition grew from the world-famous clocks from the Black Forest, so that Hopf switched production in what was then called Schwaben Präzision GmbH to knitting machine needles and later gears and gears . The range was gradually expanded to include precision mechanics for industrial robots, space antennas and medical technology, for example.

As early as 1953, the company set up a pension fund for employees and introduced profit sharing in 1955. In 1994 the company moved into the new assembly plant. In 1996 the childless couple founded the “Fritz and Lieselotte Hopf Foundation”, which became the owner of the company. The foundation supports institutions in the city. Also in 1996 the name was changed to SPN Schwaben Präzision Fritz Hopf GmbH . The company has only been producing at the Fritz-Hopf-Straße location since 2017. Currently (2019) the company with over 300 employees manufactures gearboxes, toothed elements, drive systems as well as components for drive technology and mechatronics. The "SPN - Zukunftswerkstatt 2024" deals with future market requirements.

Donors and patrons

During his time in Nördlingen, Fritz Hopf often appeared as a founder and patron. He donated sports prizes and supported cultural events. He has received numerous honors and awards for his commitment. A special project was the reconstruction of the Nördlinger city wall between Berger Tor and Löwenturm, which had stood there - interrupted since 1886. A plaque commemorates Hopf: “City wall and bulwark since 1401. Partly demolished in 1886. Reconstruction through a donation from Dipl.-Ing. Fritz Hopf 1980. "

Honors

• 1976 Bavarian Order of Merit
• Honorary Senior of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Plenary Assembly
• Honorary membership in the Rieser Kulturtage association
• Golden ring of honor of the Rieser Kulturtage association
• 1979 Golden Citizen Medal of the City of Nördlingen
• 1997 honorary citizen of the city of Nördlingen
• Fritz-Hopf-Strasse in Nördlingen
• Fritz Hopf Technical School in Nördlingen

literature

• Günter Lemke: Fritz Hopf in Pictures of Life from the Ries: from the 13th Century to the Present , Nördlingen 2002
• History of Schwaben Präzision Fritz Hopf GmbH with photo Fritz Hopf

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Willy Nolte : Fraternity members regular role. Berlin 1934, p. 210.