DG Bracker and Sons
GD Bracker and Sons was a traditional machine factory in Hanau am Main . The company existed from 1815 to the second half of the 20th century.
In 1815 Georg David Bracker (1787–1841) founded a workshop at Fischerstrasse 7 in Hanau, which initially carried out repairs and locksmith work. Later, simple, manually operated machines were added for the emerging local industry. Rolling mills for wire and sheet metal, small stamping and impact presses for the precious metal industry, which was revived in the region after the Napoleonic wars, were at the beginning of production.
The company expanded in the middle of the 19th century. The energy required for production was obtained from a steam engine installed in 1850 and built in- house . A machine and boiler house, a gray cast iron foundry with a drying furnace and a small metal foundry were built. From 1860 onwards, large steam engines were manufactured primarily for wood processing companies.
At this time, production shifted to machines for the local paper and carpet production, as well as for tobacco manufacturers with their suppliers from the wood processing industry.
The specialization in the field of hydraulics developed from work for the paper industry . These were needed for pressing and smoothing paper and for packing cellulose . Bracker became one of the best known specialist companies in the field of hydraulics. The company was also one of the pioneers in the introduction of oil hydraulics. The prerequisite for this was the use of sealless valves. This was realized with our own ball valve patent.
As early as 1900, it was possible to generate electricity with our own technology and thus, also through highly effective lighting of the workspaces, the productivity could be increased considerably. Mainly hydraulic drives and controls as well as elevators and still custom-made special machines were manufactured.
On October 1, 1921, the company became a stock corporation (GD Bracker and Sons, machine factory and iron foundry) under the leadership of the brothers Dipl.Ing Otto Bracker and Kfm. Heinrich Bracker. The world economic crisis brought the most serious slumps in business. The recovery was also brought about by the war economy, in 1938 the company had 160 employees.
After the factory was destroyed on March 9, 1945, the Bracker company was rebuilt.
The company soon became a leading company in the hydraulics industry again.
In 1956, through the sale of the shares, the company became the property of the Traxel family. The business, for example with custom-made hydraulic presses, could be expanded internationally. Since 1999 the factory has been operating under the name "Bracker GmbH - innovative mechanical engineering". The company is located on new premises in Freigericht .
The old, listed production hall is a stylish symbol of Hanau's industrial history and is now part of the "Postcarré" shopping center. It has a brick construction with a stepped gable and a strict facade structure based on the architectural expressionism of the twenties.
literature
- Richard Schaffer-Hartmann: Hanau industrial monuments. Catalog for the exhibition from August 30 to October 11, 1987. Museum Hanau Schloss Philippsruhe , Hanau 1987, ISBN 3-926011-07-6 , p. 46f.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 125 years of Bracker. Festschrift for the company anniversary on January 16, 1940 (orphanage print Hanau 1940)
- ↑ Bracker 1815-1965, pioneer in the field of hydraulics. Festschrift for the company's 150th anniversary. (Hoppenstedts Wirtschaftsarchiv GmbH 1965)
- ^ Albert Gieseler - GD Bracker Sons, machine factory & iron foundry. Retrieved November 11, 2018 .
- ^ Bracker machine hall: Route der Industriekultur Rhein-Main . KulturRegion FrankfurtRheinMain gGmbH accessdate = 2019-04-10.
- ↑ New entrance from the west . HBB Hanseatische Betreuungs- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- ↑ building plaque of the "Route of Industrial Culture Rhein-Main" at the Brackerhalle