JU Bencker
JU Bencker was an Austro-Hungarian court glove factory in Karolinenthal, the later Karlín district in Prague .
history
In 1834 Johann Ulrich Bencker came from Erlangen in Bavaria to Prague, where he worked as an assistant in various glove companies until 1847. At the beginning of 1848 he went into business for himself with his few savings. In the first years of his independence he worked in rented bars with only one apprentice and later two apprentices . Aides were only used after years.
As early as 1853, JU Bencker set up his own tannery . The first on site, in order to be able to serve its customers with consistently uniform goods made from uniformly tanned leather of exact color. With this he laid the foundation for the importance of the company, which later extended far beyond the borders of Austria.
The factory in Karolinental was built in 1868. It was only after the construction work was completed that it was possible to expand the production of gloves considerably. The adjustment of a glove sewing machine, which was designed by Rudolf in Chemnitz in 1869, made a significant contribution. After this sewing machine was suitable for the production of gloves on a larger scale, several were gradually purchased and sewing by hand was completely given up. In 1898 over thirty of these glove sewing machines were in operation. Another step was the introduction of a glove cutting machine that Bencker saw at the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 and was one of the first to use it in Prague, where it was still unknown at the time.
Bencker let industrialists in his branch who showed interest visit his factories and informed them about the production methods. With his courtesy, he supported the entire industry.
With the introduction of machines, production, which used to be done by hand, was able to develop and become exportable. Due to the growth, Prague was one of the largest glove industrial districts at the turn of the century. In 1895, gloves worth over eight million guilders were produced in the Prague district .
In the first few years of the company, the company's sales area extended across Austria-Hungary and Germany . It was one of the first to start exporting, especially to America , in 1864. When the bright aniline colors such as green, blue, lilac, orange, etc., which were previously unknown for gloves on the continent , came into fashion in America , the factory was the only one in place for a long time which, with the help of a skilled chemist, produced and appropriately colored leather Goods delivered to America in these colors.
President William McKinley's tariffs made it very difficult to export gloves to America. To Germany and Russia it was also high tariffs that significantly damaged exports.
Around 1900 the company delivered to all parts of the world partly through import houses, partly also through 15 own representatives and through travelers.
In the late 1870s, with the introduction of auxiliary machines, an average of 50 dozen gloves were being produced each week. By the end of 1890, 150 to 200 dozen numbers were being produced per week. The reason was that the owner preferred the production of solid, high quality goods to mediocre mass production.
In 1874 Johann Ulrich Bencker took his only son Karl, who had been with the company since 1867, into the company as a public partner and in 1885 left him running the company. Karl Bencker continued to run the company in the spirit of his father. In order to enable direct contact with consumers, retail stores were opened in Dresden in 1876 , in Stuttgart in 1881 and in Prague in 1889.
In 1891, the company owner of emperor was Franz Joseph I with the title of imperial purveyors excellent.
Around 1900 200 people were employed. Two of them worked for nearly 50 years and a number of workers from 40 years down without interruption. All legally belonged to the cooperative health insurance fund, as well as the cooperative disability fund . The company paid the third part of the contributions stipulated for this, but it paid the entire accident insurance fee.
Individual evidence
- ↑ JU Bencker . In: Presented by the industrialists of Austria under the high protectorate of His K. and K. Highness of the Most Serene Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Hrsg.): Die Groß-Industrie Oesterreichs . Festival ceremony for the glorious fiftieth anniversary of the reign of His Majesty the Emperor Franz Josef I. Volume 4 . Leopold Weiss, Vienna 1898, X. Garment Industry, p. 427-428 .