Johann Weitzer

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Johann Weitzer (born August 18, 1832 in Friedberg (Styria) , † October 2, 1902 in Graz ) was an Austrian industrialist. The son of a weaver did an apprenticeship as a blacksmith and wagon blacksmith and founded metalworking companies in both the Austrian and Hungarian parts of the Danube Monarchy . His magnificent tomb is in the St. Peter cemetery in Graz.

Graz

In Graz he opened a forge with three journeymen in 1854. His spirit of innovation was soon expressed in the delivery of vehicles for the construction of the Suez Canal . As the scope of production increased, he renamed his company to “Wagen und Waggonfabrik, Eisen- und Metallgießerei Johann Weitzer” and in 1861 moved to a larger site near the train station. The range of production ranged from railroad cars to machines and weapons. In 1872 the company was transformed into the Grazer Waggon- & Maschinen-Fabriks-Aktiengesellschaft vorm. Joh. Weitzer . After several mergers, the Graz plant is now part of Siemens Transportation Systems .

Arad

In 1891 Weitzer also founded a company in what was then the Kingdom of Hungary , also in the form of a stock corporation. This Weitzer János Gép, - Waggongyár és Vasöntöde Részvénytársaság in Arad only achieved its most important historical achievement shortly after Weitzer's death with the development and construction of the first series of combustion railcars in Europe, the gasoline-electric Weitzer-De Dion-Bouton railcars . After the First World War , Arad came to Romania and the name Weitzer disappeared in favor of Astra (as an abbreviation for Asociație Transilvana , "Transylvanian Society"). The continuing part of the company, which was divided up after the end of the socialist planned economy, is the SC Astra Vagoane Călători SA passenger rail vehicle division .

literature

  • Fritz Posch: Johann Weitzer and the Graz wagon construction . in: Ferdinand Tremel (Ed.): Styrian entrepreneurs of the 19th and 20th centuries. A collection of images of life. Journal of the Historisches Verein für Steiermark , special volume 9, Graz 1965, pp. 46–52

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personal data
SURNAME Weitzer, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian industrialist
DATE OF BIRTH August 18, 1832
PLACE OF BIRTH Friedberg (Styria)
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 1902
Place of death Graz