Johannes Wilhelm Hofmann
Johannes Wilhelm Hofmann (born April 8, 1876 in König Erbach , † September 12, 1956 in Munich ) was a German engineer , inventor and entrepreneur .
Life
The engineer J. Wilhelm Hofmann founded in 1902 in Kötzschenbroda , today a district of Radebeul , the first "factory for electrical apparatus" in Europe to manufacture the patented rivet connectors he invented for electrical overhead line wires.
The existing initially only four people company won in 1904 for their pioneering inventions and products at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition , the World's Fair in St. Louis , a gold medal. In 1905/1906, Hofmann had Adolf Neumann build a villa with a production building at Bernhard-Voß-Straße 25. After only a few years, Hofmann was producing its products in the millions. As early as 1911, a factory extension was built by Felix Sommer .
In the years 1915/1916 Hofmann had a "single-family house" built according to the construction files according to the building files, the Hofmann-Villa at Ledenweg 2 , also a linden house based on the now old trees on the property.
The engineer became a successful manufacturer. Hofmann expanded his company by building further production facilities in 1914 at Fabrikstrasse 27, built a new administration building there in 1921 and moved into new factories in 1923 at the same location. Under the name Elektroarmaturenwerk JWH and the company logo JWH, one of the largest industrial companies in the region was created, the rivet connectors as well as break-proof suspensions, bracing for phases and earth cables as well as insulators were exported worldwide.
J. Wilhelm Hofmann participated in 1925 at the 1911 Schwabach based company of Richard Bergner RIBE Bayerische screw and spring factory Schwabach . Personal relationships also developed between families.
Hofmann was also a member of the Kötzschenbroda municipal council and was socially and culturally involved in his hometown. In 1927 the company celebrated its 25th anniversary with 520 employees. On the occasion of the anniversary he received the honorary citizenship of the city of Kötzschenbroda for his services . In return, Hofmann donated 10,000 marks to set up a municipal day-care center , which was opened as the J. Wilhelm Hofmann children's home in 1939 after further donations . It is still used today as a kindergarten under the sponsorship of the Kinderarche Sachsen eV .
The TU Braunschweig made Hofmann an honorary doctor in 1929, the TH Dresden made him an honorary senator .
In the years 1934/1935 Hofmann had the Kießling brothers build a new house at Ledenweg 8 , not far from the Hofmann villa.
After taking over the high-voltage fittings manufacturer Wirschitz in Munich in 1937, Hofmann's company supplied all the high-voltage fittings required in Germany as well as 75% of all connection fittings required.
Hofmann was on the supervisory board of Clemens Müller AG .
Since Hofmann had not produced any armaments during World War II, his factory was not confiscated and dismantled. He was able to continue producing within the framework of the supply situation. Since the delivery of all occupation zones from Radebeul was very difficult, the West German company RIBE, located in Schwabach, also produced the well-known electrical fittings for its friend Richard Bergner based on original documents and patents. In 1951/1952 the Soviet occupying power took this as an opportunity to charge Hofmann with alleged customs and foreign exchange offenses, to oust him from the company's management and to expropriate the company in Radebeul.
Johannes Wilhelm Hofmann moved with his family to Nuremberg, his Radebeul assets including the Villa Lindenhaus , which is now a listed building , were expropriated. In 1956 Hofmann died in Munich.
Richard Bergner Elektroarmaturen continues his business activity today .
The Deutsche Fotothek owns around 1,100 photo negatives on Hofmann's company history between 1910 and 1940.
Inventions
- Improvements in or relating to clamps for hollow electric cables
- Improvements in or relating to protecting devices for electric insulators
literature
- Frank Andert (Red.): Radebeul City Lexicon . Historical manual for the Loessnitz . Published by the Radebeul City Archives. 2nd, slightly changed edition. City archive, Radebeul 2006, ISBN 3-938460-05-9 .
- Volker Helas (arrangement): City of Radebeul . Ed .: State Office for Monument Preservation Saxony, Large District Town Radebeul (= Monument Topography Federal Republic of Germany . Monuments in Saxony ). SAX-Verlag, Beucha 2007, ISBN 978-3-86729-004-3 .
Web links
- 100 years of RIBE Elektroarmaturen ( Memento from December 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Eckhart Bürkner: Radebeul honorary citizen (part 3): J. Wilhelm Hofmann. In: Preview & Review; Monthly magazine for Radebeul and the surrounding area. Radebeuler Monatshefte eV, June 2010, accessed on January 4, 2011 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Picture of the month October 2002: 100 years of high-voltage fittings from Radebeul ( Memento from June 8, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Clemens Müller Aktiengesellschaft
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hofmann, Johannes Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German engineer, inventor and entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 8, 1876 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | King Erbach |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 12, 1956 |
| Place of death | Munich |