KALI sidecar & trailer factory
The company KALI sidecar & trailer factory in Oberursel (Taunus) was a German manufacturer of motorcycles - sidecar and automobile trailers. The company was founded in 1923 and, in its early days and from the late 1940s to around 1969, mainly produced sidecars (around 16,000 units in total), followed by car trailers for over two decades. The sidecar production under the name KALI has been continued by Jürgen Roth in Schaafheim since the 1980s .
history
The KALI sidecar and trailer factory in Oberursel was founded in 1923 by Hugo Kalinowski, from whom the name KALI comes. Initially, sidecars for motorcycles were manufactured individually . In 1924 the entrepreneur joined forces with H. Kruck, Frankfurt / Main, whereupon the first sidecars were mass-produced. The two entrepreneurs sold their business to Ludwig Heuler in 1927, who moved his business to Oberursel in 1930. Due to the unfavorable economic conditions at the time, the company was liquidated in 1932 and reopened in 1933.
In 1934 Wilhelm Helbach joined as technical manager. The company specialized in the manufacture of car and caravan trailers. With the general economic upturn in Germany, the demand for such vehicles also increased and from 1937 onwards the company owner exclusively manufactured car trailers. Production was also increased during the Second World War, and the company was able to manufacture the then very popular car trailers for private purposes.
After the end of the war, the company, which was previously housed in rented rooms, was relocated to its own production facilities. New workshops were built and operations were initially resumed with just a few workers. Rational working methods and the use of better special machines made it possible to increase sales. Since the demand for sidecars increased enormously, the focus of production was shifted back to this branch of manufacture.
In 1948, Ludwig Helbach, the owner's son, returned from captivity, completed engineering school and joined the company as a chief engineer. In 1949 the first series-produced scooter sidecar was presented, attached to a scooter from SCHWEPPE (later PIROL Fahrzeugbau GmbH). At the peak between 1954 and 1955, 14 sidecars were built per week.
Around 1969 the production of the sidecar was completely stopped. At that time, the company was the oldest sidecar manufacturer in Germany, having produced a total of around 16,000 sidecars since 1923. The manufacture of the trailers continued until after 1990. The old post-war buildings in Oberursel were then torn down and the company premises were sold as building land for residential buildings. The new company building and the branch in Reiskirchen im Vogelsberg were also sold.
In 1983 Jürgen Roth from Großostheim took over the remnants of the sidecar production and the right to use the name KALI . In 1985 he resumed the production of spare parts and in 1987 of sidecars. In 1998 he moved to his own premises in Schaafheim, where sidecars are still made to order today.