Agricultural machinery manufacturer Gützkow
The agricultural machinery Gützkow was a company in Gützkow , the machine for work in the agricultural produced sector. It was established with predecessor companies in 1908 and was dissolved in 1966 as a manufacturer of agricultural machinery. As part of the VEB repair shop Neubrandenburg, the successor company mainly produced spare parts for tanks.
history
Predecessor companies
The Gützkow starch factory was founded and built at the later location of the company between 1907 and 1908, and it continued to produce until 1948. The direct predecessor company was the "Wagen- und Karosseriebau Willi Frank - Kommanditgesellschaft", which emerged in 1940 from the Stellmacherei Frank. Originally farm wagons were supposed to be made for the horse leader. But since the Second World War began, the product range was expanded immediately. Frank manufactured horse-drawn ammunition wagons, ammunition boxes and horse-drawn sleighs for the Wehrmacht . His workforce was reinforced by up to 60 forced laborers . Frank was immediately expropriated by the occupying forces in 1945 and he himself was taken to the “Fünfeichen” internment camp in Neubrandenburg. But since he was certified that the slave laborers were treated well, he was soon dismissed, but his company remained expropriated because of the war production. However, the occupation authorities ordered that operations should continue to operate immediately. With the old workforce and many craftsmen from the refugees and displaced persons (in Gützkow there were more than 1,000 of the latter), the existing material was used to continue producing. The sidecars (364 pieces) went to the Soviet Union as reparations from the beginning until the end of 1945. Then, however, because of the many new farms that had now been set up, the land reform resulted in a great need for agricultural equipment and means of transport that the occupying power waived further reparations. In 1947 the company was owned by the state and continued as a car and body shop (formerly Frank) until 1948. This was then followed by the names VVB Gespannwagenwerk Gützkow (1948–1950), VEB Gespannwagenwerk Gützkow (1951), VEB LBH Werk Gützkow (1951–1952) and finally from September 1, 1952 VEB Landmaschinenbau Gützkow . So far, the company had produced around 1400 carts per year in various designs, but also produced agricultural implements around 1000 harrows, cultivators, etc. and many other products (from grave crosses to couch frames) due to the poor material situation. There was less demand for side-by-side vehicles, which is why the production facility was relocated to the former starch factory for the new production as the number of vehicles continued to decline.
Agricultural machinery with products
The first LPG were founded in 1952 . The MS 52 potato sorting machines and the small KS I and KS II hand sorters have now been built for them and VEG , which were mostly seed companies. In 1952 another 965 carts were produced, due to a lack of materials (steel goods and engines) only 120 sorters and 4,000 K 50 handcarts (50 for 50 kilograms). In 1953 there were 1525 sorters, 710 carts and 8080 handcarts. In the years that followed, the number of potato sorters increased, but the number of carts sank to zero. In 1956 the material situation in the GDR had improved so much that the previous sorters made of wood were replaced by a new development made of steel. These were the K 720 potato sorters and the smaller K 312 handheld sorters, both with corresponding height conveyors.
At the same time, the Z 102 and Z 104 coupling bars and the R 7 trailer cultivators were put into production. With the collectivization of agriculture in 1960, production of the K 312 hand sorter, the R 7 cultivator and the Z 104 coupling bar was discontinued. Unfortunately, the K 720 was also discontinued at the end of 1960, and production was relocated to the CSSR as part of the Comecon. However, the Z 102 was still being manufactured in increased numbers. The hydraulic double disc harrow B 355 has now been started as a successful new production. This was followed by the B 233 cultivator for the RS09 implement carrier, the B 137 hop plow and the B 490 cultivator / disc harrow combination device. The B 281 field brush and B 178 disc plow were also added.
The workforce had increased to 400 over the years, and it was difficult to change jobs from woodworking to metalworking. Welders, lathe operators and locksmiths had to be trained. In addition, more and more skilled workers were withdrawn from the booming shipyards in Wolgast and Stralsund. The workforce fell to around 250 in the following years due to the production changes and other components.
The new tillage devices were mainly developments from VEB BBG Leipzig and further interdependencies followed, as the agricultural machinery manufacturer Gützkow became more and more suppliers of assemblies, e.g. B. for dusting device S 293, the fan S 872 for the large dusting device and the complete drain flushing and locating device B 765. However, this production caused major problems for the company because of the unusually fine working techniques. The interdependence of cooperation and increasing quality problems resulted in liquidation difficulties. Since there was no bankruptcy in state-owned companies, the GDR Council of Ministers ordered a change of company and thus a change of industry.
Successor companies
From January 1, 1966, the dissolved agricultural machinery manufacturer Gützkow became part of the VEB repair plant in Neubrandenburg . The main products were the drive assemblies and spare parts for the NVA tanks from T-34 to T-80 . An export hit in the 1980s was the chain tensioner for the T-72 , which Gützkow manufactured for the entire Warsaw treaty including the Soviet tank works, with a volume of 50 million marks . This symbolized the "plowshares to swords". (Compare with: swords to plowshares )
After the reunification and peaceful revolution in the GDR , the business was also handled by the Treuhandanstalt in the early 1990s .
The companies that followed did not survive the next few years either, there remained two craft companies that established themselves in the area advertised as an industrial park.
literature
- W.-D. Paulsen, Chronicle of VEB RWN Gützkow (with history part Gützkow and the previous operations), 1986, 143 pages, self-published by RWN Gützkow
- Annual statistical reports of VEB Landmaschinenbau Gützkow 1945 to 1966, archive of the city of Gützkow in the museum - originals
- Company pass and technical product pass of the agricultural machinery manufacturer (LMB) Gützkow, archive of the city of Gützkow in the museum - originals
- Chronicle of the VEB RWN "We and our company", author collective company history, part II 1962–1971, 1984
- Chronicle of the VEB RWN "We and our company", author collective company history, part III 1972–1981, 1985
Coordinates: 53 ° 56 ' N , 13 ° 25' E