Lohner works

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lohnerwerke GmbH Vienna

logo
legal form GmbH & Co. KG
founding March 18, 1821 (as kuk Hof-Wagenfabrik Jacob Lohner )
resolution 1971 (founded in 2010)
Seat Vienna , Austria
management Lohner family
Branch Motor vehicle manufacturers , aircraft manufacturers , tram construction
Website www.lohner.at

The Lohner-Werke is a car and wagon construction factory based in Vienna- Donaustadt , which today belongs to the Canadian Bombardier group. Emerging from the kuk Hof- Wagenfabrik Jacob Lohner , which among other things manufactured luxurious carriages, from the turn of the century the Lohner factories mainly manufactured motorcycles , trucks and buses , but also trams and airplanes .

Lohner was one of the " high-tech " companies of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. One of the first hybrid electric vehicles in the world was the Lohner-Porsche .

history

The founder Jacob Lohner, seated on the left, probably a year before his death
Luxury carriage from Lohner around 1910
Old stationery with the logo of Jacob Lohner & Comp. before 1918, below the logo of the Lohnerwerke from 1918

The company was founded on March 18, 1821 by Heinrich Lohner (1786–1855), a master wagoner who fled Germany before being drafted into the French Army of the Rhine. In his factory he summarized the previously individual wagon building trades.

His son Jacob Lohner (1821-1892) was a world-famous car manufacturer specializing in luxury and ambulance cars. He previously worked for master saddler Ludwig Laurenzi († 1859). After the master's recognition, Ludwig Laurenzi, Jacob Lohner and Josef Neuhs joined forces on December 31, 1851 to form "L. Laurenzi and Comp." together, with the departure of Neuhs, the company traded as "Laurenzi und Lohner".

In 1857 Jacob Lohner married Louise, the daughter of Ludwig Laurenzi, their son Ludwig was born in 1858. After Ludwig Laurenzi died in 1859, Jacob Lohner took over the company. On a trip to Scandinavia, on April 21, 1860, he was appointed "Royal Swedish Court Supplier" by decree.

Jacob Lohner and his brother-in-law Josef Brauner, also in the Wagner trade, merged on July 31, 1868 under the new company name (company) "Jacob Lohner & Comp." together. In the meantime, the company produced 300 to 500 cars per year at the factory. From August 21, 1876, Lohner was allowed to use the title of "kuk court wagon supplier"; he was also the royal court supplier to Sweden, Norway and Romania.

The premises at Servitengasse 19 became too small, the increasing exports required a larger facility than was available in Vienna's 9th district. In 1873 10,000 vehicles were produced. The factory was relocated to Floridsdorf after the Vienna Danube regulation , which offered 30,000 m 2 . However, the management building remained in the 9th district at Porzellangasse 2.

Jacob Lohner left the company in 1886, his son Ludwig Lohner (1858–1925) took over the management. He was awarded the title of purveyor to the court in 1892. Under his leadership, the Lohner works became the largest horse-drawn carriage factory in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . In 1897 Lohner was allowed to put petrol motor vehicles into operation, later electric cars were mass-produced. From 1909 Ludwig Lohner turned to aircraft construction and thus became a leader in Austria-Hungary.

Lohner was next to Carl Marius and Sebastian Armbruster during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph the most frequently commissioned wagon factory by the Viennese court. On January 15, 1918, the company was changed to "Lohnerwerke GmbH Vienna".

Ten vehicles and numerous coach drawings by Lohner are now in the corral at the Schonbrunn Palace . The wagons include a ten-seat, dark green painted and yellow trimmed mail coach ("Drag") from 1876, the corpse Fourgon of the Viennese court built in 1889 and redesigned in 1893 and the large Fourgon with convertible from 1898.

The company's headquarters and archive were located at Porzellangasse 2, while the workshops were at Donaufelderstraße 75-79 in the 21st district.

In 1970 the Lohnergasse in Vienna- Floridsdorf (21st district) was named after Ludwig Lohner.

The actor Helmuth Lohner was a descendant of the founding family Lohner.

Automobile manufacturing

The Lohner- Porsche , one of the first hybrid vehicles in the world

Lohner was the first Austrian to recognize the importance of automobile construction and began with factory building in 1897. With two vehicles, he took part in the collective exhibition of Austrian automobile manufacturers in 1898 as part of the Kaiser-Franz-Joseph anniversary exhibition, at which the first four automobiles built in what was then Austria were shown (including the car by Siegfried Marcus from 1888/89 and Nesselsdorf President ). Since no usable motor was available, he developed an electric drive with the young engineer Ferdinand Porsche . The Lohner-Porsche was the sensation at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. From 1901 they worked on a mixed drive (gasoline / electricity ( hybrid drive )), the Mixte car.

In the period after 1900 Lohner began trolley buses , and bodies for the company Gräf & Stift and Steyr to build that could not manufacture its own.

Aircraft construction

Model of the Lohner arrow flyer (in the Army History Museum )

In 1909 the wage factories began building aircraft . By the end of the First World War , Lohner manufactured 685 land and seaplanes. In the beginning there were a few prototypes, later (from approx. 1912) they built 36 copies of the further developed Etrich Taube and their successful in-house developments, the Lohner Pfeilflieger and the Lohner flying boats (e.g. Lohner Type L ), a land / seaplane 350 hp. Lohner was one of the most important aircraft manufacturers and developers in Austria-Hungary. The Compiègne armistice ended the First World War on November 11, 1918. As a result, the Versailles treaties banned aircraft construction in the German Reich and German Austria , and Lohner lost important sales markets at the end of the war and from then on had to limit himself to body construction.

tram

Viennese type E 1 tram car with Duewag license

The wage factories began building trams after the First World War, when aircraft construction was prohibited. In 1926 the works were commissioned to build trams for the Vienna public transport company . With this, growth picked up again for a short time until the plant had to be closed completely in 1934. However , it was reopened in 1938 after the Anschluss .

In addition to Maschinen- und Waggonbau Fabrik AG Simmering and Grazer Maschinen- und Waggonbau-Aktiengesellschaft (which later merged to Simmering-Graz-Pauker AG ), Lohnerwerke were the most important suppliers for tram companies throughout Austria.

The former Wiener Lohnerwerke has been a medium-sized tram manufacturer since the 1950s. However, export successes have only been achieved since the 1990s. Vehicles manufactured in the factories run in Brussels , Croydon , Eskişehir , Graz , Innsbruck , Cologne , Linz , Saarbrücken , Stockholm and Vienna , among others . Until the 1990s, Rotax built for Vienna and other cities in Austria under licenses from the German tram manufacturer Düwag .

Scooter

In 1959, the majority of shares in the Rotax engine factory in Gunskirchen was taken over. The Rotax engines were Fichtel & Sachs engines built under license and fitted to Lohner scooters . The Viennese company distinguished itself as a pioneer of scooter construction in Austria, and mopeds , such as the Sissy series , still enjoy cult status today. It was the only one with a JLO engine and not a Rotax. Probably the best-known Lohner scooter was the L 125.

Wage L 98

The Lohner L 98 was the first Austrian motor scooter and went into series production on April 13, 1950 at a purchase price of 4,360 schillings. The scooter was equipped with a single cylinder two-stroke engine that developed 2.25 hp. The Lohner scooter was presented to the public for the first time at a press conference in Vienna's Volksgarten and attracted quite a bit of attention. The trade journal “Internationaler Verkehrsbedarf” reported: “A groundbreaking innovation for Austria, which seems very well suited to changing the streetscape of our cities and which enables our country to catch up with a development that is already far in other countries, especially Italy has progressed. "

Lohner invention "dinghy" made of fiberglass on the Lohner L125 scooter

Wage L 200

On January 27, 1953, the official press presentation of a new, stronger Lohner scooter took place. The Lohner L 200 S could be understood as the answer to the strong German scooters like Maico-Mobil and Heinkel. Its 8.5 hp engine enabled a top speed of 60.9 km / h. A lightweight sidecar called the LB 200 was optionally available for purchase.

From sidecar to dinghy

When the sidecar models were able to sell well due to their practicality, Lohner designed an improved variant, the so-called "dinghy". The scooter and sidecar were no longer separate from each other, but merged into a shapely body. On the one hand, this saved weight, on the other hand, additional space was gained.

Lohner motor scooter L125

Lohner L 125

On the occasion of the Vienna spring fair in 1954, the Lohner-Werke presented the L 125 and thus presented another model to its toughest competitor, Puch. Its unmistakable design and practicality made the 6.1 HP scooter a best seller very soon. In the ÖAMTC magazine “auto-touring” on April 15, 1956, the following could be read: “The Lohner engine is excellent. There was rarely anything like this in terms of temperament, pulling power and elasticity in the 125cc class. ”The special shape of the bow is not just aesthetic. The curvature of the bow also causes increased grip, as a certain aerodynamic downforce is created. This has a positive effect on the handling characteristics, especially in dangerous crosswinds. Although one-sided wheel suspension was chosen at the front and rear, the robustness of the vehicle was particularly emphasized. The magazine also praised the lockable container behind the front wall, in which small purchases could be stowed away.

Lohner L 150

This is the successor to the L 125, which was presented at the spring fair in Vienna in 1958. The technical innovations included the 4-speed gearbox and the larger displacement. The optics have only been slightly modernized. The L150 reached a top speed of 85 km / h and, thanks to the 8.5 hp engine, was particularly suitable for driving uphill. The gradeability was given as 30%. This was also confirmed by the daily "Express": "With this scooter you can conquer practically all mountain roads, including the Turracherhöhe."

Lohner moped Sissy

Lohner Sissy

The first Lohner moped was presented at the spring fair in Vienna in 1957 under the name Sissy. It had a 50 cc engine from Rotax - Sachs , which made either 1.6 HP in the license-free version or 2.2 HP in the version requiring a license. The transmission had a three-speed twist grip shift. As a special feature, the supposed tank served as a removable luggage case. In addition, Sissy was particularly impressed by its low consumption. In the first year, 3300 units were sold, which at that time was considered a success. The trade magazine “Motorrad” presented the various modules in the following text: “The 'naked' sissy costs 3790 schillings, then there is the single-seat moped with luggage tank and front hood for 4680 or you can choose the two-seat version with bulkhead and footboard as the top step. All versions are available with kick starter and luxury tires on request - in short, all wishes and requirements that one can place on such a vehicle today are completely fulfilled. The most important thing seems to be that two people are allowed to drive a 'moped' for the first time. ”A special technical solution concerned the headlights: On the standard model, when switching to high beam, the center headlights went out, and two smaller side lights provided wide illumination. In the luxury version, however, a conventional Bilux lamp was installed and the side lamps were designed as indicators.

Takeover by Bombardier

In 1970 the Canadian Bombardier group took over the companies Rotax and Lohner, which had already built the famous “ SkiDoo ” under license, whereupon they were first renamed Rotax, then Bombardier-Rotax. After the takeover of Bombardier, the plant continued to be an important supplier of the Viennese trams, for which DÜWAG licensed buildings were manufactured until the 1990s. In the 1990s, Bombardier developed the low-floor type T for the Vienna U6, an underground and light rail vehicle that forms the basis for the Flexity Swift series . It is now used on three continents in urban public transport.

In the course of changes within the group, the former Wiener Lohnerwerk specializes in the production of light rail vehicles (trams) and now operates under the name of "Bombardier Vienna Rail Vehicles" (BWS). The plant was relocated to Hermann-Gebauer-Strasse in Vienna-Donaustadt.

literature

  • Wolfgang M. Buchta: Lohner carriages. Carriages and horse-drawn carriages from the Imperial and Royal Hofwagenfabrik Jacob Lohner & Co in Vienna. Edition Tusch, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-85063-206-7 .
  • Mario Döberl: Apprenticeship as a court wagon manufacturer . Ludwig Lohner's study trips to Europe and the USA (1878–1885). In: Leaves for the history of technology. Vol. 68, 2006, ISSN  0067-9127 , pp. 97-136.
  • Martin Haller : Horses under the double-headed eagle. The horse as a carrier of culture in the Habsburg Empire. Olms-Presse et al., Hildesheim et al. 2002, ISBN 3-487-08430-9 .
  • Ingrid Haslinger: Client: Kaiser. The story of the former imperial and royal purveyors. Schroll, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85202-129-4 .
  • Hillbrand:  Laurenzi Joseph. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1972, p. 50.
  • Reinhard Keimel : Airplanes from the Austrian company Lohner. 1909–1923 (= sheets for the history of technology. Special issue, ZDB -ID 161227-x ). Technical Museum, Vienna 1990.
  • Thomas Köppen: The KK Hof-Wagenfabrik Jacob Lohner & Co. An example of the Viennese carriage construction at the end of the 19th century. In: axle, wheel and carriage. Contributions to the history of land vehicles. Vol. 3, 1995, ZDB -ID 1107884-4 , pp. 18-31.
  • Porsche Museum , Stuttgart: Ferdinand Porsche - Pioneer of Hybrid Cars / Hybrid Automobile Pioneer , German / English. Edition Porsche Museum, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-9812816-4-4 .
  • Erwin Steinböck: Lohner, on land, on water and in the air. The story of an industrial family company from 1823–1970. 3. Edition. Weishaupt, Graz 1996, ISBN 3-900310-08-4 .
  • Stekl:  Lohner Heinrich. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1972, p. 299.
  • Stekl:  Lohner Jakob. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1972, p. 299.
  • Stekl:  Lohner Ludwig. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Publishing House of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1972, p. 299 f. (Direct links on p. 299 , p. 300 ).
  • Friedrich F. Ehn: Lohner Scooter and Moped , Weishaupt, 1989, ISBN 978-3-7059-0070-7

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich, Jakob, Ludwig Lohner. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Publishing House of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1972, p. 299 f. (Direct links on p. 299 , p. 300 ).
  2. Porsche and not Toyota is the hybrid pioneer in FAZ on August 10, 2010, page T4.
  3. ^ Friedrich F. Ehn: Lohner scooters and mopeds.
  4. a b Sissy and L 150 from Lohner . In: Motor vehicle technology 8/1961, p. 338.

Web links

Commons : Lohner-Werke  - collection of images