Motor-Columbus
| Motor-Columbus AG | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | CH0002124276 |
| founding | 1895 |
| resolution | 2007 |
| Seat | Baden , Switzerland |
| Number of employees | 7,918 (2006, last financial year) |
| sales | 11.334 billion CHF (2006, last financial year) |
| Branch | power supply |
The Motor-Columbus AG was a 1895-2007 existing Swiss companies in the utilities industry , based in Baden . Originally founded as an engineering and financing company in the field of power plant construction , it transformed into the holding company of Aare-Tessin AG für Elektrizität (Atel) and finally merged into its own subsidiary as part of a streamlining of the group structures.
history
Walter Boveri , founder of the electrical engineering company Brown, Boveri & Cie. (BBC; today ABB ), founded Elektrizitätswerke Olten-Aarburg AG (EWOA) in 1894 in connection with the construction of the Ruppoldingen power plant . He came to the conclusion that another company was needed to plan, finance and build such systems. That is why he founded Motor AG for applied electricity on November 20, 1895 .
When the company was founded, it had share capital of CHF 3 million , of which 20% had been paid up. The main shareholders were Allgemeine Deutsche Credit-Anstalt from Leipzig , BBC and Bank Leu . Further capital came from Swiss, German and Belgian companies as well as private individuals. The purpose of the company was financial transactions and ventures in the field of applied electrical engineering and electrochemistry.
The following persons belonged to the first board of directors:
- Armin Kellersberger , FDP - Council of States of the Canton of Aargau
- Walter Boveri , co-founder of the BBC
- Fritz Funk , cousin of Walter Boveri
- Max Huth, director of the Allgemeine Deutsche Credit-Anstalt from Leipzig
- Favreau
- H. Schmidt, City Councilor in Leipzig
- Dr. R. Spöndlin-Escher from Zurich
- Mumm, Frankfurt
- Dr. Rödiger, Frankfurt
In the years that followed, the company planned and financed several hydropower plants, all of which came from the BBC. After completion, Motor AG transferred the power plants to independent companies. In 1903 it linked the Kander and Hagneck power plants with the construction of a high-voltage line to form the first electricity network in Switzerland. In 1908 the electricity network between the Beznau and Löntsch plants followed . These formed the cornerstone for the Bernese power plants (1909) and the north-east Switzerland power plants (1914, today Axpo ).
Even before the turn of the century, Motor AG took part in power plant projects abroad for the first time, with a focus on Italy . Together with the BBC, it played an important role in the electrification of the Italian rail network . In 1912, the company received an order to set up the electricity supply for the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires . To increase her participation in the Compañía Italo-Argentina de Electricidad , she founded Columbus AG for electrical companies in 1913 with several partners . Due to the reduced demand for power plants during and after the First World War , Motor AG ran into financial difficulties, which is why it merged with its sister company to form Motor-Columbus AG in November 1923.
The global economic crisis hit Motor-Columbus particularly hard in the South America business, which is why the company had to make a value adjustment of almost 40% in 1937. Domestic business also suffered: the Piottino power plant in Leventina , completed in 1931, could barely supply electricity to northern Italy. In order to solve the sales problem, Motor-Columbus built the Gotthard line, the first high-voltage line to cross the Alps, in 1932/33 . This pioneering achievement helped the company to achieve a leading position in power line construction. The new line enabled the merger of EWOA and Officine Elettriche Ticinesi in 1936 to form Aare-Tessin AG for electricity (Atel).
The Motor-Columbus was hardly affected by the Second World War , as most of the plants were inland and in South America. It also supplied electricity to the Axis powers . In the decades that followed, Motor-Columbus built several storage power plants on behalf of other companies , including those on Lake Lucendro , Lake Zervreila and Lake Emosson . From 1966 the company pursued the project to build the Kaiseraugst nuclear power plant , which however had to be abandoned in 1988 after protracted political disputes. However, the acquired know-how could be used in the construction of the Gösgen nuclear power plant .
In 1969, as part of a diversification strategy, the technical departments of Motor-Columbus became independent in Motor-Columbus engineering company (MC ING) . MC ING, which is mainly active abroad, had around 800 employees at its peak in 1982. But then the international business collapsed and the subsidiary had to be dissolved in 1988. Other diversifications such as a majority stake in the general contractor Mobag, the entry into the cable television network (Telecolumbus) business and the takeover of the audio equipment manufacturer Revox also failed.
From 1992, the company's goal was to set up an international electricity holding, in which Électricité de France (EDF) and RWE were to participate at a later date . All existing activities in the field of electrical energy and engineering were transferred to Atel and Motor-Columbus transformed into a pure financial holding company. In 1996, EDF and RWE owned 20% of the share capital, and another 37% belonged to Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft (now UBS ). The liberalization of the electricity market in the European Union made EDF and RWE competitors in 1997, with which the holding project also failed.
Motor-Columbus, whose main shareholder from 2004 onwards was UBS, pursued a new goal, the creation of a new Swiss energy holding company under the Atel umbrella. In its last financial year, 2006, Motor-Columbus employed around 7,900 people and generated sales of 11.334 billion Swiss francs. In November 2007, by renaming Motor-Columbus and swapping shares, the new Atel Holding was created , which relocated to Olten . Atel Holding and EOS Holding from western Switzerland merged on January 1, 2009 to form Alpiq Holding .
Chairman of the Board of Directors
- 1895–1924: Walter Boveri
- 1924-1942: Agostino Nizzola
- 1942–1951: Hans von Schulthess-Rechberg
- 1951-1970: Theodor Boveri
- 1970–1976: Guido Hunziker
- 1976–1986: Michael Kohn
- 1986-1993: Angelo Pozzi
- 1993–2007: Heinrich Steinmann
Web links
Inventory: Motor-Columbus AG. City Archives Baden AG . 1895-2006. Signature: U.05. link
- Andreas Steigmeier : Motor-Columbus. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- 111 years of Motor-Columbus, from 1895 to 2006 (PDF file; 2.4 MB)
- Last annual report (2006) of Motor-Columbus AG (PDF file; 2.6 MB)
- Alpiq Holding AG (formerly Motor-Columbus AG)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Motor, corporation for applied electricity, Baden . In: Illustrated Swiss craft newspaper . tape 11 , no. 36 , 1895, pp. 587 .
- ↑ Motor-Columbus and Atel announce timetable for merger , Neue Zürcher Zeitung , October 8, 2007
- ↑ / Motor-Columbus: Next steps for restructuring initiated , nuklearforum.ch, October 8, 2007
- ↑ Atel and EOS become ALPIQ ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Atel Holding, December 19, 2008
