North track
| North German tractor factory Franz Westermann | |
|---|---|
| legal form | e. K. |
| founding | 1946 |
| resolution | 1956 |
| Seat | Hamburg-Bergedorf , Germany |
| management | Franz Westermann (1950–1956) |
| Branch | Tractor construction |
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The north German tractor factory Franz Westermann built tractors between 1947 and 1957 . The tractors became known under the brand name Nordtrak . A decade before the all-wheel drive boom in tractors, tractors were already using this drive variant, which at Nordtrak was based on the drive principle of the American jeep . For this they use four wheels of the same size. Due to the comparatively high price and the ability to work in difficult terrain, very few Nordtrak tractors were used in agriculture, but often ended up extensively modified in forestry, quarries, in the construction industry or in other specialist areas.
history
The history of the company began in 1946 when the engineer Georg R. Wille founded the Georg R. Wille OHG in the post-war period and began manufacturing agricultural machinery in 1947. His first machine was the “Stier” motor plow , which partly consisted of Jeep components and was equipped with a 12 HP engine. Wille renamed a bull equipped with a diesel engine Gerwi-Diesel-Stier.
In 1950, the businessman Franz Westermann joined the company as an investor and took over the management after Willes left the company. Gerhard Kullik, whom Westermann was able to poach from Deuliewag , came as the new designer . He renamed the now very popular tractors Nordtrak Stier.
Nordtrak bulls were built in Hamburg-Bergedorf from 1947 to 1955 and in Hamburg-Lohbrügge from 1955 until production was discontinued . The company specialized in four-wheel drive tractors in half-frame construction. The first model under new management was the Stier 30 with 28 hp, which was ready for use on schedule in April 1951. The tractor was presented to the public as an all-wheel-drive pioneer - equipped with permanent four-wheel drive, equally sized wheels (20 inch AS to 28 inch AS) and a front-wheel brake system via cardan shaft. Air and water-cooled 2-stroke and 4-stroke diesel engines were used. The Tier 480 with 48 HP made a name for itself as the “parade horse”. It was the most powerful tractor in its class and reached an impressive speed of 27 km / h at the time. The tractors were pioneers of all-wheel drive, which only later became widely accepted.
The drive properties and the comparatively even weight distribution improved the traction behavior in particular. In 1952, Nordtrak advertised that their tractors could work on slopes where other tractors fail. Since these advantages played only a minor role under simple soil conditions, sales of the Nordtraks suffered from the fact that the double drive axle and the four large wheels made production disproportionately more expensive than other tractors. In addition, Nordtrak never reached the order of magnitude of mass production, so that here too the production costs were higher than those of competitors. In-house designs such as the one-man armored personnel carrier Puck for the German Armed Forces failed.
Most of the Nordtrak tractors were exported, especially in South America and Scandinavia, where the tractor was often used in forestry in difficult terrain, many tractors could be sold. However, they were unable to survive in the price competition with their local competitors in the long term. From 1955, when the large tractor manufacturers were again sufficiently able to deliver, sales collapsed. The company went bankrupt in 1956, and production was finally stopped a year later.
Models
| model | engine | Maximum speed | Front / rear tires | Cylinder / cooling | Empty weight | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bull 18 | 16 HP Hatz engine | 23.8 km / h | 8-20 AS | 1 cylinder | 1600 kg | |
| Bull 20 | 12/15 hp Hatz / Zanker engine | 1 cylinder | ||||
| Bull 201 | MWM KDW 615 E | 23.8 km / h | 8-24 AS | 1 cylinder / water | 1550 kg | Only 2 pieces were built |
| Bull 240 | 20 HP MWM AKD 12 Z | 20 km / h | 8-24 AS | 2 cylinders of air | ||
| Bull 241 | 24 HP MWM engine | 2-cylinder / air | 1800 kg | |||
| Bull 25 | 22/25 hp Hatz engine | 23.8 km / h | 8-24 AS | 2 cylinders / water | ||
| Bull 30 | 28/30 hp MWM engine | 23.8 km / h | 7-30 AS | 2 cylinders / water | Allegedly only 5 pieces were built | |
| Bull 45 | 40 hp MWM engine | 29.3 km / h | 10-28 AS | 3 cylinders / water | 2500 kg | |
| Bull 360 | 36 hp MWM engine | 27.6 km / h | 10-28 AS | 3 cylinders / air | ||
| Bull 480 | 48 hp MWM engine | 27.6 km / h | 12-28 AS | 4 cylinders / air | 2900 kg | 8 forward and 4 reverse gears plus creep speed. All wheel drive. |
The tugs could be equipped ex works with cable winches (50 kN) from our own production.
According to estimates, Nordtrak produced a total of around 1300 tractors, of which around 130 are still in collectors' hands today.
literature
- Peter Schulz: On all fours - Nordtrak Taurus. PS service
- Udo Paulitz: German tractors 1920 - 1970. Vol. 2. From activist to quarrel. Heel, Königswinter 2003, pp. 136-137, ISBN 978-3-89880-161-4 .
- Klaus Herrmann: Tractors in Germany . Companies and makes from 1907 to today, DLG, 2000, p. 281 ff.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Traktor Classic : In the realm of the wild bulls. ( Page no longer available , 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. Traktor Classic 04/08, p. 22
- ↑ a b c d Wolfgang Gebhard: History of German tractor construction, Volume 2, Kr-Z . Weltbild-Verlag 1994, ISBN 3-89350-813-9 , p. 109
- ↑ a b c d e Wolfgang Wagner: Schlepper rarities . DLG-Verlag 2nd edition 2009, ISBN 978-3-7690-0715-2 , p. 15
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Tractor Works: North German Tractor Factory ( Memento of the original from May 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Klaus Herrmann: Tractors in Germany 1907 to the present day: Companies and makes . 42nd edition. DLG-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-7690-0450-7 , p. 147–148 (208 p., Limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ a b Gerhard Siem: Das Schlepperjahrbuch 2009 . Ed .: Peter Felser. 1st edition. Tim Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-933451-08-8 , pp. 240 (320 p., Limited preview in Google Book search).
