Opel & Beyschlag
| Opel & Beyschlag GmbH
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1893 |
| Seat |
 Austria , Vienna
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| management |
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| Number of employees | 223 (April 30, 2012) |
| Branch | Automobile trade , car workshop , spare parts trade |
| Website | www.beyschlag.at |
Opel & Beyschlag is a trading company originally founded in Vienna in 1893 by the two cycling colleagues Otto Beyschlag and Heinrich von Opel (one of the five sons of Adam Opel , the founder of the Opel automobile works ) to sell bicycles and sewing machines . The partnership agreement between the two partners was signed in December 1892.
With 223 employees at three locations in Vienna and one in Klosterneuburg , Opel & Beyschlag GmbH is a large Opel dealer in Austria and sells automobiles, spare parts and accessories from the brands Opel , Ford , Chevrolet , KIA and Peugeot and is also an authorized service partner for them. Opel & Beyschlag has retained its service contract for the Saab vehicles that were offered until shortly before the manufacturer's bankruptcy in December 2011 and is still an authorized workshop.
The company group also includes the spare parts logistics company "Logistik Park 19", which according to its own information has around 57,000 vehicle spare parts in stock on 6,500 m².
history
Opel & Beyschlag was founded by cycling colleagues Otto Beyschlag and Heinrich Opel, who were good friends in their private lives. At the age of only 23 and 19, the two founded the company Opel & Beyschlag on the Kärntner Ring in Vienna in 1892. Originally, bicycles and sewing machines were the company's merchandise.
Only three years after the company was founded, Otto Beyschlag became the sole owner, as his business partner Heinrich Opel took over Adam Opel AG in Rüsselsheim and left Vienna after the death of his father .
At that time, Opel & Beyschlag owned four bicycle schools and the “First Viennese bicycle rental” in addition to the branch on Kärntner Ring.
Shortly before the turn of the century, it was recognized that the future of the Opel works would not lie with sewing machines, and the production of bicycles and automobiles began. From 1899 Opel & Beyschlag became the official importer for Opel Patent Motorwagen for Austria-Hungary . Opel & Beyschlag was thus the first Opel agency outside Germany. 15 years later, 150 Opel automobiles have already been counted on Austria's roads. Otto Beyschlag's wife Therese also took an active part in the business. She was one of the first recognized car drivers in Austria-Hungary and promoted cooperation with driving schools for awareness.
The company's second mainstay, bicycles, was also eventually exchanged, namely for motorcycles from Rüsselsheim. However, owner Otto Beyschlag was not satisfied with the performance of the vehicles produced there and brought two of his own motorcycles onto the market in 1903/04. Since no model from the Opel & Beyschlag brand is known today, it can be assumed that the number of units sold was very low.
During the First World War, Adam Opel KG again took a stake in Opel & Beyschlag before the Opel family sold their company to General Motors in 1929 . A big step for the brand, but for the time being without any consequences for the general distributor Opel & Beyschlag in Austria.
In the meantime Otto Beyschlag was appointed to the Commercial Council and in 1930 also President of the "Association of Austrian Automobile Dealers". In this position he worked hard to create as many jobs as possible despite the global economic crisis.
In 1933 Beyschlag's daughter, Sophie Beyschlag (married to Hall), joined the company and took over in 1945 after Otto Beyschlag died (probably from a war wound). As early as 1946, the third generation took part in the family business with authorized signatory Fritz Hall. In the following ten years attempts were made to reorganize the company after the difficult war years and several branches were established in Vienna.
The year 1956 marked a major milestone in the company's history. In that year, a 7000 m 2 area in Muthgasse, in the 19th district of Vienna , was purchased. No bank saw any good in the company's relocation from the posh address on Kärntner Ring to the outskirts, only Dr. Josef Taus from the Giro Zentrale recognized the foresight of the entrepreneurs and made it possible to finance the project.
This foresight was to be confirmed when all locations in Muthgasse were centralized by 1966 and a further 7,000 m 2 were purchased. The most modern repair facility in Austria was built there on a total of 14,000 m 2 . From 1969 onwards, the repair of Opel automobiles was no longer carried out by hand, but according to industrial methods.
In 1979 the company was handed over to the fourth generation, Otto Beyschlag's great-grandson, Hans Hall. At that time, the late company founder Otto Beyschlag was given a special honor: a street in Vienna's 21st district was named after him.
The next big changes followed with the takeover by Hans Hall. As early as 1980, a branch was set up at Leopoldauer Strasse 141 in the 21st district and in 1981, despite previous protests, shift work was introduced from 6:00 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. in Muthgasse. This was unique in Austria and only possible because, despite its size, the company was no longer regarded as a craft but as an industrial company and thus a different collective agreement was applied. In 1983, Opel & Beyschlag was appointed by the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Josef Staribacher was awarded the honor of being allowed to use the Austrian national coat of arms .
In the following years further locations were opened and in 1998 the Vienna Opel plant Kandl was taken over.
In order to ensure the long-term existence of the company, Opel & Beyschlag became part of AVAG Holding SE in 2005 , one of the most successful automobile trading groups in Europe, whose main brand is Opel .
Most recently, the Ford brand was added to the company's portfolio in 2010 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.logistikpark19.at
- ^ Martin Pfundner: From Semmering to the Grand Prix . Böhlau Verlag Wien, Vienna, Cologne, Weimar 2003, ISBN 3-205-77162-1 .
- ^ WAIS - Vienna Archive Information System. Retrieved August 7, 2017 .
- ^ A b Kristin Engelhardt: Opel Post. In: In the beginning there was cycling. Opel Automobile GmbH, July 2015, accessed on August 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Historical directory of state awards. December 21, 1982. Retrieved August 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Kandl becomes Beyschlag , at www.beyschlag.at, accessed on September 28, 2018