Otto Kynast
Otto Kynast (* 1892 in Namslau , Silesia ; † 1963 in Quakenbrück ) was a German entrepreneur and bicycle manufacturer .
Life
Otto Kynast was the son of Anna and Eduard Kynast. In Namslau he ran a flourishing hardware store with several employees until the beginning of the Second World War . He participated in both world wars as an armorer . Otto Kynast fled with his family from Silesia to the west.
As a displaced person, Otto Kynast settled in Badbergen near Quakenbrück after the Second World War , where he opened a household and hardware store. In 1950 he invented the frame air pump , after which he started producing bicycles and in 1951 founded Otto Kynast oHG together with his son Werner . The company started its production of bicycles in a 15 by 55 meter large aircraft engine hangar at the former Quakenbrück air base . It was the first major metalworking company in the region. The frame and handlebars were part of our own production, all other parts were bought in until our own tool shop was built in 1956 to assemble the complete bicycle. Assembly line work and group chords were successfully introduced at an early stage.
The company chose the mail order business , which was revolutionary in post-war Germany, as a distribution channel , which quickly made it known nationwide. In August 1956, the 100,000th bicycle rolled off the assembly line. In 1960, after various extensions, which in the meantime dominated the new Quakenbrücker district of Merschland (now called Neustadt), the entrepreneurs decided to start additional production of camping and garden furniture.
When Otto Kynast died as senior partner in 1963, the company remained family-owned through his son Werner and his grandson Hanns Kynast. With over 1,000 employees, it had developed into the largest employer in Quakenbrück and the region. In 1966, the production of precision steel tubes was started. On August 21, 1968, a major fire destroyed the entire warehouse and parts of production; it was rebuilt that same year. Lawn mowers and garden maintenance equipment were added as a fourth product group in 1970 and the production of motorcycles began in 1974 . With its own pipe works, powder coating and electroplating shop, the company had a very high level of vertical integration.
By 1984, 15 million bicycles had been sold. The total production area was 130,000 square meters and 1,600 people were employed. The company now traded under the name Otto Kynast GmbH & Co. KG with a subsidiary, Europa-Stahlrohr GmbH & Co. In 1992, it was converted into Kynast AG . While exports were up to 38 percent in those years, it collapsed dramatically in the period that followed. Sales in Germany could not be maintained due to competition in the cheapest segment - including from Asia. In 1999, Kynast AG had to file for bankruptcy, and the tubular steel sector was able to continue. The insolvency administrator sold the essential operating fundamentals to financial investors ; a new Kynast GmbH was created . The production of bicycles, leisure furniture , lawn mowers and steel pipes initially remained in Quakenbrück. In 2002 the steel pipe division was spun off into the newly founded Kynast-Steel GmbH .
In 2003, Kynast GmbH also had to file for bankruptcy, followed shortly afterwards by an application for bankruptcy by the former subsidiary Kynast Steel GmbH . After only five days of downtime, however, production could be resumed. The workforce, suppliers and customers were loyal to the insolvency administrator's intentions to continue, which were also approved by the creditors' meeting after the insolvency proceedings were opened.
In 2005, the insolvency administrator sold the managed company as part of a so-called transferring restructuring to a newly founded Kynast-Steel GmbH to the investor Horst Rumpf from Lienen . The new company started production in January 2006 and at the same time processed old orders from the insolvency administrator.
Otto Kynast was married to Marie Kynast. The couple had two children, Werner Kynast (born January 1, 1919, † November 3, 1995) and Traut-Ilse Bönsch, née Kynast (born May 9, 1921).
literature
- Heiko Bockstiegel, Heinrich Böning: 750 years of Quakenbrück. Thoben-Verlag, Quakenbrück 1998, ISBN 3-921176-44-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ In Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung of August 21, 2018: "50 years ago: Major fire destroyed Kynast bicycle factory in Quakenbrück" ; accessed on May 4, 2019
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kynast, Otto |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur and bicycle manufacturer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1892 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Namslau , Silesia |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1963 |
| Place of death | Quakenbrück |