Phoenix AG for mining and smelting operations
| Phoenix AG for mining and smelting operations | |
|---|---|
| legal form | AG |
| founding | 1852 |
| resolution | 1966 |
| Seat | Hear |
| Branch | Mining industry |
The Phoenix AG of Mining and Metallurgical Plant was a vertically integrated German Montankonzern .
history
Creation and Consolidation
The Phoenix was built in 1852 a. a. Founded by Anton Wilhelm Hüffer and Télémaque Fortuné Michiels as well as French investors as an anonymous company (stock corporation) with headquarters in Eschweiler-Aue . From the outset, the aim was to cover all stages of the iron industry, from ore and coal mining to smelting and production of pig iron to further processing of metals.
In 1853 the company T. Michiels & Cie. , Puddling and rolling mills in Eschweiler-Aue and with an annual output of around 20,000 t of hardware at the time, it was one of the most important plants in the Rhenish district. In the years 1854 to 1856, Phoenix also built new blast furnaces and steel works in Laar and Kupferdreh . In 1855 the French company Société des Mines et Fonderies du Rhin Ch. Détillieux & Co. was incorporated into Phoenix AG , Charles Détillieux became general manager, and the company's headquarters were relocated from Eschweiler to Cologne . The merger resulted in u. a. a blast furnace plant in Berge-Borbeck and other pits to the company.
To Phoenix so were numerous mines in Nassau (Lahn) , an der Sieg, the Rhine and Mosel. The Graf Beust and Carolus Magnus mines had been leased on a long-term basis to supply coal .
After a financially critical phase from around 1858 and the reorganization of the company by David Hansemann , a positive development followed, which lasted until 1872. The plant in Laar in particular benefited from its favorable location on the Rhine and was able to increase its production to around 35,000 t annually. The company had specialized in railroad tracks, while the main factory in Eschweiler mainly produced commercial and shaped iron as well as wheels and wheel sets for the railroad.
In 1873 there was another break-in. Railway construction had come to a standstill and the entire steel industry suffered a long-lasting low until around 1879. After that, Phoenix AG saw an economic and technical upswing. In 1880 the engineer Franz Freudenberg succeeded for the first time at the Phoenix in Laar (Duisburg-Ruhrort) in rolling one-piece grooved rails . In 1881 Phoenix bought - like many other ironworks - the " Thomassche dephosphorization process ", in 1884 the first Thomasstahl was blown, although initially it did not have the necessary hardness for the production of rails. The solution was the carbonization process developed and patented by Phoenix , according to which the almost completely decarburized iron can be brought to any hardness after casting by adding coke powder.
Further takeovers followed, including the Meidericher Steinkohlenbergwerks-AG (1896), the Westphalian Union (1898) and the Nordstern colliery (1907). Between 1873 and 1903 August Servaes was chairman of the board. In 1906 Phoenix merged with the Hörder Bergwerks- und Hütten-Verein , in 1907 mining assessor Christian Dütting became head of Phoenix , and in 1908 the company's headquarters were relocated to Dortmund - Hörde . In 1910, the Düsseldorfer Röhren- und Eisenwalzwerke AG , a family company of the industrial family Poensgen , became part of the Phoenix , in 1911 the Düsseldorf steel magnate Ernst Poensgen became a member of the board. In 1921/22 the company relocated to Düsseldorf . From 1923 to 1926 the administration building was built on the former Eiskellerberg . In 1926 Phoenix participated in the founding of the Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG , which moved to the Neue Stahlhof in 1928/29 . The assets were transferred to Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG , in return Phoenix received a share participation. Phoenix remained a pure shell company until 1933, together with other companies, was completely merged with Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG .
Decline and dissolution
In 1955, Hüttenwerke Phoenix AG in Duisburg-Ruhrort and Rheinische Röhrenwerke AG in Mülheim an der Ruhr , each of the successor companies to Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, were merged to form the newly founded Phoenix-Rheinrohr AG Vereinigte Hütten- und Röhrenwerke . The architect of this merger was Fritz-Aurel Goergen (1909–1986), head of the Phoenix steelworks since 1947. He became the general manager of the new company, the main shareholder was Amélie Thyssen , Fritz Thyssen's widow .
Already in mid-1957 Goergen lost the power struggle with Hans-Günther Sohl from August Thyssen-Hütte (main shareholder Anita Zichy-Thyssen) and was dismissed with a 2.64 million DM compensation .
After August Thyssen-Hütte AG had acquired the majority of the shares despite resistance from the coal and steel union, Phoenix Rheinrohr was renamed Thyssen Röhrenwerke AG in 1966 and incorporated into Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG in 1970 .
In Dortmund the name Phoenix is still part of the cityscape today. Most of the factory facilities of the former Hörder Bergwerks- und Hütten-Verein , Phoenix-West and Phoenix-East, have been demolished and the areas are currently being renovated. Phoenix Lake was created on Phoenix East .
people
General Directors
- Johann Baptist Müller-Melchiors (1854–1864)
- Ernst Jeghers (1864–1873)
- Alexander Thielen (1873-1897)
- Wilhelm Beukenberg (1908–1921)
Chair of the Administrative Council
- David Hansemann (1852–1864)
- Julius The Losen (from 1864)
literature
See also the literature given under the headings Laar and Kupferdreh .
- Alexander Donges: The United Steel Works AG under National Socialism. Group policy between market economy and state economy. Series: Family - Company - Public: Thyssen in the 20th Century, Vol. 1. Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2014, ISBN 978-3506766281 .
- Historical development and current status of Phoenix, a joint stock company for mining and smelting in Hoerde. Memorandum for the 60th anniversary of the company in 1912. = "Phoenix" Actien-Gesellschaft für Bergbau- und Metallbetrieb, 1852–1912. Ruhfus, Dortmund 1912.
- Lutz Hatzfeld: Anton Wilhelm Hüffer (1786–1868). A father of the city of Montan. In: Duisburg research. Vol. 8, 1965, ISSN 0419-8026 , pp. 24-33.
- Lutz Hatzfeld: Wilhelm Beukenberg . In: Rheinisch-Westfälische Wirtschaftsbiographien. Vol. 10, 1974, ZDB -ID 517699-2 , pp. 196-216.
- Babette Nieder: The French influence in building up the coal and steel industry in the Ruhr area. (1852-1873). Konstanz 1988 (Konstanz, Univ., Magisterarb., 1988).
- Ulrich Zumdick: Ironworkers in the Ruhr area. The workforce at the Phoenix-Hütte Laar 1853–1914 (= Industrielle Welt 49). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-608-91572-9 .
Web links
- Early documents and newspaper articles on Phoenix AG for mining and smelting operations in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Philipp Fischer : The grooved rail, its origin and development. In: Steel and Iron. Vol. 29, 1909, ISSN 0340-479X , pp. 1217-1221, 1262-1267.
- ↑ Alexander Donges: The United Steel Works AG in National Socialism. Group policy between market economy and state economy. Series: Family - Company - Public: Thyssen in the 20th Century, Vol. 1. Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2014, ISBN 978-3506766281 , pp. 42–48.
- ↑ "Prince Aurel" under armored wheels . In: Die Zeit , No. 19/1964