Porcelain Manufactory Lengsfeld
The Lengsfeld Porcelain Manufactory was founded in Lengsfeld ( Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach , today Stadtlengsfeld , Thuringia ) in 1889 .
Table and coffee services were produced in a simpler and better version. Utensils were made white and with underglaze decor, Indian blue utensils of all kinds were added . The product range was later expanded to include utensils made of hard-paste porcelain , porcelain for hotels and restaurants, and technical ceramics . During the inflation , emergency money was made from porcelain (1921).
history
Empire
Lengsfeld was almost completely destroyed by a large fire on the night of October 26th to 27th, 1878. The number of inhabitants sank as a result of the fire in 1878 to a historic low of 1200. With the construction of the Felda Railway , inaugurated in 1879, there were prospects of an improvement in living conditions again.
The Stadtlengsfeld, Koch & Schnorr porcelain factory was legally registered on August 20, 1890. From June 1893, Hegemann introduced export manufacturing. The production, which was intended exclusively for export, turned out to be unprofitable, so Koch and Schnorr were sold in 1895. The Carl Frisch family took over the manufacture (entry at the court on February 7, 1896). Immediately thereafter, construction began for further porcelain ovens and extensions.
In 1900 the buildings with the printing, packing, melting and white storage facilities burned down completely and had to be rebuilt.
In September 1901 the workers were locked out, then bankruptcy was initiated in October 1901. The owner Carl Frisch decided to commit suicide.
On June 13, 1902, the bankruptcy of Messrs. Büchner, Seiffert, Reuss and Beckmann took place. Hans Grimm was taken over from the previous company for the new public limited company Porzellanfabrik Stadtlengsfeld. After resigning from the post, Ludwig Ross took his place on July 2, 1902. On January 28, 1903, Wilhelm Schreiber became managing director. On February 4, 1909, the factory was hit by a severe flood.
The lack of working capital that has emerged in recent years was expressed in 1911 with all its accompanying symptoms. By losing proposition Ludwig Hermann committed suicide . Gramss was now the sole owner. Another flood in 1913 meant that porcelain production was stopped again.
A year later, the workers received government support because of the losses. Three years after the flood of 1913, another flood flooded the factory at night. On January 3, 1919, the stable burned down completely. Until June 21st, operations were stopped due to a lack of coal. On New Year's Eve, the workers received an inflationary allowance for loss of wages. In May, orders for 1 million Reichsmarks were concluded at the Leipzig trade fair .
1919 to 1945
On March 15th there was a general strike as a result of the Kapp Putsch , which took place in Berlin on March 14th. Work resumed on March 22nd. Due to inflation , it was no longer possible to provide enough money, so the Lengsfeld porcelain factory produced replacement money ( emergency money ) from porcelain in 1921 . In the same year the marshalling system and the isolator test station were completed. In the following year the accumulator system was renewed and the air heating system was installed. On November 26, 1924, the gold mark balance was approved. A good two months later, the share capital was converted to 10: 1. The share capital was 600,000 gold marks . The first attempt to use lignite briquettes (Michel briquettes) instead of hard coal for burnouts was made on February 16, 1926.
On June 13, 1927, the corporation celebrated its 25th anniversary. The advertising week for the porcelain industry took place from November 30th to November 26th. Burning tests with Michel briquettes were successfully completed on New Year's Eve of the same year. From January 14th to January 15th, 1928, Operations Manager Scharf took over from Graduate Engineer Gramss. Property No. 61 in front of the Obertor was assigned to the Stadtlengsfeld municipality. On October 3, the property at Obertor was destroyed. The "Rich Porcelain Week" took place from October 15 to 20. A new insulator testing machine was installed on July 12, 1929. On July 1, a new mass sample was exhibited in the Mädlerpassage. In November there are operational restrictions due to a lack of orders The situation requires 50 workers to be laid off. Short-time work must be set in December. Only four of the five ovens were functional. On June 1, 1930, Mr. Walter Luckhardt von Königszelt became the new manager Salary cuts of 10% and 15% respectively were set from September 1. Change of name from Porzellan Fabrik Lengsfeld AG to Felda Porzellan, later Felda Rhön Porzellan.
In 1934 the cut in salaries that had existed since October 1932 was confirmed after the termination of the tariff for the ceramic industry in Selb. Furthermore, the tariff for the retail trade in Eisenacher Land was introduced. The reason was the effects of the global economic crisis. The renovation of the siding, which was required by the complete expansion of the Feldabahn, was completed on May 6, 1935 with the installation of the turntable. By resigning from the post of Mr. Zimmermann, Mr. Truckenbrodt assumes the position as sole shareholder. In 1944 the painter's house burned down for reasons that were previously unknown. In December there was a shutdown due to a lack of coal. Between January and June 1945, the renovation tasks and building up the fire damage in the painting were carried out. The company suffered no war damage or dismantling. Production started in autumn with 78 employees. The company comes under sequestration. The main shareholder Büchner is a trustee until May 1946.
- 1946 In May: Mr. Götz is the new trustee, May 11: Takeover of state ownership on August 11: Mr. Hermann Götz becomes operations manager.
On November 6 of the same year, the storage shed and the loading dock burned down. The cause of the fire was never found. The repair work cost 360,000 marks. Engineer Gramss ran the factory in April 1947. In May the office and the warehouse burned down and the cause was also not clarified. In January and February 1948, another flood of the Felda caused further damage to the building.
GDR combine
In 1949 seven round ovens were in use. The production conditions are characterized by heavy manual work exposed to heat and dust. Hans Joachim Döhring was employed as operations manager from 1950 to 1955. After five years, a new operations manager, Rudolf Volger, was appointed. In 1956, extraction systems were used on the round furnaces, which resulted in minor improvements in working conditions and an increase in furnace turnover. After two years, in 1957, Mr. Gerhard Henniger became operational manager. He was again employed for two years, and Mr. Helmut Deisenroth was appointed as his successor. The installation of a circular conveyor, which connects all raw departments with each other, was the greatest relief of work at that time.
Plant managers have also been employed since 1963. Mr. Ernst Roland was appointed as the first plant manager. In 1967 large parts of the porcelain factory were destroyed by a large fire. The factory was reconstructed and expanded. On January 5, there was a major fire in the plant for reasons that are not clear. The foundry, foundry, glazing, parts of the kiln and furnishing were affected. The damage was estimated at 300,000 marks. On May 19, the plant burned again, and arson was suspected. In 1969 the Colditz Combine was founded, to which the Colditz, Freiberg, Annaburg , Lettin, Weißwasser and Stadtlängsfeld companies belonged. The work was reconstructed in the process. At the end of 1969, the site regulation for the construction of a new production hall with a value of 44.2 million marks began. The automation project was implemented in 1970 while production was running. Project planning, construction and commissioning went smoothly into one another. The first tunnel furnace was ignited on June 12th. Two years after commissioning, porcelain was fired in four natural gas-heated tunnel kilns. The number of employees rose to almost 700 by the end of 1989. In 1968 Stadtlengsfeld lived 2748 people. The number of employees has increased from 330 to 570. Significantly improved working conditions, the most modern technology and more effective production processes shaped the image of the company. In 1973 a free hall for warehouse management was built. In the same year the gas and oil heating house was put into operation. In the following year, a new mass preparation / dissolving hall was put into operation. For the first time, sand and feldspar were sourced and processed directly. Eberhard Klug left the factory in 1976, and Helmut Börner became the new factory director. From 1969 to 1977 the number of employees doubled. Extensive construction work was carried out on the works roads. New factory entrances and sidewalks were created.
In 1978, the hall for the sinking dye oven was created on my own initiative. Construction began just one year later and the sinking paint oven was put into operation. In 1980 two handle plastering and cutting systems were put into operation. This served to facilitate complicated handicrafts. The full wall frame hall was built in 1981. A year later, Hartmut Kunath was appointed plant director. In 1983 the siding was reconstructed and expanded. A new raw lignite boiler house was also built, which had a complete replacement of heating oil. In 1989 the SED regime collapsed. At that time there were 680 employees. In the same year a small parts casting machine with rotating sprue was used.
After reunification
The Lengsfeld Porcelain Manufactory separated from the Graf von Henneberg Porzellan Ilmenau company in 1990 and was transferred to the trust in Suhl. In 1991 the compressor system with two screw compressors was renewed on two die-casting machines. The Kronenberger wastewater treatment plant was also built. The number of employees fell to 300 people. In August 1992 the company Rhön Porzellan GmbH was renamed by the Swiss entrepreneur Robert Käppeli to Lengsfeld Rhön Porzellan GmbH. Mr. Rathke was appointed as managing director. A year later, the independent subsidiary SRI Keramik GmbH split off. From July Erich J. Bruckert became sales manager in the marketing department.
The relocation of the handle foundry and the handle cleaning room to the shed hall was carried out in 1994. In 1995 the foundry was relocated from the old building to the shed hall. Erich J. Bruckert left the company at his own request. In 1996, the porcelain raw material was completely purchased, there is no more processing of the ceramic raw materials. The release hall was also shut down in the same year. The number of employees drops to 90 employees. In 1997 the picture warehouse and sample painting were relocated to the Shed Hall. At the end of January 1998 the last fire with a tunnel kiln was started. The new chamber furnace was ignited on February 1st. The point of sale was relocated on October 6th. On this day all 75 employees, as well as those of the subsidiary SRI Keramik GmbH with 6 employees, stopped work. The full execution began on December 1st. Michael Jaffé was used as sequester .
Successor company Gilitzer
Erich J. Beickert re-founded Glitzer Porzellan-Manufaktur GmbH in 1999 at the old Stadtlengsfeld location. Production was temporarily outsourced due to extensive renovation work. The stove was restarted on October 11, 1999. The new company serves as a supplier for German porcelain and glass manufacturers. In 2003 investments were made in mechanical decor systems, color printing hot transfer systems, tapes and lining machines, and CNC-controlled engraving systems. Gilitzer took over Lichte-Wallendorf GmbH in 2005, under whose roof it now operates.
swell
- Company archive of Gilitzer Porzellan Manufaktur GmbH
Web links
- Gilitzer Porzellan Official website with a historical overview