Elektroarmaturenwerk JWH

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The electrical fittings factory JWH in Kötzschenbroda , today a part of Radebeul , was the first "factory for electrical devices" in Europe. After the expropriation during the GDR times, the company was called VEB Hochspannungs-Armaturenwerk (HAW) and most recently Richard Bergner Elektroarmaturen GmbH & Co. KG , based in Radebeul in a listed administrative building. Production in Radebeul was closed in mid-2017.

history

In 1902 the engineer and inventor Johannes Wilhelm Hofmann founded the first "factory for electrical equipment" in Europe in Kötzschenbroda to manufacture the patented rivet connectors he had invented for electrical overhead line wires.

The existing initially only four people company won in 1904 for their pioneering inventions and products at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition , the World's Fair in St. Louis , a gold medal. In 1905/1906, Hofmann had Adolf Neumann build a villa with a production building at Bernhard-Voß-Straße 25. After just a few years, the company was producing millions of their products. As early as 1911, a factory extension was built by Felix Sommer . In 1912 the company exported to 26 countries around the world.

Hofmann expanded his company by building further production facilities in 1914 at Fabrikstrasse 27, built a new administration building there in 1921 and moved into new factories in 1923 at the same location. One of the largest industrial companies in the region was created under the name Elektroarmaturenwerk JWH and the company logo JWH; the rivet connectors as well as unbreakable suspensions, bracing for phases and earth cables as well as insulators were exported worldwide.

In 1925 the owner J. Wilhelm Hofmann took a stake in Richard Bergner's RIBE Bayerische screw and spring factory Schwabach, which was founded in Schwabach in 1911 . Personal relationships also developed between families.

In 1927, on the occasion of the company's 25th anniversary, Hofmann was given honorary citizenship of the city of Kötzschenbroda for his services . In 1929 the TU Braunschweig appointed Hofmann an honorary doctor, the TH Dresden made him an honorary senator .

After taking over the high-voltage fittings manufacturer Wirschitz in Munich in 1937, the JWH electrical fittings factory supplied all of the high-voltage fittings required in Germany and 75% of all connection fittings required.

Since the company had not produced any armaments during World War II, it was not confiscated and dismantled. After 800 employees had produced in 1944, production could continue within the framework of the supply situation with initially 200 employees. Since delivering to all occupation zones from Radebeul was very difficult, the west-zonal company RIBE, located in Schwabach, also produced the well-known electrical fittings for its friend Richard Bergner based on original documents and patents from 1948 onwards.

In 1951/1952 the Soviet occupying power took this as an opportunity to accuse the owner Hofmann of alleged customs and foreign exchange offenses, to oust him from the company's management and to expropriate the company in Radebeul. Hofmann moved with his family to Nuremberg, his Radebeul assets, including the Villa Lindenhaus , which is now a listed building , were expropriated. In return, Hofmann withdrew the rights to use his patents from his former company and granted RIBE exclusive use of all his patents and property rights.

In 1953, the GDR continued to run its expropriated company as a state-owned company under the name Hochspannungs-Armaturenwerk (HAW). In the mid-1960s, the production program was expanded to include contact line fittings. In 1978, the company to the Combine was electric power plant Leipzig , the later power-plant Leipzig-Halle affiliated.

In 1991 the high-voltage armatures factory was taken over by Richard Bergner Elektroarmaturen . The company, which has been operating under the name RIBE-HAW Elektrotechnik since 1997 , became RIBE Elektroarmaturen Radebeul , which operated independently in the RIBE group and produced until 2017.

The Deutsche Fotothek owns around 1,100 photo negatives on the company history of the Elektroarmaturenwerk JWH between 1910 and 1940.

Administration building

Administration building Elektroarmaturenwerk JWH
Administration building Elektroarmaturenwerk JWH, portal

After the first production halls had been built on the property as early as 1914, building applications for an administration building at Fabrikstrasse 27 and various other factory halls were submitted in January 1921, and the shell was accepted in August of that year. In the course of 1922, the building application for an enclosure was made.

The prestigious administration building, which is listed as a historical monument , faces the street. It is a single-storey plastered building over a high basement made of embossed sandstone with a mansard roof . The two-storey central risalit has a portal in the middle, which is protected by a canopy supported by Doric columns, and a high triangular gable. The corner projections show hipped gables. The building is structured by pilasters , the roof is loosened up by pike and hip dormers.

Inventions

literature

Web links

Commons : Elektroarmaturenwerk JWH  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Picture of the month October 2002: 100 years of high-voltage fittings from Radebeul ( Memento from June 8, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Large district town of Radebeul (ed.): Directory of the cultural monuments of the town of Radebeul . Radebeul May 24, 2012, p. 15 (Last list of monuments published by the city of Radebeul. The Lower Monument Protection Authority, which has been based in the Meißen district since 2012, has not yet published a list of monuments for Radebeul.).