Weitzer J. Machine, wagon and iron foundry ltd
The Weitzer János Gép-, Waggongyár és Eisenön foundry Rt. of Arad was founded on 1 December 1891 as the Austrian Grazer Wagon- und Maschinenfabriks A. G. Vormals Johann Weitzer wagon factory.
Johann Weitzer (1832-1902) opened his forge in Graz in 1854, and soon began building and repairing various types of carriages and wagons in addition to shoeing horses. In 1857 he opened a carriage factory under the name of K. k. priv. Wagenfabrik J. Weitzer. The company's growth was fuelled by orders from the army, which by the 1870s employed 1,500 workers and was producing not only wagons but also back-loading guns.
The establishment of the factory in Hungary was necessary to enable Weitzer to participate directly in railway investments in Hungary. The main profile of the company was the construction of locomotives and railway wagons, the manufacture of bridge structures, the production of steam boilers and, later, at the end of the decade, diesel engines, and from 1900 onwards, the manufacture of electric locomotives.
The Arad factory was originally founded with a capital of 1 200 000 Frt, with the following directors: Károly Wenfeld, János Weitzer, Béla Vásárhelyi, János Purgly, Béni Boros, Lajos Ramor, Alfons Huzl Knight, the Ternitz Count of Schueller & Comp., István Tisza, Count Róbert Zselinszky, and later joined by Károly Hieronymi as the company's president.
We have accurate data on the company's production from 1893. According to this, the company's production for that year amounted to 327 321 kg of ironware, 5 171 m3 timber, 878 railway wagons, 206 wagons. The total value of the goods sold at that time was 1 952 488 Frt, the number of workers was 1 200, while the annual profit of the company was 116 007 Frt.
In the 1890s, the company began to build and operate a factory in Sopron and a factory in Borosjenő with great vigour in 1895. However, while this did not bring any major profits for the giant company operating in the three municipalities until 1898, from 1899 the balance sheets turned into massive losses: in 1899 the company made a loss of 60 763 Frt (with a capital stock of 3 000 000 Frt); in 1900 the loss was already 996 006 K. In line with this, the share capital had to be reduced from SEK 6 000 000 to SEK 2 555 700 as a result of the currency reform, while the company sold its most loss-making plant in Sopron, which became Vasárúgyár Sopron-Graz Rt.
After the sale of the loss-making factory, profits started to rise again and reached the level of K 200-400 thousand in 1907, but in 1907 the company also sold the Borosjenő factory, which was again a loss-making one, and continued to operate under the name Mundus United Bent Furniture Factories Ltd. The Arad parent factory had thus become a truly successful enterprise, best illustrated by its profit margin: with the share capital raised to 5 000 000 crowns (1909), the annual profit reached a level of between K 500 and K 900 000, which lasted until the World War.
In the meantime, the company's performance was also helped by the cartel agreement concluded on 22 July 1906 between the five leading wagon manufacturers Ganz, Danubius, Schlick of Budapest, Magyar Vagon- und Gépgyár Rt. of Győr and Weitzer János Gép-, Vagongyár és Vasön foundry Rt. of Arad, in which they divided the Hungarian railway carriage market between them. Under the terms of the agreement, the Arad factory was to receive 22 percent of Ganz's 36.5 percent and Győr's 23 percent. At the same time, the Arad-Csanádi United Railways, a local interest railway company, also gave the Weitzers 50 percent of its purchases.
The growth and future of the company was dragged through Trianon. "On 26 February 1921, the liquidation of the company was declared and all its assets and liabilities were taken over by the first Romanian wagon and motor factory Astra r.t.". The shares owned by the Castiglioni group were exchanged for Astra shares with a nominal value of 500 lei each.
Although the Weitzer company's march came to an end in Hungary, its three decades of operation left behind many relics, mainly railway wagons and locomotives, which can still be found in the collections of our Hungarian museums.
Source:
Hungarian Compass 1874-1944 | Arcanum Digital Library
Database of the collections of the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport
Korunk - October 2005 - EPA (oszk.hu)
T. Iván Iván-Ránki György Berend:The Hungarian Manufacturing Industry in the Pre-Imperialist Period before the First World War. 1900-1914. Bp., 1955.
Founded in 1891
Date of cessation: 1921
Founders are not set
Securities issued:
| Weitzer J. Machine, wagon and iron foundry ltd |
Decisive leaders:
1891-1901 | János Weitzer |
1902-1906 | Béla Vásárhelyi |
1907-1919 | Knight Richárd Schoeller |
Main activity not set
Main products are not set
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: by Dr. Márton Pelles
Founded in 1891
Founders are not set
Decisive leaders:
1891-1901 | János Weitzer |
1902-1906 | Béla Vásárhelyi |
1907-1919 | Knight Richárd Schoeller |
Main activity not set
Main products are not set
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: by Dr. Márton Pelles
Weitzer J. Machine, wagon and iron foundry ltd
The Weitzer János Gép-, Waggongyár és Eisenön foundry Rt. of Arad was founded on 1 December 1891 as the Austrian Grazer Wagon- und Maschinenfabriks A. G. Vormals Johann Weitzer wagon factory.
Johann Weitzer (1832-1902) opened his forge in Graz in 1854, and soon began building and repairing various types of carriages and wagons in addition to shoeing horses. In 1857 he opened a carriage factory under the name of K. k. priv. Wagenfabrik J. Weitzer. The company's growth was fuelled by orders from the army, which by the 1870s employed 1,500 workers and was producing not only wagons but also back-loading guns.
The establishment of the factory in Hungary was necessary to enable Weitzer to participate directly in railway investments in Hungary. The main profile of the company was the construction of locomotives and railway wagons, the manufacture of bridge structures, the production of steam boilers and, later, at the end of the decade, diesel engines, and from 1900 onwards, the manufacture of electric locomotives.
The Arad factory was originally founded with a capital of 1 200 000 Frt, with the following directors: Károly Wenfeld, János Weitzer, Béla Vásárhelyi, János Purgly, Béni Boros, Lajos Ramor, Alfons Huzl Knight, the Ternitz Count of Schueller & Comp., István Tisza, Count Róbert Zselinszky, and later joined by Károly Hieronymi as the company's president.
We have accurate data on the company's production from 1893. According to this, the company's production for that year amounted to 327 321 kg of ironware, 5 171 m3 timber, 878 railway wagons, 206 wagons. The total value of the goods sold at that time was 1 952 488 Frt, the number of workers was 1 200, while the annual profit of the company was 116 007 Frt.
In the 1890s, the company began to build and operate a factory in Sopron and a factory in Borosjenő with great vigour in 1895. However, while this did not bring any major profits for the giant company operating in the three municipalities until 1898, from 1899 the balance sheets turned into massive losses: in 1899 the company made a loss of 60 763 Frt (with a capital stock of 3 000 000 Frt); in 1900 the loss was already 996 006 K. In line with this, the share capital had to be reduced from SEK 6 000 000 to SEK 2 555 700 as a result of the currency reform, while the company sold its most loss-making plant in Sopron, which became Vasárúgyár Sopron-Graz Rt.
After the sale of the loss-making factory, profits started to rise again and reached the level of K 200-400 thousand in 1907, but in 1907 the company also sold the Borosjenő factory, which was again a loss-making one, and continued to operate under the name Mundus United Bent Furniture Factories Ltd. The Arad parent factory had thus become a truly successful enterprise, best illustrated by its profit margin: with the share capital raised to 5 000 000 crowns (1909), the annual profit reached a level of between K 500 and K 900 000, which lasted until the World War.
In the meantime, the company's performance was also helped by the cartel agreement concluded on 22 July 1906 between the five leading wagon manufacturers Ganz, Danubius, Schlick of Budapest, Magyar Vagon- und Gépgyár Rt. of Győr and Weitzer János Gép-, Vagongyár és Vasön foundry Rt. of Arad, in which they divided the Hungarian railway carriage market between them. Under the terms of the agreement, the Arad factory was to receive 22 percent of Ganz's 36.5 percent and Győr's 23 percent. At the same time, the Arad-Csanádi United Railways, a local interest railway company, also gave the Weitzers 50 percent of its purchases.
The growth and future of the company was dragged through Trianon. "On 26 February 1921, the liquidation of the company was declared and all its assets and liabilities were taken over by the first Romanian wagon and motor factory Astra r.t.". The shares owned by the Castiglioni group were exchanged for Astra shares with a nominal value of 500 lei each.
Although the Weitzer company's march came to an end in Hungary, its three decades of operation left behind many relics, mainly railway wagons and locomotives, which can still be found in the collections of our Hungarian museums.
Source:
Hungarian Compass 1874-1944 | Arcanum Digital Library
Database of the collections of the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport
Korunk - October 2005 - EPA (oszk.hu)
T. Iván Iván-Ránki György Berend:The Hungarian Manufacturing Industry in the Pre-Imperialist Period before the First World War. 1900-1914. Bp., 1955.