Wikipedia

Steyr-Daimler-Puch

Steyr-Daimler-Puch(German pronunciation:[ˈʃtaɪɐˈdaɪmlɐˈpʊx]) was a largemanufacturingconglomerate based inSteyr,Austria,which was broken up in stages between 1987 and 2001. The component parts and operations continued to exist under separate ownership and new names.

Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG
Company typeAktiengesellschaft(Joint stock company)
IndustryTransportation,Defense
PredecessorAustro-DaimlerEdit this on Wikidata
Founded1864
Defunct2001
FateSplit up by divisions; remainder acquired
HeadquartersSteyr,Upper Austria,Austria
ProductsVehicles(cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles)
Weapons
ParentReichswerke Hermann GöringEdit this on Wikidata

History

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Share of the Steyr-Werke AG, issued 14. June 1926

The company, initially known asJosef und Franz Werndl and Companywas founded in 1864 as ariflemanufacturer. The company began producingbicyclesin 1894. It grew rapidly during theFirst World War,by the end of which it employed 14,000 people.Steyr automobileswere made after 1918. In September 1917 Steyr recruitedHans Ledwinka,now remembered as one of the great automobile engineers of the twentieth century, but then relatively unknown, to the position of "Chefkonstrukteur", to lead the creation of their automobile manufacturing business.[1]

The first Steyr car, the six cylinder Type II "12/40" appeared in 1920. It was heavy and well-built, if a little cumbersome. It spawned sports versions with an impressive list of international achievements. The small but luxurious 1.5 L six Type XII of the late twenties won international motor press acclaim.

ASteyr 200
Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer
The logo of Steyr-Puch on the Pinzgauer
The logo of Steyr-Puch on thePuch 500

The company changed its name toSteyr-Werke AGin 1926. In 1934, Steyr merged withAustro-Daimler-Puchto form Steyr-Daimler-Puch. The range produced in these years mainly consisted of very modern designs, sporting partially or completeunit constructionbodies in streamlined livery, from the one-litreSteyr 50to the 2.3 LSteyr 220"six".

DuringWorld War II,when Austria was part of theThird Reich,Steyr-Daimler-Puch's Generaldirektor Georg Meindldebecame one of the first German industrialists to suggest the use ofslave labourfrom concentration camps to boost manpower at Steyr. The request was approved and prisoners were brought by guarded train from theMauthausen-Gusencamp complex atGusen30 km distant. Later, on 5 January 1942, Meindl wrote a letter to SS GruppenführerErnst Kaltenbrunnerrecommending a new 'satellite' prison camp be constructed to house prisoners nearer the Steyr factory complex, explaining how this would reduce the time and loss of prisoners in transit to and from work while also reducing security and transport overhead costs.

This was approved and prisoners were used for facilities construction (bomb shelters, etc.), and to supplant manufacturing labor. This practice was not yet common at other larger German companies, though others followed suit includingMercedes-BenzandMAN.The vehicle range was for military use, including the Steyr RSORaupenschlepper Ostwith an air-cooled 3.5 L V8 engine designed byFerdinand Porsche,who worked for the company at that time. War-time production there included small arms, assault rifles, machine guns, and aircraft engines.

After the war, Steyr-Daimler-Puch builtdieselengined trucks and buses, small and heavy tractors and resumed passenger car production. First, Steyr assembled theFIAT 1100E,then put their own engine in aFiat 1400,renaming the car the "Steyr 2000". From 1957 through to the early 1970s it produced the tinyPuch 500under license from FIAT, again with an engine of Austrian design.

Most prominent was its range of off-road cars, from the two-cylinderHaflingerand the4 x 4or 6 x 6Pinzgauer,theFiat Panda4x4 (999 cc) to theMercedes-Puch G.SDP was the initial designer and manufacturer of these utility vehicles. The Haflinger was produced from 1959–1974, the Pinzgauer from 1971–2000, and the Puch G (also known asMercedes G-Class) from 1979.

The company'sPuchdivision produced a line ofmotorcycles,mopeds,and motorscootersmarketed in theUnited StatesthroughSears Roebuckincluding thePuch 250 SGSwhich was delivered in a cardboard crate box to the customer's home.[2]The Austro-Daimler branch built heavy tractors and trucks for the imperial Austrian army (before 1915). The main Steyr civil agricultural tractor production started in 1947.

After the war Steyr-Daimler-Puch resumed manufacturing bicycles and mopeds, gradually establishing distributors in several countries to manage their sales. Steyr made bicycles for sale for other retailers, most notably Sears. In the mid 1970s "Steyr-Daimler-Puch America" was incorporated in Connecticut to manage importation and distribution of bicycles and mopeds. Puch Austro-Daimler bicycles remained in production at Graz in Austria until the motorcycle and bicycle fabrication portions of the company there were sold in the mid 1987 toPiaggio & C. S.p.A.of Italy.

Gradual dissolution

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In 1987, Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG began selling portions of its different production lines to form separate companies, which includedSteyr Nutzfahrzeuge AG( "Steyr Commercial Vehicles", SNF; still based in Steyr) for truck manufacturing,Steyr Bus GmbH(in Vienna) for bus manufacturing,[3]Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fahrzeugtechnik AG(SFT) and theEUROSTARjoint venture in Graz-Liebenau for assembly of automobiles and, in 1990,Steyr Tractor(Steyr Landmaschinentechnik AG).[4]

Other production lines were spun off or sold outright to form independent companies, including Puch'smotorcycledivision going toPiaggioandSteyr Mannlicherproducing weapons. In 1990, thediesel enginedivision was spun off intoSteyr Motorentechnik GmbH,which in 2001 became an independent company, renaming itselfSteyr Motors GmbH.[5]Steyr Landmaschinentechnik AG (Steyr Tractor) was sold toCase Corporationin 1996 and renamed Case Steyr Landmaschinentechnik (and is part ofCNHsince 1999).[4]

Automobile production remained with Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fahrzeugtechnik (SFT) untilMagna Internationalacquired a majority holding in 1998. In 2001–2002 SFT was absorbed fully by Magna, becomingMagna Steyr.[6]

In 1998, the production of military vehicles was sold to an Austrian investor company, which named itSteyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH(SSF). In 2003, SSF was sold to the U.S. companyGeneral Dynamics,a defence-equipment manufacturer and intoGeneral Dynamics Land Systems.

Steyr trucks

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Steyr's first truck was the Typ III, presented in 1920. Steyr built traditional bonneted trucks in the post war years. In 1968 the distinctivecab overSteyr 90 serieswas introduced. This was followed by the 91 and the 92 series, built untilMANtook over Steyr's truck production in 1990. A version of the 92 series is still built as the 12M18/12S18 for a number of military users, and was sold by Britain'sERFas the ES-series.[7]

Some MAN trucks are still available with "Steyr" branding for the Austrian market. The smaller 590/690-series of trucks utilized the cabin of theHanomag-Henschel F-series;they were facelifted in 1982 and became the 591/691.

Beginning in 1994, Steyr used MAN's F2000 cab for theNSKseries (Neue Schwere Klasse,or "new heavy class" ), while the light and medium duty trucks were theNLKandNMK(Neue Leichte KlasseandNeue Mittlere Klasse), based on MAN's similarly situated L2000 and M2000 ranges respectively. The NLK ranged from the 6S10 (6.5 tons, 102 PS) to the 11S23 (11 tons, 233 PS). The NMK range was from 12 tonners up to the three-axle 25S26.[8]These cabins were referred to as "Typ 152" in Steyr's internal parlance.

Military vehicles

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General Von Arnim's Staff Car at theEastbourne Redoubt
A US Army BAE FMTV truck based on the Steyr 12M18

Historic

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Modern

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Weapons

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Steyr Daimler Puch produced handguns as well, e.g. thepistolsSteyr SP(1957) andSteyr GB(designing began in 1968), thesniper rifleSteyr SSG 69(1969) and theassault rifleSteyr AUG(1977).Steyr-Mannlicher,founded in 1989, continued the production of handguns until 2019, then the name of the company was changed toSteyr Arms.

See also

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References

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  1. ^Oswald, Werner (2001).Deutsche Autos 1945-1990, volume 4(in German). Motorbuch Verlag. p. 474.ISBN3-613-02131-5.
  2. ^"SR 125: New Mail Order Beauty from Austria."Popular Science,July 1969, pp. 118-119.
  3. ^Bushell, Chris (ed.).Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1989,p. 494. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):Jane's Information Group.ISBN0-7106-0881-0.
  4. ^ab"History".Steyr Tractor.Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2011.Retrieved7 November2010.
  5. ^Company (brief history).Steyr Motors GmbH.Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  6. ^"Magna Steyr over the years".Magna Steyr.2010. Archived fromthe originalon 17 June 2011.Retrieved7 November2010.
  7. ^"ERF signs up Steyr day cab".Archive.Commercial Motor. 25 February 1988.Retrieved20 May2014.
  8. ^Lechowicz, Fabian."Steyr".20TON(in Polish).Retrieved23 May2014.

Further reading

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  • Ehn, Friedrich F.Das große Puch-Buch. Die Zweiräder von 1890 bis 1987,8. Auflage, Weishaupt, Gnas 2013,ISBN978-3-900310-49-3.
  • Perz, Bertrand (1991).Projekt Quarz: Steyr-Daimler-Puch und das Konzentrationslager Melk.Industrie, Zwangsarbeit und Konzentrationslager in Österreich (in German). Vol. 3. Verlag für Gesellschaftskritik.ISBN978-3-85115-115-2.Reprinted by Studienverlag (2014)ISBN978-3-7065-4185-5.
  • Pfundner, Martin.Austro Daimler und Steyr. Rivalen bis zur Fusion. Die frühen Jahre des Ferdinand Porsche.Böhlau, Wien 2007.ISBN978-3-205-77639-0.
  • Rudolf, Egon.Puch. Eine Entwicklungsgeschichte,Weishaupt, Gnas 2007,ISBN978-3-7059-0259-6.
  • Seper, Hans.100 Jahre Steyr-Daimler-Puch A.G.1864–1964. 3. Auflage, Weishaupt, Gnas 2009,ISBN978-3-7059-0290-9(Vorabdruck aus:Blätter für Technikgeschichte.Heft 26).
  • Verwüster, Wolfgang J.Puch. Mopeds, Roller und Kleinkrafträder,Weishaupt, Gnas 2012,ISBN978-3-7059-0254-1.
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Wikibooks has a book on the topic of:Traktorenlexikon: Steyr
Wikimedia Commons has media related toSteyr-Puch vehicles.
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