Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna (beginning in 1929) brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were widely used across mainland Europe, particularly in the interwar period.
1910 Saurer Motor Trucks AdA Saurer Car-Alpin in 1930
In 1853 Franz Saurer (1806–1882) from Veringenstadt, Germany established an iron foundry for household goods near the Swiss town of Sankt Gallen. Eastern Switzerland was a center for both embroidery and embroidery machine development.
In approximately 1850, Franz Rittmeyer built the first practical satin stitch embroidery machine, known as the Handstickmaschine. Several Swiss companies began building and improving these machines, their heyday lasting from roughly 1865 until the end of the century. Two of Franz Saurer's sons – Anton and Adolph – were aware of this invention, saw an opportunity, and began building hand embroidery machines in their father's foundry around 1869. By 1873, F. Saurer & Söhne were the leader among the Swiss competitors in terms of sales and total machines built. By 1883, Saurer's production peaked at 796 machines per year; They had produced a total of 5,530 machines to date.
Saxony, Germany was also a centre for embroidery and machine development. By the 1890s, German companies were Saurer's strongest competition. By the late 1870s, a new, faster type of machine was invented: The bobbin shuttle, or schiffli machine, adapted the lock stitch from the sewing machine. A German company added a Jacquard punch card reader, and thus, fully automated the process. Competition motivated engineers at Saurer to develop their own Jacquard card reader, improve the stitch rate, and increase the machine's width (i.e. the total number of needles and throughput). In 1905, Saurer matched the competing machine's width at ten meters. In 1913, it increased the width to 15 meters.[1]
The embroidery industry experienced many ups and downs due to fashion, trade, policies and world wars. Saurer diversified into petrol and diesel engines, and then trucks to reduce its exposure to this volatility. However, Saurer continued to innovate and is still a leader in schiffli embroidery machines.
In 1896, the eldest surviving son Adolph Saurer (1841–1920) took over the company. He and his son Hippolyt (1878–1936) developed the enterprise as a joint-stock company. Hippolyt Saurer initiated the production of a phaeton body automobile run by a one-cylinder opposed-piston engine. In 1902 a first four-cylinder T-head engine model with touring car and sedan chassis was built.
In the United States, the Saurer Motor Truck Company, headed by C.P. Coleman, had the rights to manufacture and sell heavy trucks under the Saurer brand name at its plant in Plainfield, New Jersey (which commenced operations in November 1911). On September 23, 1911, the Saurer Motor Truck Company merged with the Mack Brothers Motor Car Company of Allentown, Pennsylvania, headed by J. M. Mack, to form the International Motor Truck Company (IMTC).[2] IMTC would continue to make and sell trucks using the Saurer name until 1918. In 1922 IMTC would become Mack Trucks, Inc.
Saurer trucks were developed along the years into four basic ranges:
A-type (1918)
B-type (1926)
C-type (1934)
D-type (1959)
It was the B-type that established Saurer's international reputation as a builder of long-lasting trucks.
In 1929 Saurer acquired its Swiss rival, Motorwagenfabrik Berna AG of Olten, but the Berna name was allowed to continue, badging the very same Saurer models.
In World War 2, a restructured type BT 4500 and 5 BHw of Saurer trucks were used to gas people in the Nazi Chełmno extermination camp. Extermination vans were adapted, when they went in for repair, to carry the optimum number of people who could be gassed in the time it took to drive them from Chelmno to the woods where they were disposed of in ovens. There was concern about the strain on the front axle if too many people were loaded to be gassed, but as piles of bodies were always closest to the doors there was no strain on the front axle.[3][4]
In 1951 Saurer and its Italian licensee, OM, reached an agreement by which Saurer would market in Switzerland OM's light and medium-weight trucks and buses, using Saurer-OM and Berna-OM badges. This was successful and lasted until Saurer closure.
Saurer began licensed manufacture of aero engines in 1917. They also began developing their own designs, and built two prototypes of a V12 design in 1918.
The FLB series, developed from the 1930s to the 1940s, were based on the principles of the Junkers Jumo 205. Like the Jumo they were two-stroke diesels with two crank shafts and two pistons per combustion chamber. However the cylinders were bent into a V shape[clarification needed], allowing them to be doubled up on each crank shaft to create a compact diamond arrangement. The design was also able to run on petrol, still with fuel injection, and a small test engine was run in both modes. The FLB 1000 had three banks giving a design output of 1,000hp and was briefly bench-tested using petrol. However, the project was dropped before it could be run on diesel.
The FLB project was dropped to make room for an urgent requirement to develop the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 V-12, a conventional four-stroke petrol engine, which was no longer available. Saurer developed it as the YS-2, which entered limited production. It was fitted to the EKW C-3604 and Doflug D-3802. The further developed YS-3 flew in the prototype Doflug D-3803.[5]
NAW
Declining sales in the early 1980s saw the two leading Swiss truck makers, Saurer and FBW (Franz Brozincevic & Cie of Wetzikon, Switzerland), forming a joint organization called Nutzfahrzeuggesellschaft Arbon & Wetzikon, proceeding with motorbus and trolleybus production under the NAW brand, while the last Saurer-badged truck sold in the open market was delivered in 1983. Four years later, in 1987, a model 10DM supplied to the Swiss Army meant the very last Saurer truck produced in history.
In 1982 Daimler-Benz had acquired a major shareholding in NAW and soon took full control; and in a short time dropped the Saurer, Berna and FBW brands, while using NAW premises to assemble heavy haulage versions of Mercedes-Benz trucks. Eventually NAW went into liquidation in early 2003.
The last remainder of the Saurer automotive activity in Arbon is the present[when?]FPT Industrial S.p.A. engine research centre, that up to 1990 had been the Saurer Motorenforschung Research & Development Centre.
The textile and automotive spin-offs
In 1995, Ernst Thomke took over the leadership of Saurer AG in Arbon as chairman of the board. To restructure the conglomerate, he had previously abandoned his position with its then major shareholder: BB Industrie Holding AG (22%). The previous major shareholder, Tito Tettamanti, specialized the company in textile machinery and "propulsion technology" and had acquired the main competitors Schlafhorst and Ghidela.
Thomke actively led Saurer until 1996, when he retired to the direction of the Board until 1999. He promulgated transparency at all levels, flexible working hours, optimized the production and refined accounting systems. In 1996, the Saurer group became profitable again, with more than half of the revenue originating from Schlafhorst after its restructuring.
Oerlikon Textile
Since 2007, the conglomerate Saurer AG, which meanwhile had reached a worldwide leading status in textile machinery[citation needed], has been integrated into the Oerlikon Corporation.[6]
Oerlikon-Saurer Textile is a manufacturer of systems for spinning, texturizing, twisting and embroidery.
Oerlikon-Saurer "Graziano Trasmissioni"
Since 2007 the remaining part of Saurer AG automotive, Graziano Trasmissioni, a manufacturer of gears, gear groups and complete transmission systems for agricultural, earth moving and special vehicles, as well as for four wheel drive passenger cars, and luxury sport cars, has been integrated into the Oerlikon Corporation.[7]
Monteverdi civilian prototype; Saurer manufactured 12 pre-series military versionsSaurer F006
The Saurer F006 (also known as Saurer 288) and F007 were, apart from the Swiss Army cross-country trucks known as the (6-ton) Saurer 6DM and the (10-ton) Saurer 10DM, the last vehicle designs of the company. In the late 1970s, the F006 design was intended as a successor to the Jeep for the Swiss Army. It was hoped that the vehicle would be purchased by fire departments as well and used as work vehicles by public services, such as road maintenance operations, forest rangers, electric and water utilities, etc. Luxury car manufacturer Monteverdi put a civilian version of the Saurer F006 military vehicle, which they called the 260Z, on display at the Geneva Motor Show 1979. The 260Z was not produced in series, though three prototypes were made, which are at the Monteverdi Museum in Binningen. While Monteverdi did not use the Saurer chassis, they did produce two versions of a luxury SUV called the Safari/Sahara, based on the International Scout vehicle.
Another civilian version, called the Monteverdi 250 - Z, was derived from the Saurer F006 by Monteverdi, with engineering input from Berna. Saurer took over the production. The axles were reused from the International Scout. The vehicle had a plastic body made of polyester. For power, the drive-train was a 6-cylinder petrol engine from Volvo with an automatic transmission. Maximum speed was 100km/h. Overall styling contrasted with the Mercedes G and Puch 230GE joint venture vehicle, with the front turn signals mounted conventionally on the front of the vehicle. The equipment installed in the front bumper parking lights can be turned[clarification needed] by flicking the Tarnlicht switch, a multipurpose military switch for light dimming. The basic vehicle has a fixed open back cab. The passenger seats are closed with a fast removable plastic sheet at the rear, including a military holder for a gas canister; a fixed structure[clarification needed] is provided for use in case of fire.
The F006 was first shown in 1980 and tested by the War Technical Department of the Swiss Army in 1982. They instead procured the Puch 230GE. Failure to secure the army production order meant that production of the vehicle for other potential customers was not economically viable, and in the end only 24 prototypes were built. One remained in service until 1988 and was subsequently donated to the Saurer Oldtimer Club. The other remaining vehicles are privately owned.
Simultaneously with the Saurer F006, the Saurer F007 was introduced in 1980 as a Pinzgauer High-Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle with similar versions available to the public. The F007 uses the same chassis and the same drive unit as the F006, but utilizing a cab-over design, with the engine compartment located internally. Unlike the F006, the F007 has three windshield wiper blades instead of two, four headlights instead of two, and the front parking lights and turn signals are housed in the same headlamp shell. The gasoline tank filler neck is on the left side immediately behind the driver's door, and not, as in the F006, on the right side between the rear and the rear wheel. The vehicle has a fixed cab which is open to the rear. The cargo area is covered with a plastic sheet, including two plastic windows on each side. This was based on the concept of the cab-over model 260 F by Monteverdi. For Swiss Army procurement, SUVs in addition to dedicated military vehicles were prepared for testing starting from 1982. The Swiss Army examined the high-road tested prototypes of the F007, but did not buy the vehicle. The existing Saurer F007's are now privately owned.
Gallery of Saurer, Berna and NAW vehicles
1912 Saurer truck on display at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum, Walcott, Iowa.
↑ Hidden camera interview: "Gustav Laabs and Letter Becker" (outtakes from Shoah, 1978–1981). Claude Lanzmann Shoah Collection, Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
Officine Meccaniche or OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company. It was founded in 1899 in Milan as Società Anonima Officine Meccaniche to manufacture railway rolling stock and car production began in 1918. It disappeared as such in 1975, subsumed into Iveco, but still exists as a forklift builder.
Guy Motors was a Wolverhampton-based vehicle manufacturer that produced cars, lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company was founded by Sydney S. Guy (1885–1971) who was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Guy Motors operated out of its Fallings Park factory from 1914 to 1982, playing an important role in the development of the British motor industry.
Tilling-Stevens was a British manufacturer of buses and other commercial vehicles, based in Maidstone, Kent. Originally established in 1897, it became a specialist in petrol-electric vehicles. It continued as an independent manufacturer until 1950, when it was acquired by the Rootes Group.
Berna was a Swiss manufacturer of buses, trolleybuses and trucks, which later also specialized in surface metallurgical treatments and components. Until the 1960s it was primarily a vehicle manufacturer, but between 1965 and 1978 vehicle manufacturing was phased out and replaced with other products. The company was based in Olten.
Franz Brozincevic & Cie (FBW) was a Swiss maker of trucks, motorbuses and trolleybuses, founded by Croatian-born engineer and constructor Franjo (Franz) Brozinčević (1874-1933), active between 1922 and 1985 and based in Wetzikon, canton of Zürich.
Trolleybuses in Valparaíso, Chile, have provided a portion of the public transit service since 1952. The trolleybus system is the second-oldest in South America. The originally state-owned system has been privately owned since 1982, and since 1994 it has been Chile's only operational trolleybus system. In the 1990s and 2000s, almost half of the fleet continued to be vehicles built in 1946–52 by the Pullman-Standard Company, and by 1999 they were the oldest trolleybuses in regular service anywhere in the world, until the retirement of the last active Pullman trolleybus in March 2023. Those vehicles were collectively declared a national monument by the Chilean government in 2003. They helped the city gain its designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and have been called "a heritage sight in their own right" by at least one travel writer.
Arbon Castle is a former castle and now the Historisches Museum Arbon located in the municipality of Arbon of the Canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
The Schaffhausen trolleybus system is part of the public transport network of Schaffhausen, capital city of the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and the adjacent town of Neuhausen am Rheinfall in the same canton. It is also Switzerland's youngest and smallest such system. Its route, designated as line 1, connects among others Schaffhausen railway station with the Rhine Falls.
The Saurer MH4 was a military vehicle of the Swiss Army that was produced by the company Saurer, and was used from 1945 to 1985 as troop transport.
Nahkampfkanone 2 is a prototype tank destroyer of Swiss design.
The Saurer 10DM is the last heavy truck model, which was manufactured by the Adolph Saurer AG.
The Saurer 2DM is a truck model, which established by the Adolph Saurer AG at Arbon from in 1959. The payload of 4.9 tonnes, it is a right hand drive. The Swiss Army used the 2DM since 1964, in several special versions, such as dump trucks, snow plow or tanker for aircraft or tanks. Almost identical was the model Berna 2VM from Berna Olten. Starting in 1964, approx 3200 units were built in all different varieties. The 2DM was also sold for civilian purposes.
The Saurer 2 CM is a 4x4 truck model established by the Adolph Saurer AG in 1949 with a payload of 2.5 tons. There were 222 build most of them with a loading bridge, while some were made with a fixed structure as a van. The vehicles are right-hand driven. A winch was optional. The Saurer CM2 was also built by Berna and FBW under their own names. The Saurer CM 2 formed the basis for other vehicles with more powerful engine and a larger payload capacity like Saurer 4CM 5t, Saurer 4CM driving school cars, Saurer Woodcarrier 4CM, 5CM 6t Saurer trucks and a mobile command center of the flab. One is on display at the Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full.
The Swiss Military Museum is located at Full-Reuenthal in the Canton of Aargau.
The Berna 2VM is a 4x4 truck model that Berna, at Olten, from 1964 to 1976 in total 1600 pieces produced. The company Berna was in 1929 purchased by Adolph Saurer AG. T The Swiss Army used the Berna 2VM in several special versions, such as dump trucks, snow plow or tanker for aircraft or tanks. Almost identical was the model Saurer 2DM from the Adolph Saurer AG in Arbon. The Berna 2VM was also sold for civilian purposes. One is on display at the Schweizerische Militärmuseum Full.
The Iveco Zeta is a light to medium-duty truck model produced by the Italian manufacturer Iveco. Appearing in 1976 and entering production in 1977, its cab was developed with the aid of Fiat's wind tunnel in Orbassano. The Zeta series continued the lineage begun with the 1959 introduction of the OM Lupetto. The Lupetto, as well as the Leoncino, the Daino, and the Tigrotto, were all replaced by the OM X-series in 1972, which then formed the basis for the Zeta range. The Zeta itself was replaced by the all-new Iveco Eurocargo in 1991.
The Militärhistorische Stiftung des Kantons Zug MHSZ is a foundation consisting of a group of Military Museums in the canton of Zug with the purpose of safeguarding and cultivating the military heritage of the Swiss Confederation in the canton of Zug.
The schiffli embroidery machine is a multi-needle, industrial embroidery machine. It was invented by Isaak Gröbli in 1863. It was used to create various types of machine embroidery and certain types of lace. It was especially used in the textile industry of eastern Switzerland and Saxony Germany, but also in the United Kingdom and the United States. Schiffli machines evolved from, and eventually replaced manually operated "hand embroidery" machines. The hand embroidery machine used double ended needles and passed the needles completely through the fabric. Each needle had a single, continuous thread. Whereas the schiffli machine used a lock stitch, the same technique used by the sewing machine. By the early twentieth century schiffli machines had standardized to ten and fifteen meters in width and used more than 600 needles.
Robert Reiner was a machinist, entrepreneur and businessman. At the time of his birth, Württemberg was an independent kingdom located in a region of Germany known as Swabia. Swabia has a unique culture and Alemannic dialect. His business is credited with helping to expand the machine embroidery industry in Hudson County, New Jersey during the first half of the twentieth century. By the 1950s, the area known as North Hudson comprising the municipalities of Weehawken, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, and North Bergen had developed into one of the largest centers for machine embroidery in the world. Reiner first traveled to the United States about 1902. He first installed and then began importing embroidery and other textile machines from Europe. He established what became Robert Reiner Incorporated in Weehawken. Eventually he employed about 200 people. He was the sole importer of VOMAG embroidery machines from Plauen, Germany. Eventually he produced the first American made schiffli embroidery machine. Reiner held an honorary doctorate of political economy and science from the University of Heidelberg. He remained a benefactor of his native Nürtingen. He was a member of the US Chamber of Commerce, the New York Board of Trade, and was president of the American-German Chamber of Commerce until World War II. In October 1928 he was one of twenty passengers aboard the Graf Zeppelin during its first trans Atlantic commercial passenger flight, flying from Friedrichshafen, Germany to Lakehurst, New Jersey.
The FBW 80-N is a vehicle of the Swiss vehicle manufacturer Franz Brozincevic & Cie. It was one of the last trucks built by Franz Brozincevic Wetzikon.
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