Huta Ludwików

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Huta Ludwików (literally Ludwików Steelworks, often abbreviated SHL) is one of the oldest and best-known

Polish Army, ranging from the wz. 34 sabres and wz. 31 helmet to SHL motorcycles. It was also the main sponsor (and the namesake) of the now-defunct SHL Kielce
sports club.

History

In 1895 Ludwik Starke from

castings, including pots, frying pans, cast iron pipes and machinery parts. As part of the Old-Polish Industrial Region the new factory enjoyed considerable success and soon the crew rose to over 500 workers.[1]

In 1907 Ludwik Starke's son, Stanisław, bought the Głęboczka farm at the outskirts of the city of

power plant.[1]

By the mid-1920s the steelworks increased production to 1860

telephone wire.[1]

The wz.31/50 helmet in original colours

Initially the company was very successful and the new Kielce-based works have soon outgrown the original works at Suchedniów. However, the Great Depression stroke the company hard. In 1927 the owners had to split the company and 96% of shares of the Huta Ludwików were taken over by the Huta Pokój in Bytom, the largest steel company of Poland at that time. The new management, since 1931 led by Otmar Kwieciński, quickly restructured the factory and started expanding the product range to include more complex products. It also started to compete for renewed contracts with the Polish Army. In 1934 the first large success came: the newly renamed "Huta Ludwików Corporation" (Polish: Huta Ludwików - Spółka Akcyjna) became the sole producer of the new Hełm wz. 31 military helmet. Until 1939 over 300,000 were delivered. Another success came in 1936, when Huta Ludwików won another government contract, this time for the sabres for the cavalry. The Szabla wz. 34 was one of the best swords of the 20th century and was dubbed "ludwikówka", after the name of the company. Roughly 40,000 were delivered by the end of 1939. Also in 1936 the executives have signed a large contract with the Polish State Railways for delivery of thousands of railroad switches and signals.[1] Soon afterwards additional contracts were signed for production of aerial bombs, grenade casings and

SHL 98 in Muzeum Techniki in Warsaw

The machine park was being constantly enhanced and by 1937 the new machines allowed for production of more complex products. That year design of a fast, agile and versatile motorcycle started. The

Sokół. The popularity of the new product made the entire factory adopt its logo and the now-iconic SHL abbreviation (probably derived from the words "Spółka Huta Ludwików" - "Huta Ludwików Company").[3] Despite the initial success, only less than 2,000 motorcycles were manufactured until the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and the German occupation.[1]

Shortly before the war the engineering department started preparations for the production of SHL's first passenger car designed by

Vis pistol production. In 1943, following the liquidation of Kielce Ghetto, a minor work camp for roughly 300 Jews was set up nearby the factory. As the front was nearing, in late 1944 the German authorities dismantled virtually all remaining machines and sent them westwards, thus destroying the factory.[1]

Following five years of German occupation, Kielce was captured by the Red Army on 15 January 1945. The city was badly damaged and the population dropped from over 70,000 in 1939 to 48,000 only five years later. However, despite the destruction the Huta Ludwików was reopened for business almost instantly. Already in February the first departments (enamel works, cast iron works, forge, mechanical workshop and sheet metal production line) were opened. In November 1945 many of the machines dismantled by the withdrawing Germans the previous year were discovered in Gliwice and were returned to Kielce, which allowed for production to resume at a much larger scale. The factory was rebuilt in a matter of months.[1]

In line with the new economic principles of Soviet-controlled sphere of influence, the factory was nationalised in 1946 and renamed to "Kieleckie Zakłady Wyrobów Metalowych (KZWM) Polmo-SHL" (Kielce Factory of Metal Parts Polmo-SHL) soon afterwards. Already in 1947 the production of motorcycles was resumed. The first postwar model SHL 125 – M02 of 1947 was a mix of pre-war parts and frames of the SHL 98, with the German DKW RT 125 design, using a copy of the RT125 engine, produced by PZL Psie Pole in Wrocław. A small series of 203 motorcycles was manufactured in State Automobile Workshops Nr.2 in Warsaw (later WFM works) and was similar to Sokół 125 of the same works.[2] The production of the slightly improved SHL M03 (1948) and then SHL M04 (1949) were moved back to Kielce. All subsequent SHL motorcycles, regardless of the factory, were based in part on the pre-war SHL design. Altogether, until 1955 roughly 18,500 motorcycles of various types were delivered by the SHL.[2] Simultaneously, the factory also resumed production of equipment for the army: the new hełm wz. 50 helmet and Granatnik PT-100, a Polish clone of the German Panzerfaust.

Meanwhile, in 1954 the production of

automobile parts production plant. The SHL M-17 Gazela of 1969-1970 was the last SHL motorcycle produced in Poland.[1]

In 1970 the factory started production of specialised road vehicles: tanks, all-terrain trucks and dump trucks. It also continued to provide auto parts to other Polish automobile manufacturers, notably the

FIAT and Volvo.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kalendarium historii Huty Ludwików". www.muzeumhistoriikielc.pl (in Polish). Muzeum Historii Kielc. 2010. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-83-7427-484-5
    .
  3. ^ a b Ryszard Chustecki (2010). "SHL - tego skrótu nie powinno się rozwijać, to jest raczej logo" [SHL: treat it as a logo rather than abbreviation]. shl_gazela.republika.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2013-04-23.
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