Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein
Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein ([ˈlilpɔp rau̯ i lɛvɛnʂtai̯n], often shortened to Lilpop or LRL) was a Polish engineering company. Established in 1818 as an iron foundry, with time it rose to become a large holding company specialising in iron and steel production, as well as all sorts of machinery and metal products.
The largest factory was in
The main factory of Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein in Warsaw was looted by the Germans during World War II and the buildings demolished. The company was not rebuilt after the war.
History
Early years (1818–1855)
The predecessor to the Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein company was the Odlewnia i Rządowa Fabryka Machin ("Foundry and Government Machinery Factory"), the first iron foundry in Warsaw. Established in 1818, it was initially headed by Thomas Evans and Joseph Morris, two British nationals active in the Kingdom of Poland at the time. In 1824 Morris left the business and it was taken over by Thomas Evans and his brother Andrew,[2] hence it was renamed to "Bracia Evans" – the Evans Brothers Co. They were later joined by Douglas Evans, Alfred Evans and engineer Joshua Routledge. The company was producing mostly cast iron agricultural equipment and had a crew of approximately 150 workers.[2] Initially occupying a small plot of land at Piesza Street, soon it was moved to the ground of a former convent and a defrocked St. George's Church at Świętojerska Street.[2] A modern factory, it was the first venue in Warsaw to use gas lighting.[2]
During the
Soon before their departure in 1855 the Evans brothers invited two new people to the company: Wilhelm Rau and Stanisław Lilpop. Lilpop, a son of a watchmaker who had moved to Warsaw from Styria in the late 18th century, graduated from the Warsaw Piarist School in 1833 and joined the Evans Brothers company as a trainee.[3] A promising engineer, the Bank of Poland financed a scholarship for him and he was sent to Germany, England and France to train in steam engine construction.[3] Upon his return he took over the former State Machinery Factory (then headed by Wilhelm Rau, who continued to work for Lilpop), initially as its managing director and then as its owner.[3] Production of various agricultural machines of his own design, notably a reaper based on William Manning's design, allowed him to gather significant wealth and soon his firm was merged with that of the Evans brothers under a new name of "Evans, Lilpop et Comp." [3]
Rise to power (1855–1866)
The new company was now the first true concern in Poland: it owned not only the mechanical works in Warsaw, but also two iron ore mines and steel mills in Drzewica and
One of the best-selling products of the company was a
The company started producing equipment for railway companies, including rails and rail cars, notably for the Warsaw–Vienna railway. By 1866 Lilpop and Rau bought remaining shares of the Evans Brothers firm and renamed it to "Lilpop i Rau". Lilpop died later the same year in Biarritz,[3] but his widow, Joanna Lilpop, took over both his shares and his seat in the board.[4] She was the first, and for many years the only woman to hold a seat on the board of any large industrial firm in Poland.[4] She was later joined by their sons: Karol Lilpop (1849–1924), Wiktor Lilpop (1851–1922) and Marian Lilpop (1855–1889).[2]
Before the Great War (1866–1914)
After Lilpop's death,
A crisis came in 1877, when Russia turned to
In 1885 the factory was electrified as one of the first buildings in Warsaw, the company also started experimenting with arc welding, a novelty at the time.[7] By the end of the century the Warsaw plant alone had over 1300 workers.[2]
In 1905 Bonawentura Toeplitz died, having led the company for 39 years.[5] One of his last plans, completed over the next decade, was the move of the main factory and its main offices to a new, more modern venue at Bema Street.[2]
The last decades (1914–1945)
After the outbreak of
In 1925 Lilpop factory introduced the Lilpop C electric tram, a reverse-engineered and slightly improved version of the ageing Typ A tram by a German consortium including Van der Zyper & Charlier, Siemens-Schuckert, MAN and Falkenried companies. While based on a tram introduced 20 years before, the C type (bought in small numbers by the city of Warsaw) became the first in a long line of modern trams based on it, starting with Lilpop I (1927),[9] Lilpop II[10] and Lilpop LRL (1929),[11] Lilpop G (1932) and Lilpop III (1939).[12] The trams were in use in Łódź until 1973, some were also bought by other cities.[12]
In 1936 Lilpop also entered the automotive industry.
Car production at Lilpop started less than a year later, with a large portfolio of locally assembled cars. Among them were passenger cars of several brands:
In 1938 the factory had 3900 workers.[2] The same year the management started construction of a new car factory in Lublin that was to be completed in 1940 and was to take over the automotive part of the production. However, the war started before it could be completed.[2]
During
Legacy
After the war the new communist authorities of Poland nationalised virtually all privately held companies and there was no chance to rebuild the Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein company as a private venture. The remaining buildings at Bema Street continue to be used as offices. Perhaps the only part of the once powerful LRL concern that still exists is the
Throughout its existence, the Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein company also trained many of the most important Polish engineers. Among those who collaborated with the company were Karol Adamiecki [8] and the pioneer of arc welding Stanisław Olszewski.[7] However, one of the best-known workers of Lilpop is Bolesław Prus, the famous Polish writer, who worked there for several years as an office clerk.[15]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n PWN, §1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Świątek, §1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Pilatowicz, pp. 139–142.
- ^ a b Mórawski, pp. 127, 130–131.
- ^ a b c d e f Marcus, p. 85.
- ^ a b c Marcus, p. 86.
- ^ a b Pilatowicz, pp. 180–181.
- ^ a b Pilatowicz, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Dębski, §Lilpop I.
- ^ Dębski, §Lilpop II.
- ^ Dębski, §Lilpop LRL.
- ^ a b Dębski, §Lilpop III.
- ^ Pilatowicz, p. 126.
- ^ Marcus, p. 118.
- ^ Pieścikowski, pp. 19, 148.
References
- (in Polish) Wojciech Dębski (2006). "Tabor tramwajowy" [Tramways]. Łódzkie tramwaje i autobusy. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
- (in Polish) Pieścikowski, Edward (1985). Bolesław Prus (2nd ed.). Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. ISBN 83-01-05593-6.
- (in English) Joseph Marcus (1983). Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland, 1919–1939. Studies in the social sciences. Vol. 37. ISBN 9789027932396.
- (in Polish) Karol Mórawski (1997). Leksykon wolski [The Lexicon of Wola]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo PTTK „Kraj”. ISBN 83-7005-389-0.
- (in Polish) Józef Piłatowicz; Michał Czapski; Maciej Żak (2001). Józef Piłatowicz; Bolesław Orłowski (eds.). Inżynierowie polscy w XIX i XX wieku [Polish engineers in 19th and 20th centuries] (PDF). Vol. T. 7: 100 najwybitniejszych polskich twórców techniki. Warsaw: Polskie Towarzystwo Historii Techniki. p. 285. ISBN 8387992151. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
- (in Polish) PWN (corporate author) (2013). "Towarzystwo Akcyjne Przemysłowe Zakładów Mechanicznych "Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein" SA". Słownik ekonomiczny PWN. Warsaw: Polish Scientific Publishers PWN.
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has generic name (help) - (in Polish) Tadeusz Władysław Świątek (2013). Magdalena Dobranowska-Wittels (ed.). "Zakłady Metalurgiczne Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein SA". Made in Wola. Retrieved 2014-04-12.