Schrantz und Hofherr Engine 1920

Manufacturer: Schrantz und Hofherr

Model: VRF

The origins of Hofherr-Schrantz go back to 1869 when Matthias Hofherr founded a factory in Vienna for the production of locomobiles for agriculture. In 1881 he joined forces with the Hungarian-born Johann Schrantz (1830–1902) and founder of the Hutter & Schrantz company and founded the Hofherr-Schrantz company. In 1911 the merger with the Vienna branch of the English agricultural machinery manufacturer Clayton-Shuttleworth took place. This company was founded in 1842 and began to set up a branch in Vienna in 1857. The company, which initially comprised only a small workshop of an agent, moved three years later to the 3rd district of Vienna, Landstrasse. The number of employees at Clayton & Shuttleworth grew to 150 by 1869 and to 1,000 by the turn of the century. In the East and Central European market, which was supplied from Vienna, branches and repair workshops were established in Budapest, Bucharest, Krakow, Lviv, Prague and several other cities. With the merger in 1911, the Hofherr-Schrantz plant in Favoriten, Erlachgasse 92, was closed and all production was concentrated in Floridsdorf, Shuttleworthstrasse 8. The number of employees rose to 2,400 as a result of the association. The English parent company withdrew from the company. In 1917 the company employed over 5,000 workers and civil servants. By the end of 1916 alone, 125,420 locomobiles and threshing machines had been built and sold. During the First World War it was possible to work on the basis of army orders. At the end of the war, however, only around 1,200 to 1,400 employees could be retained. The production program was expanded to include other industrial products in addition to agricultural machines. The locations in the former monarchy were greatly reduced. A production site could only be maintained in Prague from 1929 onwards. Despite being the market leader in the agricultural machinery sector in Austria, the company was only able to employ 365 people after the global economic crisis in 1929. The company was financially restructured four years later by Länderbank and Österreichische Industriekredit AG, so that in 1937 the company had 2,500 employees again.

This engine is an eye-catcher with reference to old things like historical motorcycles or cars.