(Franz) Bruno Salzer (13 May 1859 – 28 May 1919) was a German entrepreneur. Salzer was one of the leading entrepreneurs in Chemnitz around the start of the 20th century and the company he established was the biggest factory in Chemnitz before the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

Life

Franz Bruno Salzer was born in Stollberg on 13 May 1859 as the son of stocking knitter Johann Gottlieb Salzer (1817–68) and grandson of Oberschlema innkeeper Ephraim Salzer. In 1880 he moved to Chemnitz, where at first he worked as a locksmith for ''Wirkmaschinenfabrik Hilscher''. After his wedding in 1882 to Marie Anna Unger (1858–1925), he opened up a small workshop in 1883 together with fellow locksmith Carl August Schubert, who had previously worked for ''Maschinenfabrik Kappel''. This workshop produced stocking knitter machines and expanded in 1885 after the success of a new model of ''Flachwirkwerklen'' for stockings (named System Paget). 1887 the two fellow entrepreneurs reformed their company into a stock corporation under the name "Chemnitzer Wirkwaren-Maschinenfabrik vormals Schubert & Salzer". In 1892 Schubert left the ever-expanding company. After Salzer established himself as the sole technical engineer the company obtained the right to build automatic stocking machines (''Rundstrickwerklen'' in ''System Standard'') and developed the ''Petinet-Cottongrät'', which not only revolutionised the stocking knitter technology in the Ore Mountains, but was exported to numerous manufacturers all over the world. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the company was the world's biggest seller of ''Flachstrickwerklen'', while also experimenting with the production of bicycles and other machinery under the brand "Salzer & Co. GmbH" from 1896 to 1906. Salzer committed suicide in Chemnitz on 28 May 1919.''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie (DBE)'' (2nd ed), Bd 8, Poethen-Schlüter, p. 687 (ed. Rudolf Vierhaus). K G Saur Munich 2007
online version
retrieved 6 December 2019)

Legacy and tributes

*Bruno-Salzer-Straße (since 1997)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salzer, Bruno 1859 births 1919 deaths German chief executives German company founders People from Stollberg Engineers from Chemnitz Businesspeople from Saxony 1919 suicides Suicides in Germany