KraussMaffei is a German manufacturer of injection molding machines, machines for plastics extrusion technology, and reaction process machinery. It was acquired by

ChemChina China National Chemical Corporation, commonly known as ChemChina, is a Chinese state-owned chemical company in the product segments of agrochemicals, rubber products, chemical materials and specialty chemicals, industrial equipment, and petroch ...

in 2016.

History

Locomotives

KraussMaffei was formed in 1931 from a merger of the two Munich firms of Maffei (founded 1838) and Krauss & Co. (founded 1860). Both belonged to the leading German makers of

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

of various types. Maffei also built other steam-operated vehicles and, later, manufactured vehicles with combustion engines, including locomotives, trolleybuses and

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...

until the 1950s. The headquarters of the firm remained in Munich. In the 1960s, KraussMaffei built several examples of the ML 4000 C′C′ diesel-hydraulic locomotive for demonstration and testing on

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

railroads. Southern Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad participated in the tests, but both found the locomotives unsuitable for service in the rugged

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

through which the two railroads ran. In the 1970s, KraussMaffei were involved in the development of the Transrapid

magnetic levitation Magnetic levitation (maglev) or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Magnetic force is used to counteract the effects of the gravitational force and any other forces. The ...

train.

Armoured vehicles

KrausMaffei was a major tank manufacturer. In 1963 the company started production of the Leopard tank. Development and production of

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Ger ...

tank started in 1972 in cooperation with Wegmann & Co. The "tank family" comprised not only main battle tanks, but also combat engineering vehicles, air defense tank Flakpanzer Gepard, self-propelled howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000), and reconnaissance and transportation vehicles. More than 10,000 armoured vehicles based on Leopard tanks were produced since 1960s.

Mannesmann Demag Kraus-Maffei

Mannesmann Mannesmann was a German industrial conglomerate. It was originally established as a manufacturer of steel pipes in 1890 under the name "Deutsch-Österreichische Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG". (Loosely translated: "German-Austrian Mannesmann pip ...

acquired majority share of KraussMaffei in 1989, and bought out the remaining shares in 1996. In 1999 KraussMaffei merged with

Demag Demag Cranes AG is a German heavy equipment manufacturer now controlled by Japan-based Tadano via a $215 million deal. The roots of Demag date back prior to its formation, but became Märkische Maschinenbau-Anstalt, Ludwig A.-G in 1906 as the ...

to form the ''Mannesmann Demag Kraus-Maffei''. The same year, defense component was spun off and merged with Wegmann & Co to become Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). Co-operation between companies was already well established, with Wegmann supplying tank turrets, among other things. After acquisition of Mannesmann's telecommunication business by

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

in February 2000, Mannesmann group was dissolved; KraussMaffei's locomotive production and defense division Krauss-Maffei Wegmann were bought by

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

Plastics and moulding

KrausMaffei had produced injection moulding equipment since 1957. In 1964 the company Eckert & Ziegler GmbH was taken over. In 1986 the plastics equipment division was separated and became Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH. In 2000 it took over the KrausMaffei

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

s following dissolution of Mannesmann Group. In 2016, KraussMaffei was purchased by

. In November 2018 KraussMaffei was the victim of a

ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid off. While some simple ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, ...

attack, leading to severe drawdown in the production. After the transaction, ChemChina held a good 60 percent of the shares, another Chinese sovereign wealth fund around 15 percent, and the rest was free float. At the same time, production in China was stepped up: In addition, the ChemChina majority holding Qingdao Tianhua Institute of Chemistry Engineering (THY) took over a ChemChina plant in Sanming, which builds injection molding machines for the Chinese market. Starting in 2022, the company will relocate its headquarters and location in Allach in phases to an industrial estate currently under construction in the community of Vaterstetten north of the village of Parsdorf. KraussMaffei will cut 510 jobs worldwide by 2023, most of them in Germany, as the company reported in early 2020.

References

External links

* {{Authority control ChemChina Manufacturing companies established in 1930 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2016 mergers and acquisitions German companies established in 1930 German subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies based in Munich Manufacturing companies based in Munich Industrial machine manufacturers