Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft
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; AEG) was a German producer of
electrical equipment Electrical devices or electric devices are devices that functionally rely on electric energy ( AC or DC) to operate their core parts (electric motors, transformers, lighting, rechargeable batteries, control electronics). They can be contraste ...
. It was established in 1883 by
Emil Rathenau Emil Moritz Rathenau (11 December 1838 – 20 June 1915) was a German entrepreneur, industrialist, mechanical engineer. He was a leading figure in the early European electrical industry and founder of AEG. Early life Rathenau was born i ...
as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. The company's initial focus was driven by electrical lighting, as in 1881, Rathenau had acquired the rights to the electric light bulb at the
International Exposition of Electricity The first International Exposition of Electricity () ran from 15 August 1881 through to 15 November 1881 at the Palais de l'Industrie on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. It served to display the advances in electrical technology since the s ...
in Paris. Using small power stations, his company introduced electrical lighting to cafés, restaurants, and theaters, despite the high costs and limitations. By the end of the 19th century, AEG had constructed 248 power stations, providing a total of 210,000 hp of electricity for lighting, tramways, and household devices. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, AEG worked with the Nazi Party and benefited from forced labour from concentration camps. After the war, its headquarters moved to
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. In 1967, AEG joined with its subsidiary Telefunken AG, creating ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AEG-Telefunken''. In 1985,
Daimler-Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...
purchased the ''AEG-Telefunken Aktiengesellschaft'' (which was renamed to ''AEG Aktiengesellschaft'') and wholly integrated the company in 1996 into Daimler-Benz AG (1998:
DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...
). The remains of AEG became part of
Adtranz Adtranz was a multi-national rail transportation equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the US. The company, legally known as ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, was created in 1996 as a joint venture between ABB and Daim ...
(later
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
) and Deutsche Aerospace (1998: DASA, today part of
Airbus SE Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...
). After acquiring the AEG household subsidiary AEG Hausgeräte GmbH in 1994,
Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...
obtained the rights to the AEG brand name in 2005, which it now uses on some of its products. The AEG name is also licensed to various brand partners under the Electrolux Global Brand Licensing program.


History


Summary

In 1883, Emil Rathenau founded ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in Berlin. In 1888, it was renamed as ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft''. Initially producing electrical equipment (such as light bulbs, motors and generators), the company soon became involved in AC electric transmission systems. In 1907,
Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading Germany, German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG turbine factory, AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, desi ...
was appointed as artistic consultant to AEG. This led to the creation of the company's initial
corporate identity A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public. The corporate identity is typically visualized by branding and with the use of trademarks, but it can also i ...
, with products and advertising sharing common design features. The company expanded in the first half of the 20th century, and it is credited with a number of firsts and inventions in electrical engineering. During the same period, it entered the automobile and airplane markets. Electrical equipment for railways was produced during this time, beginning a long history of supplying the German railways with electrical equipment. According to the 1930 ''
Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...
'': "Prior to 1923 it was the largest electrical manufacturing concern in Germany and one of the most important industrial undertakings in the world." During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, AEG joined with other large companies such as
IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...
, Thyssen and
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
in their support of the Nazis. The company benefited from the use of large numbers of forced labourers as well as concentration camp prisoners, under inhuman conditions of work. After WWII, the company lost its businesses in the eastern part of Germany. After a merger in 1967, the company was renamed ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AEG-
Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...
'' (from 1979 on only ''AEG-Telefunken''). The company experienced financial difficulties during the 1970s, resulting in the sale of some assets. In 1983, the consumer electronics division ''Telefunken Fernseh und Rundfunk GmbH'' was sold. In 1985, the company re-took the name AEG and the remainder of the company was acquired by
Daimler-Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...
; the parts that remained were primarily related to electric power distribution and electric motor technology. Under Daimler-Benz ownership, the former AEG companies eventually became part of the newly named
Adtranz Adtranz was a multi-national rail transportation equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the US. The company, legally known as ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, was created in 1996 as a joint venture between ABB and Daim ...
in 1995, and the AEG name was no longer used.
Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...
, which had already acquired the household subsidiary AEG Hausgeräte GmbH in 1994, now own the rights to use and license the AEG brand.


Foundation to 1940

The company originated in 1882, when
Emil Rathenau Emil Moritz Rathenau (11 December 1838 – 20 June 1915) was a German entrepreneur, industrialist, mechanical engineer. He was a leading figure in the early European electrical industry and founder of AEG. Early life Rathenau was born i ...
acquired licences to use some of
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
's lamp patents in Germany.Timeline 1882 The Deutsche Edison Gesellschaft ("German Edison Company") was founded in 1883 with the financial backing of banks and private individuals, with Emil Rathenau as company director.Timeline 1883 In 1884, Munich-born engineer
Oskar von Miller Oskar Franz Xaver Miller, since 1875 von Miller (7 May 1855 – 9 April 1934), was a German engineer and founder of the Deutsches Museum, a large museum of technology and science in Munich. Biography Born in Munich into an Upper Bavarian family ...
(who later founded
Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...
) joined the executive board. The same year, the company entered negotiations with the Berlin ''Magistrat'' (the municipal body) to supply electricity to a large area from a central supply, which resulted in the formation of the ''Städtischen Elektrizitätswerke'' (A.G.StEW) ("City electricity works company (Berlin)") on 8 May 1884.Timeline 1884 The original factory was located near Stettiner Bahnhof. In 1887 the company acquired land in the Berlin-Gesundbrunnen area on which the ''Weddingsche Maschinenfabrik'' (founded by Wilhelm Wedding) was previously located. In the same year, in addition to a restructuring and expansion of the production range, the AEG name was adopted.Timeline 1885–1887 In 1887 Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrowolsky joined the company as chief engineer, later becoming vice-director. His work on polyphase electric power led him to become the world's leading engineer in three-phase electric power systems at the end of the 1880s.Timeline 1888–1889 In 1891 Miller and Dobrovolski demonstrated the transmission of electrical power over a distance of from a hydro electric power plant in
Lauffen am Neckar Lauffen am Neckar (, ) or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its q ...
to
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, where it lit 1000 light bulbs and drove an
artificial waterfall An artificial waterfall is a water feature or fountain which imitates a natural waterfall. Artificial waterfalls have long been featured in traditional Japanese gardens, where they can serve to highlight a scene or to provide focus. The classic ...
at the
International Electrotechnical Exhibition The 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition was held between 16 May and 19 October on the disused site of the three former ( Western Railway Stations) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The exhibition featured the first long-distance tra ...
in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. This success marked one of beginnings of the general use of alternating current for electrification in Germany, and showed that distance transmission of electric power could be economically useful. In the same year the ''Stadtbahn Halle/Saale'' (City railway Halle–Saale) opened the first electric tram system (of notable size) in Germany.Timeline 1890–1891 Tropp Paul began his work for the AEG 1889/90 until 1893, and
Franz Schwechten Franz Heinrich Schwechten (12 August 1841 – 11 August 1924) was one of the most famous German architects of the Wilhelmine era, and contributed to the development of historicist architecture. Life Schwechten was born in Cologne, the son of a d ...
designed the facades of the ''Acker- und Hussitenstraße'' in 1894–95. In 1894 the site of the former ''Berlin Viehmarktgasse'' (cattle market alley) was purchased. This had a railroad siding connecting to the Berlin rail network, but there was no rail connection between the two plants. In 1895 an underground railway link between the two plots was built in a tunnel 270 meters long. The tunnel was built by Siemens & Halske (S & H) (later to become
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
) under the direction of C. Schwebel and Wilhelm Lauter who were also connected in the building of what is now the Spree tunnel Stralau used by the U-Bahn. By 1889 AEG were known as specialists in the construction of industrial portable drilling machines, some of these were driven by flexible shafts from electric motors. AEG also developed a toothed belt drive to reduce motor speed down to that required by machine tools. In 1903 the competing radio companies AEG and ''Siemens & Halske'' merged, forming a joint subsidiary named
Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...
.Timeline 1903 In 1907 architect
Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading Germany, German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG turbine factory, AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, desi ...
became an artistic adviser.Timeline 1904–1907 Responsible for the design of all products, advertising and architecture, he has since become considered as the world's first corporate designer. Behren's philosophy was to create a building which is solid, strong and simple in its structure. It is perfect for doing its job of producing large, heavy machinery. The dimensions of the building were chosen to allow turbines to be transported above other machinery. In the 1920s AEG became a global supplier of electrical know-how and equipment. In 1923, for example, it provided most of the essential materials and a team of engineers to oversee the electrification of British-ruled Palestine. British firms, at the time, could not compete with the prices of AEG The activity of the company soon extended to all areas of electrical power engineering, including electric lighting, electric power, electric railways, electro-chemical plants, as well as the construction of steam turbines, automobiles, cables and cable materials. In the first decades, the company had many factories in and around Berlin: *''Maschinenfabrik Brunnenstrasse'' (
steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
s,
dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...
s,
electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
s) *''Apparatewerk Ackerstrasse'' ( carbon-filament and metal thread light bulbs,
Nernst lamp The Nernst lamp was an early form of incandescent lamp. Construction Nernst lamps did not use a glowing tungsten filament. Instead, they used a ceramic rod that was heated to incandescence. Because the rod (unlike tungsten wire) would no ...
s,
switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
es, fuses,
resistor A resistor is a passive two-terminal electronic component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active e ...
s, electrical measuring equipment, dynamos, electric motors) *''Kabelwerk Oberspree'' (KWO, cables, copper and metal works, rubber fabrication, insulator fabrication) *''Transformatorenwerk Oberspree'' (TRO,
transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...
s) *''Glühlampenfabrik Moabit'' (1907–1912, carbon-filament and metal thread light bulbs, Nernst lamps,
Vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, thermionic valve (British usage), or tube (North America) is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. It ...
s) — later became part of
Osram OSRAM Licht AG is a German company that makes electric lights, headquartered in Munich and Premstätten (Austria). OSRAM positions itself as a high-tech photonics company that is increasingly focusing on sensor technology, visualization and trea ...
, from 1939 on Telefunken *'' Turbinenfabrik'' (1909,
steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
s) — famous as an example of industrial architecture *''Apparate-Werke Treptow '' (AT - 1926,
arc lamp An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc). The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...
s, switches, fuses, controls, starters, electrical measuring equipment) A number of other notable events involving AEG occurred in this period: *1900: Invention of the hairdryer. *1901: The
Neue Automobil Gesellschaft The Neue Automobil-Gesellschaft (NAG), or Nationale Automobil-Gesellschaft after it changed its name in 1915, was a German automobile manufacturer in Berlin." In 1902, German electrical company AEG (German company), AEG purchased the coachbuildi ...
("New Automotive Company") became part of AEG through the takeover of ''Allgemeine Automobil-Gesellschaft''Timeline 1900–1901 *27 October 1903: An AEG-equipped
experimental three-phase railcar The three-phase railcar () was an experimental Three-phase electric power, three-phase high-voltage alternating current powered high speed railcar concept developed by the "Research Association for High-speed Electric Railways" (, St.E.S.) in G ...
achieved a speed of on the test track of the ''Königlich Preußische Militär-Eisenbahn'' (
Royal Prussian Military Railway The Royal Prussian Military Railway (German: ''Königlich Preußische Militär-Eisenbahn''), also called the ''Königliche Militär-Eisenbahn'' (Royal Military Railway, KME), was a Prussian state railway, operated by the army, between Schöneberg ...
) between
Marienfelde Marienfelde () is a locality in southwest Berlin, Germany, part of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg borough. The former village, incorporated according to the Greater Berlin Act of 1920, today is a mixed industrial and residential area. Geography The ...
and
Zossen Zossen (; , ) is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, about south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped in 2003 to form the city. Geography Sinc ...
. This world speed record for rail vehicles was held until 1931. *1904: Merger of AEG with the ''Union-Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft'' (UEG) (literal: Union-electricity Company) *1910: Factory
Hennigsdorf Hennigsdorf () is a town in the district of Oberhavel, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. It is situated north-west of Berlin, just across the city border, which is formed mainly by the Havel river. History The town was first mentioned in 1375, ...
. Entry into the aircraft building market.Timeline 1910–1911 *1929: AEG produced its first compressor-driven refrigerators and temperature controlled irons.Timeline 1926–1930 *1933: AEG joined other large manufacturing companies to support
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
*1935: Presentation of the world's first tape device
Magnetophon Magnetophon was the brand or model name of the pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder developed by engineers of the German electronics company AEG in the 1930s, based on the magnetic tape invention by Fritz Pfleumer. AEG created the world's firs ...
K1 based on work by
Eduard Schüller Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. History Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Follo ...
at the
Berlin Radio Show The IFA ( ), or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (International radio exhibition Berlin, a.k.a. 'Berlin Radio Show'), is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. Between 1924 and 1939 it was an annual event, but from 1950 it wa ...
Timeline 1931–1935 *1941: AEG bought Siemens & Halske shares in
Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...
and the company became a subsidiary. On 20 June 1915, founder Emil Rathenau died at age 77.Timeline 1915–1916


The Nazi era and World War II

AEG donated 60,000 Reichsmarks to the Nazi party after the Secret Meeting of 20 February 1933 at which the twin goals of complete power and national rearmament were explained by Hitler. They joined with other large companies, such as
IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...
, Thyssen and
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
, in their support of the Nazis, especially in promoting re-armament of the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
,
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
, and
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
. During the war itself, they were to use large numbers of
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
ers as well as
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
prisoners, under inhuman conditions of work.''The Mazal Library''
NMT, Volume VII, pp. 557
(Document D-203 pages 557–562)

AEG worked extensively with the
Nazi party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
in Poland. AEG was forced to relinquish Kabelwerk Krakow, a cable manufacturing plant, to the
Nazi party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
. Kabelwerk Krakow was located in Krakow-Plaszow and used forced Jewish labor manufacturing cables from 1942 to 1944. In 1943, AEG began to relocate goods and evacuate workers. Goods were relocated to various places, including
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. When installing electric and lighting systems for the
Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...
training grounds in
Dębica Dębica (; ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been in the Tarnów Voiv ...
, AEG used forced labor from Jews placed in the Pustkow labor camp located in south east Poland. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, an AEG factory near
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
used female
slave labour Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. AEG was also contracted for the production of electrical equipment at
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
. AEG used slave labour from Camp No. 36 at the new sub-camp of Auschwitz III and also known as
Monowitz Monowitz (also known as Monowitz-Buna, Buna and Auschwitz III) was a Nazi concentration camp and labor camp (''Arbeitslager'') run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland from 1942–1945, during World War II and the Holocaust. For most of its existe ...
, called "Arbeitslager Blechhammer". Most of them would die in 1945 during the
death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...
es and finally in
Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...
. AEG was a major supplier of grips for P38 pistols manufactured by
Walther Arms Carl Walther GmbH (), or simply known as Walther, is a German firearm manufacturer, and a subsidiary of the PW Group. Founded by Carl Walther in 1886, the company has manufactured firearms and air guns at its facility in Germany for more than 1 ...
,
Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...
, as well as on the early wartime Spreewerk P38s. In an effort to express regret for its use of Jewish slave labour in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, AEG joined with
Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...
,
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
,
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
, and I G Farben to pay DEM75 million in reparations to the Jewish Claims Conference.


1945 to 1970

In 1945, after the Second World War, the production in the factories in the western sectors of
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
- what today is the building of the headquarters of DW (TV)Deutsche Welle - and
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
,
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and
Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (, ; ; ) and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is ho ...
resumed and further new works were erected, among others an Electric meter plant in
Hameln Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln st ...
. The steam and electric locomotive plant in
Hennigsdorf Hennigsdorf () is a town in the district of Oberhavel, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. It is situated north-west of Berlin, just across the city border, which is formed mainly by the Havel river. History The town was first mentioned in 1375, ...
(''Fabriken Hennigsdorf'') became a ''
Volkseigener Betrieb The Publicly Owned Enterprise (; abbreviated VEB) was the main legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany. These state-owned enterprise were all publicly owned and were formed after mass nationalisation between 1945 and the early 1960s, ...
'' (VEB) (people owned enterprise) as the '' Lokomotivbau Elektrotechnische Werke'' (LEW) ("electric locomotive works"). The cable plant (''Draht-, Kabel- und Metallwerk Oberspree'') and apparatus factory (''Apparatefabrik Treptow'') and other facilities also lay in East Germany and became '' Sowjetische Aktiengesellschaft'' (SAG) (Soviet joint stock companies). Over 90% of assets in Berlin lay in the Russian occupied zone and were lost.Firmengeschichte der AEG 1941/50
History of AEG 1941–1950 (more details of post war losses and problems) ''gerflaig.de''
The headquarters for the non-expropriated parts of the company was moved first to Hamburg and then finally to
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, the headquarters in Berlin having been destroyed. *1948: The AEG factories Kassel (FK) were founded on the site of the former MWK Motorenbau Werk Kassel at Lilienthalstrasse 150 in
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
/
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
/
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The first factory part was the high voltage switchgear factory (HSF), later the refrigerator factory (KSF), the ticketprinter factory (FDF), the isolating material factory (IF) as well as the worldwide accepted high voltage institute (HI)were founded. In the early sixties more than 5000 people worked for AEG in Kassel. Today, the site Lilienthalstrasse still produces high voltage switchgear. *1950: The new corporate headquarters is at the ''Friedensbrücke'' (Peace Bridge) in Frankfurt / Main. The number of employees in the Group rose from 20,900 in September 1948 to 55,400 persons in September 1957. In the same year the turnover exceeded one billion DM for the first time, however the high level of investment in the rebuilding of the company (1948 to 1956 over 500 million DM) placed a considerable strain on the balance sheet. *1958: The slogan "Aus Erfahrung Gut" (benefit from experience) is introduced to explain the company name and acronym, leading to unflattering parodies such as "Auspacken, Einschalten, Geht nicht" (unpack, switch on, does not work) or "Alles Ein Gammel" (everything is ' gammy'). *1962: The Group has 127,000 employees and generates annual sales of 3.1 billion DM. In
Springe Springe () is a town in the Hanover (district), district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Deister hills, southwest of Hanover. Town structure * Springe (core settlement, seat of the mayor), population 13,184 * Ben ...
a new factory is opened in February 1962 a new factory for the production of fluid control units with 200 employees. *1962:
Walter Bruch Walter Bruch (2 March 1908 – 5 May 1990) was a German electrical engineer and pioneer of German television. He was the inventor of closed-circuit television. He invented the PAL colour television system at Telefunken in the early 1960s. In ad ...
at Telefunken in Hannover develops
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
color television. *1966: The largest industrial space in Europe is created (175 m long, 45 m wide and 26 m high) for the construction using cranes of engines and generators with weights up to 400 tonnes.
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...
attends the opening. *1 January 1967: Merger with Telefunken creates AEG-Telefunken, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.


1970s onwards

In 1970, AEG-Telefunken had 178,000 employees worldwide, and was the 12th largest electrical company in the world. The company was burdened by, among other things, unsuccessful projects such as an automated baggage conveyor system at
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...
and nuclear powerplant construction. In particular, the nuclear power plant at
Würgassen Beverungen () is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Beverungen lies in the Weser Uplands on the side of the Weser opposite Solling roughly south of Höxter. In parts of the eastern municipal ar ...
, the commissioning of which was delayed by several years due to technical problems cost AEG hundreds of millions of DM. As a result, the company paid its last dividend in 1972. The entertainment arm (''Telefunken Fernseh und Rundfunk GmbH'') headquartered in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
was sold. This was followed by the computer mainframe business ( TR 4, TR 10, ) (a partnership under the name Telefunken Computer GmbH with the company Nixdorf) was sold to
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
. The process computer ( TR 84, TR 86, AEG 60–10, AEG 80–20, AEG 80–60) continued as ''Geschäftsbereich Automatisierungstechnik'' (after 1980 as ATM Computer GmbH). In 1975 the former Telefunken Headquarter at Berlin-
Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...
, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 7 was sold. The building had been previously rented to
Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...
. In 1976, to circumvent the requirement of equal participation of employees in the supervisory board, Dr. Walter Cipa (Dipl.-Geol.) (AEG boss from 1976 to 1980) created four further companies as wholly owned
joint stock companies A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholder ...
in addition to the two household appliance companies. (The numbers in parentheses refer to percentage of turnover in 1980) :AEG-Telefunken Anlagentechnik AG (37%) :AEG-Telefunken Serienprodukte AG (16%) :AEG-Telefunken Kommunikationstechnik AG (6%) : Olympia-Werke AG (business office technology, 7%) :AEG-Hausgeräte GmbH (22%) :Telefunken Fernseh und Rundfunk GmbH (12%) In 1979 ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AEG-Telefunken'' was renamed ''AEG-Telefunken AG'' by dropping the supplement "Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft", used since 1887. In February 1980,
Heinz Dürr Heinz Dürr (16 July 1933 – 27 November 2023) was a German businessman. He was a major shareholder in the Dürr AG, founded in Stuttgart in 1895. Dürr was chairman of the board of AEG from 1980 to 1990, and from 1991 to 1994 he served as exec ...
became board Chairman (until 1990). In August 1982 a restructuring plan, backed with federal guarantees of 600 million DM and new bank loans of 275 million DM, fell apart at the first disagreement between the banks. A banking consortium provided an administrative loan of DM 1.1 billion to the AEG Group until June 1983; 400 million of which only to be available on a guarantee by the federal government. Not only was AEG-Telefunken AG affected, but also its subsidiaries ''Küppersbusch AG'' in
Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...
, ''Hermann Zanker Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG'' in
Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
and ''Carl Neff GmbH'' in
Bretten Bretten (; South Franconian: ''Bredde'') is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Geography Bretten lies in the centre of a rectangle that is formed by Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Heilbron ...
. The ''Alno-Möbelwerke GmbH & Co. KG'' in Pfullendorf was taken over by the minority shareholders, and separated from the group. The suppliers to AEG were affected and some filed for bankruptcy—including ''Becher & Co. Möbelfabriken KG'' in Bühlertann—with lack of continuity of company policy a factor. The site at Brunnenstraße in the former Berlin district of Wedding was also sold, as were the firms ''AEG-Fabrik Essen'' and ''Bauknecht''. *1983/84: the consumer electronics division (Telefunken television and broadcasting GmbH) was sold to the French group Thomson-Brandt. *1985: AEG was taken over by
Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-Be ...
. Daimler-Benz executive
Edzard Reuter Edzard Hans Wilhelm Reuter (16 February 1928 – 27 October 2024) was a German businessman. He was the CEO of Daimler-Benz from 1987 to 1995. Early life Edzard Reuter was born in Berlin on 15 February 1928. His father was the popular social dem ...
(from 1987 Daimler CEO), decides two companies should form an "integrated technology group" with beneficial synergy. *1988: On its 60th anniversary the ''AEG-Forschungsinstituts'' (AEG Research Institute) creates the Carl-Ramsauer Prize for scientific/technical dissertations. *1990: AEG Westinghouse Transportation Systems GmbH is formed in association with Westinghouse Transportation Systems Inc. *1992: Merger (or re-uniting) of the railway business with the '' Lokomotivbau Elektrotechnische Werke'' (LEW) in
Hennigsdorf Hennigsdorf () is a town in the district of Oberhavel, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. It is situated north-west of Berlin, just across the city border, which is formed mainly by the Havel river. History The town was first mentioned in 1375, ...
, resulting in the formation of ''AEG Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH'' (AEG locomotives) *1992: The Swedish company
Atlas Copco Atlas Copco (''Copco'' from Compagnie Pneumatique Commerciale) is a Swedish multinational industrial company that was founded in 1873. It manufactures industrial tools and equipment. The Atlas Copco Group is an industrial corpration with headq ...
acquires AEG Power Tools Ltd; divested in 2004 to
Techtronic Industries Techtronic Industries Company Limited (TTI Group or TTI) is a Hong Kong–based multinational company that designs, produces, and markets power tools, outdoor power equipment, hand tools, and floor care appliances. It pioneered cordless power ...
. *1994: sale of the Automation division to
Schneider Electric Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational corporation that specializes in digital automation and energy management. Registered as a Societas Europaea, Schneider Electric is a ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, publicly traded on the Euronex ...
and of ''AEG Hausgeräte AG'' to
Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...
. *1995: ''AEG Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH'' becomes part of ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation (Adtranz) (subsequently becoming part of
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
in 2001; and more latterly becoming Alstom on January 29, 2021). *1996: The Annual General Meeting of Daimler-Benz AG chaired by Juergen Schrempp decides upon the dissolution of the lossmaking group. *1996: GEC ALSTHOM acquires AEG Power T&D business *September 1996: The company is deleted from the commercial register.


Products


Locomotives and railway technology

AEG played an important role in the history of the German railways; the company was involved in the development and manufacture of the electrical parts of almost all German electric locomotive series and contributed to the introduction of electrical power in German railways. Additionally many steam locomotives were made in AEG factories. In 1931 the company acquired
Borsig Borsig is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * (1867–1897), German entrepreneur * August Borsig (1804–1854), German businessman * Conrad von Borsig (1873–1945), German mechanical engineer * Ernst Borsig (1869–1933) ...
and transferred the locomotive production to the AEG-Borsig works (''Borsig Lokomotiv-Werke GmbH'') from the Borsig plant in Tegel. In 1948 the plant became VEB ''Lokomotivbau Elektrotechnische Werke''. In addition to numerous electric locomotives produced for the DR steam locomotive production continued until 1954. When the
Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...
began implementing AC propulsion systems AEG found itself in competition with
Brown, Boveri & Cie Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Baden bei Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oer ...
. The prototype DB Class E320 was built with
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
as dual voltage (15 kV and 25 kV AC) test machine, the technology ultimately leading to locomotives such as
DB Class 120 The DB Baureihe 120 is a class of electric locomotives operated by DB Fernverkehr in Germany. In November 2023, the last locomotives of this series were decommissioned by Deutsche Bahn. A few were sold to private railway companies and are operati ...
and
ICE 1 The ICE 1 is the first batch-produced German high-speed train and the first of now several within the Intercity Express family. Revenue service at speeds up to started in 1991, it was raised to in May 1995. Trainsets consist of two pow ...
. Only after
German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
and the adoption of the LEW plant in Hennigsdorf did AEG's name return to whole locomotive manufacturing, but only for a short time. "AEG locomotives GmbH " became part of ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation (later ADtranz) and currently the technology developed in the past, in part, now enables
Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
to build the very successful
Traxx Alstom Traxx (sold as Bombardier TRAXX before 2021) is a modular product platform of mainline diesel-electric and electric locomotives. It was produced originally by Bombardier Transportation and later Alstom, and was built in both freight an ...
series of locomotives. AEG also built the Hellenic Railways TRAINOSE Class
520 __NOTOC__ Year 520 ( DXX) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Vitalianus (or, less frequently, year 1273 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...
DMUs between 1989/1990/1991 and 1994/1995/1996. Between 1992 to 1994, AEG built 96 metro cars for
Shanghai Metro The Shanghai Metro (; Shanghainese: ''Zaon6he5 Di6thiq7'') is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, operating urban and suburban transit services to 14 of its 16 List of township-level divisions of Shanghai, municipal districts and to the neighb ...
.


Aircraft

AEG manufactured a range of aircraft from 1912 to 1918. The first aircraft in 1912 was of wooden construction and modeled after the
Wright brothers The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...
biplane. It had a
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
of ; was powered by an eight-cylinder engine producing 75 hp; unloaded weight was 850 kg; and could attain a speed of . From 1912, the construction of airplanes proceeded in mixed wood and steel tube construction with fabric covering. One of the planes designed and built was a ''
Riesenflugzeug A ''Riesenflugzeug'' (plural ''Riesenflugzeuge'', German for "giant aircraft"), sometimes colloquially referred to in English as an R-plane, was any member of a class of large World War I Imperial Germany, German bombers, possessing at least th ...
'' ("giant aircraft") AEG R.I. This aircraft was powered by four Mercedes D.IVa engines linked to a combination leather cone and
dog clutch A dog clutch (also known as a dog box, dog gears, dog ring, clutch dog, or positive clutch) is a type of clutch that couples two rotating shafts or other rotating components by engagement of interlocking teeth or dogs rather than by friction. T ...
. The first flight tests were satisfactory, but on 3 September 1918, the R.I broke up in the air killing its seven crewmen. The most successful in terms of production figures of all the AEG aircraft designs was that of the G.IV ''Grossflugzeuge'' ("large aircraft") heavy tactical bomber, of which one still survives of the 320 built, as the sole surviving World War One German multi-engine bomber. During the Second World War AEG produced machines for reconnaissance purposes, including a helicopter platform driven by an AC motor. This was a tethered craft that could not fly freely; the power supply was carried by three cables from the ground. The machine reached an altitude of 300 m.


Cars

AEG bought Kühlstein in 1902, founding the division ''
Neue Automobil Gesellschaft The Neue Automobil-Gesellschaft (NAG), or Nationale Automobil-Gesellschaft after it changed its name in 1915, was a German automobile manufacturer in Berlin." In 1902, German electrical company AEG (German company), AEG purchased the coachbuildi ...
'' (New Automobile Company), to make
cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
. AEG withdrew from car production in 1908. Models produced include: * AAG (1900 automobile) * NAG Typ A * NAG Typ B * NAG Typ B2


Film projectors

AEG also produced for a long period a series of film projectors: * Stillstandsmaschine 1919 Projektor 35 mm * Theatermaschine 1920 Projektor 35 mm * Triumphator I–III 1924–1935 Projektor 35 mm ACR 0710 * Successor (''Lehrmeister'') 1925–1935 Projektor 35 mm * Kofferkino 1927 encased Projektor 35 mm * Lehrmeister 1929 Projektor 35 mm ACR 0709 (Leitz) * Mechau Modell 4 1929 – 1934 Projektor 35 mm * Euro K 1938–42 Projektor 35 mm * Euro M 1936 Projektor 35 mm * Euro G 1938 Projektor 35 mm, Interlock-Version (G-MB) * Euro M2 1939–1944 Projektor 35 mm


Leadership


The AEG brand today

As a result of the breakup and dissolution of the original company,
Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...
acquired the brand rights in 2005 and the name is also licensed to various companies: Currently the brand is being actively promoted by Electrolux; it includes many of the same products that it formerly manufactured, such as power solutions energy devices, telecommunication devices (phones and mobile phones), automation, car accessories, home appliances, power tools, projectors, printing equipment and supplies, water treatment devices, and personal care devices under the AEG brand. *AEG ''Hausgeräte'' - became part of
Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...
, produces
white goods A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were tradi ...
, such as washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, fridges etc. *ITM Technology AG produces consumer electronics and telecommunication (mobile phone, home phone, etc.) equipment under the AEG name. *
Binatone Binatone is a British-Chinese telecommunications company. Binatone was started in the United Kingdom in 1958 by two brothers, Gulu Lalvani and Partap Lalvani, to import and distribute consumer electronics. The company was named after their sist ...
manufactures mobile accessories, mobile phones, landline phones and two way radios under the AEG brand. *AEG ''Elektrowerkzeuge'' (AEG Power Tools), licensed to
Techtronic Industries Techtronic Industries Company Limited (TTI Group or TTI) is a Hong Kong–based multinational company that designs, produces, and markets power tools, outdoor power equipment, hand tools, and floor care appliances. It pioneered cordless power ...
(TTI) since 2009, produces hand power tools. *AEG ''Haustechnik'' (licensed to Stiebel Eltron) produces home heating and climate control (humidifiers, airconditioners) products *AEG Industrial engineering produces electrical power equipment, including generators up to 55MW, control gear and switchgear, electrical motors, transformers etc. as well as high power inverters and DC supplies for industrial use. *AEG SVS ''Schweiss-Technik'': manufacturer resistance welding machines and equipment *AEG ''Gesellschaft fur moderne Informationssysteme'' mbH (AEG-MIS): Develops custom LCDs for information systems *AEG ID: produces
RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...
tags and readers *AEG Power Solutions (formerly Saft Power systems or AEG Power Supply Systems): produces uninterruptible/backup/stable power supply systems for electric supply sensitive equipment (e.g. computers) *AEG Professional Printing Equipment and Supplies: Produces wide format printers, inks, and media products for printing, as well as photoconductor drums and toners for printing applications (e.g. laser printer/photocopier) AEG Professional Printing Equipment and Supplies
''aeg-professional-printers.co.uk''
* AViTEQ ''Vibrationstechnik'' GmbH * ''Lloyd Dynamowerke'' GmbH & Co KG * Lafert Group


References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Gerd Flaig,

("History of AEG") Compiled by former AEG employee from AEG Telefunken archives ''gerdflaig.de''


Further reading

* Buddensieg, Tilman. ''Industriekkultur: Peter Behrens and the AEG, 1907-1914'' (1984) * Buse, Dieter K. and Doerr, Juergen C., eds. ''Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of History, People, and Culture, 1871-1990'' (2 vol. Garland, 1998) pp 10–11. * Flaningam, M. L. "International Co-operation and Control in the Electrical Industry: The General Electric Company and Germany, 1919-1944." ''American Journal of Economics and Sociology ''5.1 (1945): 7-25. * Erdmann Thiele (ed.): ''Telefunken nach 100 Jahren — Das Erbe einer deutschen Weltmarke.'' Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung Berlin, 2003. * ''Aus der Geschichte der AEG: Vor 25 Jahren: Bau der ersten AEG-Flugzeuge''. In: ''AEG-Mitteilungen.'' Jahrgang 1937, Heft 10 (Oktober), pp. 359–362. * Peter Obst: ''Die Industrie am Humboldthain (Maschinenfabrik), AEG 1896–1984''. Innovations-Zentrum Berlin Management (IZBM) GmbH. * S. Müller, K. Wittig, S. Hoffmann (2006): ''Empirische Befunde zum Konsumentenboykott. Der Fall AEG/Electrolux.'' Dresdner Beiträge zur Betriebswirtschaftslehre Nr. 116/06
Marketing-Verein, TU Dresden - Empirische Befunde zum Konsume
* Hans-Heinrich von Fersen: ''Autos in Deutschland 1920–1939.'' * ''50 Jahre AEG, als Manuskript gedruckt.'' Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft Abt. Presse, Berlin 1956. * Gert Hautsch: ''Das Imperium AEG-Telefunken, ein multinationaler Konzern.'' Frankfurt/Main 1979. * Felix Pinner: ''Emil Rathenau und das elektrische Zeitalter.'' Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Leipzig 1918. * Harri Czepuck: ''Ein Symbol zerbricht, zur Geschichte und Politik der AEG.'' Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1983. * Tilmann Buddensieg: ''Peter Behrens und die AEG, Neue Dokumente zur Baugeschichte der Fabriken am Humboldthain.'' In: ''Schloss Charlottenburg Berlin-Preußen.''
Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...
, München 1971. * Peter Strunk: ''Die AEG. Aufstieg und Niedergang einer Industrielegende''. Nicolai, Berlin 2000. * Jahresringe Verband für Vorruhestand und aktives Alter, Land Brandenburg e. V. (ed.): ''Zeitzeugnisse 1945–1990.'' Part I (1999) and II (2000).


External links


AEG-Electrolux
— company website ''aeg.de'' (in German)
AEG Design case
History of AEG logos ''goodlogo.com''

AEG — general electric company — brief history of the company, with images of old products and share certificates (German language)
Aufstieg und Fall der AEG: Nur die drei Buchstaben haben überlebt
Rise and Fall of AEG: only three letters remain. Article about history of AEG. ''heise.de''
Seidel/Dame: ''1920 – Versorgungsbauten für Groß-Berlin'' (AEG-Bauten); eine ausführliche und bebilderte Darstellung zu AEG in Berlin
Architectural history of AEG buildings. Authors : Cira López Miró, Gladys Griffault, Eric Sommerlatte, Christoph Bickenbach ''laufwerk-b.de''
AEG - A brand makes history (12 min documentation on YouTube)
* {{Authority control Electronics companies of Germany Defunct manufacturing companies of Germany Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany Defunct mobile phone manufacturers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany Electrical engineering companies of Germany Electrical equipment manufacturers Electrolux brands Home appliance manufacturers Marine engine manufacturers Power tool manufacturers Tool manufacturing companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Frankfurt Manufacturing companies established in 1883 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1996 German brands Companies involved in the Holocaust German companies established in 1883 German companies disestablished in 1996 Companies formerly in the MDAX 1996 mergers and acquisitions