Fortuna-Werke

Fortuna-Werke is a German mechanical engineering company founded in 1903 in Cannstatt, today a district of Stuttgart, by the inventor and engineer Albert Hirth. Hirth, father of the aviation pioneers Hellmuth and Wolf Hirth, took over a machine-building firm specializing in leather processing and renamed it Fortuna-Werke Albert Hirth. With partner Emil Lilienfein as commercial manager, the company achieved early success with the Rapid bottle-sealing and labelling machine, the Fortuna cold saw and the Fortuna leather sharpening machine. The growing shoe industry drove demand for sharpening machines, and the company's modular construction principle gave it a lasting competitive advantage. In 1906 the Fortuna precision grinding spindle was added to the portfolio, and from 1907 spindles were distributed in the United Kingdom through Fortuna Machine Co. Ltd. in Leicester. Hirth's patents gave the firm a near-monopoly position. The company was converted into a GmbH in 1913, and by the end of the 1920s it had become Fortuna Werke AG. After the destruction of World War II the production facilities were rebuilt. In 1975 the company passed to the Getrag group, and in the 1990s the entire production was relocated. In 1996 the leather-processing and spindle divisions were separated, resulting in today's Fischer Fortuna GmbH for spindles and Fortuna Spezialmaschinen GmbH for leather machinery. Fortuna-Werke earned a worldwide reputation for precision grinding machines, grinding spindles and measuring instruments. Its history is marked by continuous innovation: the first leather sharpening and splitting machine, the first computer-controlled sharpening machine CS 4 presented at the IMS in Pirmasens in 1991, the computer-controlled CSP for the paper and packaging industry and the CS 6 in 1998, and the network-capable CSN 1 world première in 2001. The company's headquarters are now in Weil der Stadt, Baden-Württemberg, and it continues to operate as a specialist machine manufacturer under the Fortuna brand.

Fortuna-Werke was founded in 1903 in Cannstatt, today a district of Stuttgart, when Albert Hirth took over a machine-building firm specializing in leather processing and renamed it Fortuna-Werke Albert Hirth. Hirth was an inventor and engineer, and father of the aviation pioneers Hellmuth and Wolf Hirth. Five years later he converted the business into an oHG (offene Handelsgesellschaft). Shortly afterwards Emil Lilienfein became a partner and commercial manager. After the introduction of bottled beer, Lilienfein made the Rapid bottle-sealing and labelling machine a success. The company received orders especially from Robert Leicht's brewery, today known as Schwabenbräu. Further successful products were the Fortuna cold saw and the Fortuna leather sharpening machine. Sharpening machines brought the breakthrough because the shoe industry was growing strongly. Their modular construction principle was an advanced manufacturing method that still ensured the export of exactly fitting machine parts for old machines in the 1950s. In 1906 the Fortuna precision grinding spindle supplemented Hirth's portfolio, and Hirth-Minimeter, a dial lever gauge for precision measurements, was also produced for Norma. From 1907 the distribution of spindles in the United Kingdom was organized through Fortuna Machine Co. Ltd. in Leicester. Because Hirth held all patents, he was able to secure a monopoly position quickly. A patent law introduced at the same time required the machines to be manufactured locally, effectively forcing the establishment of production sites in the United Kingdom. To keep location costs low, these were maintained with low vertical integration; individual parts were made in Stuttgart and shipped to the British plants for final assembly only. During World War I the British factory sites were liquidated. In 1913 the company was converted into a GmbH. The 1920s were marked by production spin-offs into independent companies. By the end of the decade Fortuna Werke AG was created. World War II led to the destruction of the production facilities, but they were rebuilt. An innovation was the first leather sharpening and splitting machine. Its assembly was moved to Weil der Stadt in the mid-1960s. In 1965 the new Fortuna branch factory in Weil der Stadt was ceremonially inaugurated, and sharpening and splitting machine assembly was relocated there. In 1967 the 50,000th sharpening machine and the 250th splitting machine left the factory. In 1975 the company passed to the Getrag group, and in the 1990s the entire production followed. In 1991 the world's first computer-controlled sharpening machine CS 4 was presented at the IMS in Pirmasens. In 1994 the entire company, with its leather-processing machinery and spindle divisions, moved to the branch factory in Weil der Stadt. In 1996 the leather and spindle divisions were separated and renamed: the leather division became Fortuna Spezialmaschinen GmbH. In 1998 a computer-controlled sharpening machine CSP was newly developed especially for the paper and packaging industry, along with the computer-controlled sharpening machine CS 6. In 2001 a world first was presented at the IMS in Pirmasens: the network-capable sharpening machine CSN 1. Today the company operates as Fortuna Spezialmaschinen GmbH for leather machinery, while the spindle business continues as Fischer Fortuna GmbH. Many further market innovations have shaped the company's history from the 1970s to the present.

• 2001

  World première of the network-capable sharpening machine CSN 1 at the IMS in Pirmasens.

• 1998

  Development of the computer-controlled sharpening machine CSP for the paper and packaging industry and the CS 6.

• 1996

  The leather and spindle divisions are separated and renamed; the leather division becomes Fortuna Spezialmaschinen GmbH.

• 1994

  The entire company, including leather-processing machinery and spindles, moves to the branch factory in Weil der Stadt.

• 1991

  The world's first computer-controlled sharpening machine CS 4 is presented at the IMS in Pirmasens.

• 1975

  The company passes to the Getrag group.

• 1967

  The 50,000th sharpening machine and the 250th splitting machine leave the factory.

• 1965

  The new Fortuna branch factory in Weil der Stadt is ceremonially inaugurated; sharpening and splitting machine assembly is relocated there.

• 1953

  A completely new leather sharpening and splitting machine is presented to the international public at the Pirmasens trade fair.

• 1938

  Development of the first fine splitting machine FSP.

• 1920

  Production spin-offs into independent companies mark the decade; by the end of the 1920s Fortuna Werke AG is created.

• 1913

  The company is converted into a GmbH.

• 1908

  The business is converted into an oHG; Emil Lilienfein becomes partner and commercial manager.

• 1907

  Spindle distribution in the UK is organized through Fortuna Machine Co. Ltd. in Leicester.

• 1906

  The Fortuna precision grinding spindle is added to the portfolio.

• 1903

  Albert Hirth takes over a leather-processing machine-building firm in Cannstatt and renames it Fortuna-Werke Albert Hirth.

Premium German precision machine manufacturer with over a century of tradition, specializing in leather-processing machinery and precision spindles.

• Fortuna leather sharpening machine

  The product that brought the breakthrough, driven by the growth of the shoe industry.

• Fortuna precision grinding spindle

  Added in 1906; distributed in the UK from 1907.

• Rapid bottle-sealing and labelling machine

  Made successful by Emil Lilienfein after the introduction of bottled beer.

• Fortuna cold saw

  One of the company's early successful products.

• Hirth-Minimeter

  A dial lever gauge for precision measurements, produced for Norma.

• CS 4

  World's first computer-controlled sharpening machine, presented in 1991.

• CSP

  Computer-controlled sharpening machine developed for the paper and packaging industry in 1998.

• CS 6

  Computer-controlled sharpening machine developed in 1998.

• CSN 1

  Network-capable sharpening machine, a world first presented in 2001.

1. 1FORTUNA GmbH official websitefortuna-gmbh.de
2. 2Fortuna-Werke history pagefortuna-gmbh.de
3. 3Fortuna-Werke on Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Fortuna-Werke on German Wikipediade.wikipedia.org