HITIAG
Corporate brand
UnclaimedHITIAG was an Austrian hemp, jute, rope, and textile manufacturer whose industrial group expanded across Central Europe before contracting into a smaller textile and industrial holding.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
HITIAG was an Austrian industrial textile company established in 1869 by Paul Pacher von Theinburg as the first Austrian jute-spinning and weaving mill, located in Vienna-Simmering. Its original business centered on processing jute, a bast fibre widely used for sacks, cordage, and other industrial materials. The company expanded early: it acquired a jute factory in Floridsdorf and later established a jute-spinning and weaving operation in Budapest in 1882. The business became associated with a broader network of hemp, jute, rope, paper, and textile enterprises. A hemp-spinning mill and rope factory built in Golling in the 1880s by the Jewish Viennese Lieser and Duschnitz families was integrated into the Bodencreditanstalt Group in 1899. During the final year of the First World War, the wider group acquired or took stakes in a paper factory in Neudeck, a jute factory in Trieste, a jute operation in Bielitz, and a textile-loom factory in Eger. Further expansion followed in 1919 through participation in a hemp-spinning and twine factory near Melk and the takeover of the Lieser & Duschnitz hemp-spinning, twine, and rope works in Neuda. By the early 1920s, the group operated across six countries and employed approximately 6,500 people. The acquisition of the Lieser & Duschnitz business broadened its range from jute into hemp products. To reflect this enlarged portfolio, the former Erste österreichische Jute-Spinnerei und -Weberei adopted the name Hanf-, Jute- und Textilindustrie AG, abbreviated HITIAG. A Hungarian jute mill in Neufeld an der Leitha was acquired in 1922, and its workforce reached nearly 2,000 employees in 1928. The Anschluss of 1938 severely affected HITIAG. The Lieser and Duschnitz families, who were Jewish, were persecuted under Nazi racial legislation, dispossessed of their interests through Aryanization, and forced to leave Austria. This episode places the company within the history of Nazi expropriation and the persecution of Jewish industrial families in Austria. After the Second World War, HITIAG gradually reduced and reorganized its manufacturing base. The Vienna plants were closed in 1959, with machinery moved to Neufeld and Neuda. In 1971 and 1972, jute spinning and weaving in Neufeld ended, and the remaining equipment was used for textile-yarn finishing in cooperation with the German company Schroers. HITIAG held a 50 percent interest in the successor venture AUTEXA. Other parts of the former Neufeld site were used by Österreichische Kuvertindustrie, and later the former factory complex was demolished; a monument incorporating the site clock tower was erected in 1997. The company continued in a substantially reduced form through Lambacher Hitiag AG. In 1995, its turnover reportedly fell by half to ATS 266.45 million, and the business consisted primarily of the parent company and interests in August Kohl & Wäntig Seilerwaren-Handels-GesmbH and Karolina Kft. The Neufeld operation ended with the bankruptcy of AUTEXA on 31 July 1985, while production at Neuda was eventually closed in 2001 and wet-yarn production transferred to Tolna. Production in Stadl-Paura also ended, leaving only the headquarters of Lambacher Hitiag Leinen AG. The current corporate name associated with the former business is LHL Immobilien Beteiligungs-GmbH, indicating that the original HITIAG manufacturing enterprise no longer operates as an active textile brand.
History
HITIAG originated in Vienna in 1869, when Paul Pacher von Theinburg founded what is described as Austria's first jute-spinning and weaving mill. The company expanded to Floridsdorf and Budapest, establishing an early cross-border industrial footprint. Its later identity was shaped by the incorporation of hemp, rope, and related textile businesses associated with the Lieser and Duschnitz families. Those families had developed a hemp-spinning mill and rope factory in Golling during the 1880s, and the enterprise entered the Bodencreditanstalt Group in 1899. World War I and its aftermath accelerated HITIAG's expansion. The group acquired interests in paper, jute, textile machinery, and hemp businesses in several Central European cities. In 1919 it participated in the creation of a hemp-spinning and twine company near Melk and took over the Lieser & Duschnitz works in Neuda. A 1922 acquisition in Neufeld added another Hungarian jute operation. By the beginning of the 1920s, the group covered six countries and employed around 6,500 people. The inclusion of hemp products prompted the change from the earlier jute-company name to Hanf-, Jute- und Textilindustrie AG, commonly shortened to HITIAG. The company's history was deeply affected by the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938. Because the Lieser and Duschnitz families were Jewish, they were subjected to persecution and forced expropriation. Their ownership interests were transferred through Aryanization, and family members fled Austria. This was not merely a change in corporate control but part of the broader Nazi persecution and dispossession of Jewish businesses in Austria. Postwar HITIAG was progressively rationalized. In 1959, the Vienna factories closed and their machinery was moved to Neufeld and Neuda. Jute spinning and weaving in Neufeld ended in 1971–72, when the site was adapted for textile-yarn finishing in partnership with Schroers. The resulting AUTEXA venture was partly owned by HITIAG. The former Neufeld site subsequently lost its manufacturing role; the AUTEXA operation collapsed in 1985, and the industrial buildings were later demolished. A clock-tower monument was installed at the former site in 1997. By the mid-1990s, HITIAG had become a much smaller enterprise. Lambacher Hitiag AG remained as a parent company with interests including August Kohl & Wäntig Seilerwaren-Handels-GesmbH and Karolina Kft. Reported turnover in 1995 was ATS 266.45 million, approximately half the previous level. Further closures followed: the Neuda plant shut in 2001, wet-yarn production moved to Tolna, and production at Stadl-Paura ended. Only the headquarters of Lambacher Hitiag Leinen AG remained at that stage. The corporate successor is identified as LHL Immobilien Beteiligungs-GmbH, while HITIAG itself is best treated as a defunct historical industrial brand.
- 2001
Neuda and Stadl-Paura production closes
[1]The Neuda plant closed, wet-yarn production moved to Tolna, and Stadl-Paura ceased production.
- 1997
Clock-tower monument installed
[1]A monument was erected from the clock tower of the former Neufeld HITIAG factory.
- 1985
AUTEXA bankruptcy
[1]The AUTEXA company entered bankruptcy, ending HITIAG's Neufeld industrial presence.
- 1972
Neufeld converted to yarn finishing
[1]Jute weaving and spinning ended at Neufeld and the remaining equipment was used in a textile-yarn-finishing venture.
- 1959
Vienna plants closed
[1]Production in Vienna ended and machinery was moved to Neufeld and Neuda.
- 1938
Nazi Aryanization and dispossession
[1]The Lieser and Duschnitz families were persecuted and forced out of the company following the Anschluss.
- 1928
Neufeld workforce reaches a peak
[1]Employment at the Neufeld facility reached approximately 1,988 people.
- 1922
Neufeld jute mill acquired
[1]The First Hungarian Jute Spinning and Weaving Mill in Neufeld an der Leitha became part of the group.
- 1919
Expansion into hemp spinning and twine
[1]The group participated in a hemp-spinning and twine-factory venture near Melk and took over the Lieser & Duschnitz works in Neuda.
- 1899
Golling hemp and rope business enters Bodencreditanstalt Group
[1]The hemp-spinning and rope enterprise associated with the Lieser and Duschnitz families was integrated into the Bodencreditanstalt Group.
Products and positioning
Historically positioned as a vertically expanded Central European industrial-fibre group serving jute, hemp, rope, paper, and textile markets. In its later years, the business was reduced to selected textile and yarn operations before manufacturing activity was discontinued.
Industrial textiles · 1869
Jute yarn and woven jute
Jute spinning and weaving formed the original core of HITIAG's business. The material was used for industrial textile applications such as sacks, woven fabric, cordage, and other heavy-duty products. Production was established in Vienna and later extended to Budapest, Neufeld, and other Central European locations.
Natural-fibre materials · 1919
Hemp products
HITIAG added hemp products through the incorporation and acquisition of businesses connected with the Lieser and Duschnitz families. The range included hemp yarn and related semi-finished materials used in twine, rope, and industrial textile production.
Cordage
Twine and rope
The group operated rope and twine manufacturing alongside its spinning activities. These products extended HITIAG beyond woven jute into practical cordage markets and were produced through businesses in Austria and the wider Central European network.
Textile processing · 1972
Finished textile yarn
After the Neufeld jute mill was closed in the early 1970s, the remaining machinery was used for textile-yarn finishing in cooperation with Schroers through the AUTEXA venture. This represented the company's shift away from traditional jute weaving toward downstream textile processing.
Controversies
1938
Aryanization and dispossession of Jewish owners
After the Anschluss, the Jewish Lieser and Duschnitz families were persecuted under Nazi anti-Jewish laws, forced out of HITIAG, and dispossessed of their business interests. The episode forms part of Austria's history of Nazi expropriation and the persecution of Jewish entrepreneurs.
Brand decisions
1972
Convert Neufeld from jute production to yarn finishingStrategyBackground
Traditional jute spinning and weaving became less central to the postwar business.
Action taken
HITIAG ended jute spinning and weaving at Neufeld and formed a textile-yarn-finishing venture with Schroers, in which it held a 50 percent interest.
Aftermath
The Neufeld operation continued in a transformed form until the AUTEXA bankruptcy in 1985.
1959
Close Vienna manufacturing plantsStrategyBackground
The postwar company began concentrating production in fewer locations.
Action taken
HITIAG closed its Vienna plants and transferred their machinery to Neufeld and Neuda.
Aftermath
The move marked a significant contraction of the company's original Vienna manufacturing base.
1920
Rename the group to reflect hemp and textile expansionStrategyBackground
Acquisitions and investments had expanded the business beyond jute into hemp, rope, paper, and other textile-related activities.
Action taken
The former Erste österreichische Jute-Spinnerei und -Weberei adopted the name Hanf-, Jute- und Textilindustrie AG, abbreviated HITIAG.
Aftermath
The new name defined the group as a diversified industrial-fibre company rather than a single jute mill.
Sources1 sources
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