Lohner-Werke

The Lohner-Werke or simply Lohner, was a Viennese luxury coachbuilding firm founded in the 19th century by Jacob Lohner.

Around 1900 the firm produced electric-cars, being the first in Austria to do; the cars were designed by Ferdinand Porsche. During the early 1900s the firm manufactured aircraft, after WWI the company manufactured trams, and after WW2 the company began manufacturing scooters and mopeds using engines from Rotax, with which it merged in 1959, forming Lohner Rotax.

In 1970 Canadian firm Bombardier Inc. acquired a controlling share in the company and renamed it Bombardier-Rotax GmbH.

Under bombardier the company became Bombardier Wien Schienenfahrzeuge (BWS), later Bombardier Transportation Austria GmbH. It relocated to a specialised factory in 2007, and now produces only trams (2012).

History

In 1821 German Heinrich Lohner (1786–1855) established a workshop in Vienna, Austria, establishing himself as a wagonmaster. In 1823 he formed a joint venture with master saddlemaker (Sattlermeister) Ludwig Laurenzi, Laurenzi & Lohner. After the death of Ludwig Laurenzi in 1863 the company became Jacob Lohner & Co. under Heinrich Lohner's son Jacob Lohner (1821–92). Jacob Lohner transformed his father's craft business into a factory eventually manufacturing between 300 and 500 vehicles per year. The company supplied vehicles to the courts of the royal houses of Norway, Sweden, and Romania, as well as to the Austrian emperor; the company received the distinction k.u.k. Hofwagenlieferant ("Royal carriagemakers").