Puch

Puch is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Austria. The company was founded in 1899 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles. It was a subsidiary of the large Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate.

History

Foundation

From 1889 Johann Puch (1862–1914) worked as an agent for Humber vehicles and manufacturer of Styria safety bicycles in a small workshop in Graz and in 1891 he founded his first company Johann Puch & Comp., employing 34 workers. Cyclists like Josef Fischer, winning the first edition of Paris–Roubaix in 1896, popularized Styria bycicles which were even exported to England and France. By 1895, Puch already employed more than 300 workers producing about 6000 bikes a year.

In 1897 Puch left the company after a dispute with his business partners. Two years later he founded the Erste Steiermärkische Fahrradfabrik AG (en: "First Styrian Bicycle Factory AG") in Graz. Puch's company became successful through innovation and quality handicraft, rapidly expanding over time. It soon began producing motorcycles and mopeds.

Puch (disambiguation)

Puch may refer to:

Puch 500

Puch 500 was a small car produced by Steyr-Daimler-Puch in the city of Graz, Austria. It was manufactured under licence from Fiat and was based on the Fiat 500.

The beginning

In 1954 it was decided at Steyr-Puch to resume car production after the war. Because of the high costs associated with the development of a completely new design, an agreement was made with Fiat to acquire and adapt the body in white of their Fiat 500 model. Of the body, only the engine cover and later the roof was produced in-house. On the other hand engine, transmission and carriage were all manufactured by Steyr-Puch. The engine was a two-cylinder (16 hp/12 kW) flat engine which proved to be far more smooth-running than the in-line engine used by Fiat. It brought good driving behaviour for its time, especially in mountain rides. The Italians too had experimented mounting this engine to their car originally, but it was dropped in favor of the simpler in-line twin.

The first Steyr-Puch 500 was launched in 1957 and sold well. At first it was offered with a folding roof only, and it was expected to draw in motorcyclists as a buying audience. The 'Puchwagen,' as it was called, was the official car for the Austrian AA-service.