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The engine company. DEUTZ®

The Engine of Progress

2001

Start of the 3-year restructuring programme "DEUTZ Re-Launch/5-Point Programme" with the aim of returning DEUTZ AG to a profitable future:

  1. Focusing of the model range
  2. Streamlining of production
  3. Leaner structures
  4. Quality initiative
  5. Promotion of collaborations

April 1: Sale of the Aluminium Division of KHD Humboldt-Wedag AG to the Finnish Outokumpu Group.

May 9: 125th anniversary of the four-stroke petrol engine.

June 28: Sale of KHD Humboldt-Wedag AG, including the associated direct and indirect holdings.

December 31: Effect of the relaunch/5-point programme through cost reductions and margin improvement amounting to €19.7 million (planned: €14.5 million for 2001).

2002

March 5: Inclusion of N.A. Otto in the "European Automotive Hall of Fame" on the occasion of the 72nd International Motor Show in Geneva.

September: Licence agreement with the Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer NORINCO.

October 31: Closure of the foundry in Cologne-Deutz.

November 26: Licence agreements with the CHINA FAW GROUP CORP. (FAW) over a period of 10 years. The subject matter of the contract is the award of licences for the engines of series 1013, 2012 and 2013 for production and distribution in China.

2003

November 25: Capital increase by €68.7 million to €233 million.

2004

January 1: Cooperation agreement with the Italian SAME Group with a term of 15 years.

March 31: 140th anniversary of DEUTZ AG. The motorisation of the world began in 1864 with the founding of N.A. Otto & Cie. in Cologne, the first factory in the world intended exclusively for the production of internal combustion engines.

September 18: Laying of the foundation stone for the new assembly hall 41 at the works in Cologne-Porz. With an investment volume of €15.5 million, the hall is part of an overall package of €50 million for the expansion of manufacturing and assembly capacity at the Cologne site.

From 1867 to 2005 a total of 7 million small, medium-sized and large engines were built.

2005

January 1: A new company DEUTZ Power Systems & Co. KG (DPS) with headquarters in Mannheim is founded. All activities related to the medium-sized and large engine business (180 to 4000 kW) are brought together in DPS. DEUTZ Power Systems focuses on the business of energy generation by means of gas and diesel engines.

March 31: DEUTZ sells the marine service business for medium-sized and large engines to the Finnish Wärtsilä Corporation.

April: Production start of the new water-cooled engine series FM 2008 and FM 2009 at the Cologne-Deutz works.

2006

September 13: Groundbreaking ceremony for a new logistics centre in Ulm. The construction project is part of the expansion of the Ulm plant into the centre for all air-cooled engines and water-cooled engines with a capacity of more than 7 litres.

September 18: DEUTZ AG is included in the MDAX.

December 15: Completion of the new administration building at the factory in Cologne-Porz. Relocation of the head office and sales departments to the new building.

December 18: DEUTZ establishes a 50/50 joint venture agreement in China with FAW Jiefang Automotive Co. Ltd. based in Changchun, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the China First Automobile Works Group Corp. (FAW Group) on the establishment of a joint venture for the production and marketing of diesel engines.

2007

January 24: Start of mass production at the Ulm works for the air-cooled diesel engines of the 912/913/914 series transferred from Cologne-Deutz.

May: Power generating units now included in the marketing programme. At Bauma in Munich DEUTZ AG presents its own development of power generating units with air-cooled diesel engines of the FL 912/913 and FL 914 series. Power range: 30 to 152 kVA. The world's first hybrid drive for construction machines. At Bauma, DEUTZ is the first manufacturer to present a hybrid drive for mobile working machines.

August: Technical centre opens on the Cologne-Porz site. In addition to the extensive collection of engines from more than 140 years of the company's history, the technical centre also provides the opportunity to hold conferences and meetings.

September 30: Sale of "DEUTZ Power Systems GmbH & Co. KG" (DPS) based in Mannheim for €360 million. DPS has so far focused exclusively on the business of energy generation by means of gas and diesel engines.

Turnover 2006: €314 million, approximately 1,000 employees. This marks the end of medium-sized and large engine construction!

As a result the range of air- and liquid-cooled engines of DEUTZ AG is reduced from 5 - 4000 kW to only 5 - 500 kW.

2007 business year.

With around 286,000 engines sold and turnover of €1.5 billion, a new record was set by DEUTZ AG!

2008

February 1. Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Helmut Leube.

May: Start of pilot production at the new Xchange works in Pendergrass, Georgia/USA.

September 22: DEUTZ share in the SDAX. The share no longer satisfies the criterion for the MDAX.

2009

Approximately 8 million engines by the end of 2008 since the start of production in 1867.

April: Dr. Margarete Haase, responsible for finance and personnel, is the "first" woman on the Board of the company.

December 9. DEUTZ, Bosch and Eberspächer set up a joint venture for diesel after-treatment. Operates under the name of "Bosch Emission Systems GmbH & Co. KG" with headquarters in Stuttgart. The aim is to make joint use of the know-how relating to diesel exhaust gas after-treatment in order to offer all engine and machine manufacturers all over the world complete systems for diesel exhaust gas equipment.

December: Foundation of the development association "Friends of the DEUTZ Engine Collection". In cooperation with Cologne City Museum, the development association "Friends of the DEUTZ Engine Collection" was founded for the engine collection of DEUTZ AG. The purpose of the association is to secure and preserve the collection, whose core collection is protected through its inclusion in the directory of the valuable national cultural assets of the Federal Republic of Germany.

December: 500,000 engines since 1967 at the Donautal works in Ulm.

2010

February: Opening of a sequence centre in Cologne-Porz with a surface area of ​​12,000 square metres for the optimisation of the assembly processes. Investment: €2.5 million. One of the reasons is the increasing product variety as a result of the impending new legislation on emissions.

May: On May 27 the 2 millionth engine leaves the assembly plant in Cologne-Porz.

2011

September 19 DEUTZ AG is re-included in the MDAX!

2012

14. June: 180th birthday of Nicolaus August Otto.

2013

1 March: Michael Wellenzohn takes over the newly created position of Member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Sales, Service and Marketing at DEUTZ AG.

2014

31 March: 150th anniversary of DEUTZ AG – with a huge employee party at the Cologne-Porz site as well as an anniversary celebration at the trade fair in Cologne, DEUTZ invites representatives from politics, business and society to celebrate the establishment of N.A. Otto & Cie in Cologne. This is where the motorisation of the world began in 1864.

2015

6 July: DEUTZ lays the foundation stone for its new shaft centre in Cologne-Porz. The former location for shaft production in Cologne-Deutz is gradually cleared and 130 machines and plants are transferred to Porz from the first quarter until the end of 2016.

2016

19 October: DEUTZ AG and the Liebherr Machines Bulle S.A. agree a cooperation in which DEUTZ receives the global sales and service rights for Liebherr diesel engines in various applications in the 200 to 700 kW range under its own brand.

2017

1 January: Dr Frank Hiller is appointed as Chairman of the Board of Management of DEUTZ AG.

30 August: DEUTZ and Liebherr sign a cooperation agreement granting distribution and service rights for Liebherr diesel engines.

7 September: DEUTZ becomes the first engine manufacturer in the world to receive EU Stage V emissions standard certification for the DEUTZ TTCD 6.1 engine.

29 September: DEUTZ acquires electric drive specialist Torqeedo as part of its E-DEUTZ strategy.

5 October: DEUTZ acquires Italian distribution and service partner IML Motori and strengthens its position in Italy by turning the company into the subsidiary DEUTZ Italy.

11 October: DEUTZ invests in digital strategy and launches new online service portal including parts shop.

2018

1 March: Dr Andreas Strecker is appointed as the Board of Management member responsible for finance, human resources, procurement and information services.

6 March: ‘DIESEL’ trade magazine names the new DEUTZ TCD 9.0 as its DIESEL OF THE YEAR.

23 April: DEUTZ presents its first off-highway hybrid drive at the 2018 Intermat.

21 August: DEUTZ Connect App wins 2018 Red Dot Award.

15 September: DEUTZ showcases its first E-DEUTZ prototypes at the ELECTRIP week.

9 November: New DEUTZ Innovation Centre opens at the site in Cologne-Porz.

2018: Record growth sees revenue increase by almost 25 per cent compared to 2017.

2019

1 January: Dr Bernd Bohr is appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

5 April: 100 years of vocational apprenticeships at DEUTZ.

8 April: DEUTZ presents a modular system for innovative off-highway drives at the 2019 bauma.

3 June: DEUTZ and SANY enter joint venture agreement.

1 July: Award-winning excellence - DEUTZ has made it into the TOP 100 of Germany's most innovative companies.

12 September: Nicolaus August Otto Award presented for the first time - DEUTZ’s innovation prize goes to Professor Günther Schuh.

30 September: DEUTZ and SANY sign agreement on future joint venture site with the Chinese city of Changsha.

9 October: DEUTZ acquires battery specialist Futavis.

1982

A new technical centre for industrial plant opens in the Porz works.

1983

The 1,500,000th DEUTZ air-cooled diesel engine (FL612 to FL 913 model series) leaves Cologne production.

1984

The 4,000,000th DEUTZ engine is produced since production started in 1867.

1985

Motoren-Werke Mannheim AG (MWM) is taken over.

The agricultural machinery division of the Allis-Chalmers Corporation of Milwaukee (WI) is taken over. This is followed by the establishment of the DEUTZ-Allis Corporation in Milwaukee.

1986

The large engine works in Voerde is closed down and production moved to Mannheim.

MWM Diesel- und Gastechnik GmbH is established in Mannheim.

KHD Antriebs- und Lufttahrttechnik GmbH is founded, also in Mannheim, to produce gas turbines for aviation and industry, and KHD Agrartechnik GmbH as the operational management company.

1987

Tractor production is modernised in the Kalk works in Cologne.

KHD records a loss for the first time. Restructuring starts. The company rationalises and concentrates on its core businesses of diesel engines, agricultural machinery, and industrial plant.

The Bochum factory is closed.

1988

Production starts on the new oil/air cooled B/FL 1011 series of engines.

The agricultural machinery activities (Gottmadingen works) are taken over by the Dutch firm of Greenland NV.

1989

125th anniversary.

The 4,000, 000 air-cooled diesel engine is produced since production started in 1944.

DEUTZ Argentina S.A., Buenos Aires (Argentina) is sold off.

DEUTZ-Allis Corporation in the USA is sold off on 31st December 1989.

New companies in industrial plant engineering:

HUMBOLDT Prozessautomation GmbH of Cologne, / GSE GmbH (sludge and waste-water treatment), / Humboldt Decanter Inc., Atlanta / Gautschi-Penta Inc., Charlotte (NC) / Humboldt Wedag Espana SA, Madrid.

1990

Extensive programme of renewal.New engine types are developed as well as tractors and industrial plant.

KHD-Luftfahrttechnik GmbH of Oberursel is sold off.

The Alkenbrecher Group in Wesseling is taken over; its specialisation is the installation and maintenance of industrial plant.

1992

New corporate structure as a consolidated group under a holding company.Nine autonomous legal entities are responsible for the operational business under the "umbrella" of the holding company.

The 1,000,000th DEUTZ tractor since production started in 1926 is produced.

Pre-series production starts on the new liquid-cooled B/ FM 1012/1013-series diesel engine.

1993

On 2nd June the new Porz engines works in Cologne is taken into operation. It is one of the most modern of its kind in the world. With an investment volume of about DM 600 million it is the biggest single investment in the history of KHD AG.

1995

KHD Agrartechnik GmbH of Cologne (tractors) and DEUTZ-Fahr Erntesysteme GmbH, Lauingen (combine harvesters and bailers) are sold off on 1st January 1995 to the Italian Same Group.

Major fire at DEUTZ SERVICE

In the night from 24th to 25th December 1995, in the DEUTZ factory, buildings and warehouses with a total area of about 15,000 square metres, burn down.

Heavy losses and falsified accounts at KHD Humboldt Wedag AG following miscalculation of costs on major orders for Saudi Arabia.

1996

Falsification of accounts at KHD Humboldt Wedag AG in 1995 throws KHD into a crisis that threatens its very existence. Bankruptcy is only averted by rationalisation contributions from the banks, local authorities, employees and the pension insurance association.

On 10th September 1996 the KHD shareholders pass a resolution at their Annual General Meeting to change the company's name to "DEUTZ AG" with effect from 1st January 1997.

Honour for N. A. Otto as the inventor of the four-stroke cycle: On 22nd October, on the occasion of the 100-year history of the motor car in the USA; Nicolaus August Otto together with Wilhelm Maybach was accepted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit. Otto thus took his place alongside other personalities who have dedicated themselves to the motor industry such as Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz, Rudolf Diesel, Robert Bosch und Ferdinand Porsche.

1997 „DEUTZ AG“

After the change of name approved by the Annual General Meeting on 10th September 1996 had been entered in the Commercial Register, the former Klöckner-Humboldt-DEUTZ AG (KHD) has been operating since 1st January 1997 as DEUTZ AG. It will concentrate on the development, production, marketing, and service of engines in the output range from 4 kW to 4,000 kW.

This aim is also served by the organisational and legal integration of the previously independent Group subsidiaries DEUTZ Motor GmbH, KHD Guss GmbH (castings), and DEUTZ SERVICE INTERNATIONAL GmbH, into DEUTZ AG.

100th anniversary of the DEUTZ foundry

1998

On 13th October a co-operation agreement is signed with the Swedish Volvo car and engineering group under which DEUTZ AG becomes a chief supplier of small and medium-sized diesel engines. The two companies intend to collaborate in future on the development of medium-sized engines. Their collaboration is underpinned by a 10-percent minority holding by Volvo in DEUTZ AG.

Motoren-Werke Mannheim AG is completely integrated into DEUTZ AG: All engines produced in Mannheim are now sold under the DEUTZ name.

Series production starts on the new liquid-cooled F4/6M 2013 series of engines.

50th anniversary of the repair and reconditioning works in Übersee (south-east Bavaria).

2000 In March the 500,000th 1011-series engine left the assembly line, series production having started in 1988.

In May the 500,000th engine since production began in 1993 left the Porz engine factory.

1961

New tractor factory in the Kalk works in Cologne.

1964

100th anniversary

The Magirus symbol becomes the company symbol.

Electronic data-processing starts at KHD.

Sales: DM 1.6 billion. Employees: 32,000.

1967

New research and development works starts up in the Porz district of Cologne for 700 employees on a site of 125,000 square metres. Investment: 34 million.

New engine works in Ulm.

1968

A majority holding is acquired in the engineering company of FAHR AG in Gottmadingen.

1970

Production ceases of locomotives. Since 1892 about 20,000 have been produced with power outputs from 4 to 2,400 hp.

The welfare organisation changes its name to "KHD-Wohnungsbau".

The "Voerde" works near Dinslaken is acquired for the production of large engines.

1972

The 500,000th tractor since production started in 1926 leaves the works.

1974

Production of crawler tractors ceases. More than 15,000 have been produced since 1953.

An order worth billions is received from the Soviet Union: KHD delivers 10,000 heavy lorries with DEUTZ air-cooled diesel engines.

Magirus DEUTZ AG is founded as part of a co-operation agreement in the field of commercial vehicles between Klöckner-Humboldt-DEUTZ AG in Cologne and Fiat in Turin.

1975

The KHD commercial vehicles division (Magirus DEUTZ AG) is integrated into "IVECO", a company formed jointly with Fiat.

1978

The 500,000th DEUTZ air-cooled diesel engine leaves the Ulm factory.

1980

The KHD-IVECO shares are sold to Fiat.

1944

Series production starts on "air-cooled" diesel engines in the Ulm works, but it is brought to a halt by heavy war damage in the winter of 1944/45.

By the end of the war, for instance, 74 percent of the Cologne works was destroyed.

1945

Reconstruction starts with unbelievable hard work. The Allies allow machine tools that had been evacuated from the factory to be returned so that mining machinery and bridges can be built.

1946

The firm is permitted to build 500 tractors.

The designation "Ottomotor" is defined in the first edition of the official journal of the German Standards Institute (DIN), no. 1940, in July 1946 as follows: Combustion engine in which combustion is initiated by a time-controlled external igniter.

1949

Diesel engine production is resumed and the series production of air-cooled diesel engines starts in the DEUTZ works.

1950

The production starts on DEUTZ tractors with air-cooled engines.

Five years after the end of the war production is running as normally as could be expected under the circumstances. Employees: 13,000. Production: 40,000 engines with a total output of 1.5 million hp, 10,000 tractors, 6,000 commercial vehicles. Sales: DM 300 million. The first apprentices complete their training. 60 percent of the buildings are usable again.

The steel structures company Humboldt is involved in building the Mülheim Bridge.

September sees the publication of the first issue of the company newspaper Werks-Rundschau.

1951

Production of tractors with water-cooled engines ceases. 19,000 of the type F1M 414 have been produced, but from now on DEUTZ tractors will only be driven by air-cooled diesel engines.

The 50,000th DEUTZ tractor since production started in 1926 leaves the works.

The Otto engine is 75 years old.

1953

The integration contract with Klöckner-Werke AG of Duisburg is terminated.

A new integration contract is signed with a company that originally produced railway rolling stock, "Vereinigte Westdeutsche Waggonfabriken AG" of Cologne.

Production starts on crawler tractors.

1954

Modern engine production facilities are built at the DEUTZ works in Cologne.

The 100,000th air-cooled diesel engine leaves the works.

1958

New (and still valid) definition of the "Ottomotor" in the DIN Journal 1940: Combustion engine in which combustion of the compressed fuel-air mixture is initiated by a time-controlled external igniter.

1959

The "Vereinigte Westdeutsche Waggonfabriken AG" is taken over completely.

Production starts on aviation and industrial gas turbines in the Oberursel works.

1921

The company enters into a "Community of interest" with Motorenfabrik Oberursel AG and changes its name to "Motorenfabrik DEUTZ AG".

1926

First series production of a DEUTZ diesel tractor.

1930

Merger of Motorenfabrik DEUTZ AG with the engineering firm of Humboldt AG, established in 1856, and Motorenfabrik Oberursel AG, founded in 1892, to form "Humboldt-DEUTZmotoren AG".

1936

Professor Nägel, the Curator of the German engineering association VDI, suggests the term "Ottomotor" for all combustion engines that draw in and compress a mixture of fuel and air and ignite it with a special ignition device. The reason for his suggestion is that it would replace such previously used terms as "explosion motor", "detonation engine", "carburettor engine", "benzene engine", or "igniter engine".

The VDI recommends that this idea should be followed, and this results in its being incorporated into the technical vocabulary

C. D. Magirus AG in Ulm is taken over.

Production starts on the DEUTZ F1M 414 farm tractor.

1938

The company name is changed to "Klöckner-Humboldt-DEUTZ AG" (KHD).This development was initiated in the 1920s and 1930s by the industrialist Peter Klöckner. Thus KHD (steel processing), together with the Duisburg sister-companies Klöckner-Werke AG (steel production) and Klöckner & Co. (steel trading) formed an integrated corporate group.

1901

GFD terminates the diesel licence contract.

1906

Peter Klöckner, a leading figure in the local commercial world, is elected to the Supervisory Board of Gasmotoren-Fabrik DEUTZ AG.

1907

Diesel's patent expires. Series production of diesel engines can thus also start at GFD.

Ettore Bugatti is appointed by GFD to head the planned production of motor vehicles. The branch works in Berlin is to be converted for car production. A number of car types are designed and built in Cologne under Bugatti's management, but by 1909 Bugatti has already left Cologne and set up his own business in Molsheim, a country town 130 miles south of Cologne. Production of DEUTZ-Bugatti cars ceases in 1912.

1911

First DEUTZ diesel engine with no compressor.

1913

The company founds its own "Welfare" organisation for its workforce.

1914

50th anniversary. Production: engines with a total output of 90,000 hp. Employees: 3,400 wage-earners and 700 salaried staff.

1917

"The Otto Gas Engine Works AG" is sold to the Walter James Co.

1882

Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach leave the company.

Otto is awarded an honorary doctorate by the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Würzburg. After the production of 2,649 atmospheric gas-powered machines, manufacturing is discontinued.

1884

Up to now, all the engines have been driven by town gas and are therefore dependent on the public gas supply. There is no suitable ignition system for operating them with liquid fuel. The gas-flame ignition used so far is not suitable for benzene engines.

N.A. Otto therefore develops low-voltage magneto ignition. This electrical ignition system is adopted by Robert Bosch and forms the basis of his life's work.

1886

The Reich (German Imperial) Court in Leipzig cancels part of the patents claims contained in Patent DRP 532 but without disputing Otto's priority. The British patent, on the other hand, is maintained in full.

1891

Nicolaus August Otto dies on Cologne on 26th January at his home in Heumarkt at the age of only 59. He is buried in the Melaten Cemetery in Cologne.

1892

Rudolf Diesel makes a written offer to Gasmotoren-Fabrik DEUTZ AG to take over his "diesel" process, but GFD declines. The production starts of locomotives with combustion engines. The first DEUTZ locomotives are delivered to the Chemische Fabrik Radebeul.

1893

Discussions between Rudolf Diesel and Eugen Langen in Berlin produce no result.1894 Otto Gas Engine Works AG in Philadelphia¸ the successor to Schleicher, Schumm & Co., starts building plough locomotives driven by Otto motors.

1895

Eugen Langen dies on 2nd October at his country home Haus Etzweiler near Cologne and is buried in the family grave in the Melaten Cemetery.

1896

First DEUTZ mining locomotive in the world with a combustion engine.

1897

Licence contract between Gasmotoren-Fabrik DEUTZ AG, Maschinenfabrik Augsburg, and the steelmaker Krupp for building diesel engines.

1898

First DEUTZ diesel engine designed in-house with no crosshead.

1864

The "atmospheric gas power machine" developed by N. A. Otto and E. Langen is awarded a Gold Medal at the World Exhibition in Paris as an economical drive engine for small businesses.

1867

The "atmospheric gas power machine" developed by N. A. Otto and E. Langen is awarded a Gold Medal at the World Exhibition in Paris as an economical drive engine for small businesses. This engine, Engine no. 1, is sold directly from the exhibition to a mechanic in Paris and is bought back in 1875 as a collector's piece for the DEUTZ engine collection.

1868

Start of series manufacturing of atmospheric gas power machines. Three atmospheric gas power machines are delivered to the USA.

1869

Manufacturing of combustion engines begins, also in England with the licence agreement with the company Crossley.

An expanded factory is opened in the DEUTZ district of Cologne. The company's name is changed to "Langen, Otto & Roosen".

1872

The factory is expanded again, and the limited-liability company "Gasmotoren-Fabrik DEUTZ AG" (GFD) is founded.

Gottlieb Daimler is hired as Technical Director and Wilhelm Maybach as Head of Engine Construction.

1876

Nicolaus August Otto perfects the "four-stroke engine" with compressed loading, suitable for all types of fuels and uses. This progressive engine, powered by coal gas, starts up the motorization of the world, from Cologne outwards.

1877

The Supervisory Board of Gasmotoren-Fabrik DEUTZ AG decides to call all GFD four-stroke engines "Otto's new engine".

The Crossley Brothers in Manchester now start licence production of four-stroke engines. The term "Otto engine" becomes a familiar term particularly in the English-speaking countries.

The firm of "Schleicher, Schumm & Co" is founded in Philadelphia as a branch of Gasmotoren-Fabrik DEUTZ AG with the aim of building combustion engines in the USA. Series production and sale of four-stroke engines starts.

1880

Celebrations are held to mark the completion of Cologne Cathedral. The cathedral is lit by power from a two-cylinder Type F ("A-twin") gas engine which powers the generator for the arc lamps that illuminate the cathedral from outside.