Osthügel Motorenwerke was a small manufacturer of heavy vans, medium trucks and trailers based in Neu Ludwigshafen. The company was founded in 1696 by Ayreon Friedrichssohn, son of a refugee from Sankt Ludwigshafen. Ayreon started his entrepreneurial career with a transport and logistics company, but was upset with the poor quality of second-hand trucks from Jingdao that he was able to import. In co-operation with Baicha Heavy Vehicle Industries the company has developed two diesel engines that were also capable of running on a variety of other fuels when diesel is not to be found including oils from the fishing and whaling industries. Like the rest of Neu Ludwigshafen, the company was not able to survive the extreme cold of the winter of 1696. Assets belonging to the company were recovered in the spring of 1697 by an expedition sent by the Stadtparlement of the Third Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen, including engines, vehicles and designs. Relatives of Ayreon Friedrichssohn petitioned with the Stadtparlement that their claim on the inheritance of Osthügel Motorenwerke and its assets was recognized. After lengthy negotiations the relatives agreed to pay for the costs of the recovery of the assets and pledged to restart production in Sankt Ludwigshafen. The company started small-scale production of the OMW Kaufmann in Autumn 1697. Most sales have been to local businesses and customers in neighbouring Zandarijn, but Razfreight in the International Mandate for the Settlements in Apollonia has also placed several orders. In the early 1700s road constructions were ordered by the Ludwigshafener Stadtparlement, creating a domestic market for automobiles. However, without any petrol stations in the republic the diesel powered Kaufmann and Handelsmann were not a great success. Osthügel Motorenwerke developed three steam locomotives for the road, with a towing capacity between 5 and 40 metric tonnes, that could be fired up with coal or the even more readily available firewood. Despite their initial reputation for breaking down, these steam locomotives proved to be very popular with the companies in the republic. These vehicles made it possible for the first time in Ludwiggian history to move heavy goods over long distances without resorting to the dangerous transport over sea. In 1702 the company received a major stimulus after the Benacian Union acquired a license to build 4,000 model Große Dampfzugmaschine steam tractors, to be constructed by Stonetree Engineering Group in the Unified Governorates of Benacia. Twenty engineers and some senior managers from Osthügel Motorenwerke were sent to Stonetree to assist in the production and quality assurance.
Products
Powered vehicles with an external combustion engine
| Trade name
|
Vehicle type
|
Engine
|
Loading capacity
|
Towing capacity
|
| OMW Kleine Dampfzugmaschine
|
Road steam locomotive
|
OMW D05T
|
2,500 kg
|
5,000 kg
|
| OMW Mittelgroße Dampfzugmaschine
|
Road steam locomotive
|
OMW D20T
|
5,000 kg
|
20,000 kg
|
| OMW Große Dampfzugmaschine
|
Road steam locomotive
|
OMW D40T
|
10,000 kg
|
40,000 kg
|
Powered vehicles with an internal combustion engine
| Trade name
|
Vehicle type
|
Engine
|
Loading capacity
|
Towing capacity
|
| OMW Kaufmann Leichte Ausführung
|
Van
|
OMW 3L4C 200BHP
|
500 kg
|
2,000 kg
|
| OMW Kaufmann Schwere Ausführung
|
Van
|
OMW 3L4C 3000BHP
|
1,000 kg
|
4,000 kg
|
| OMW Handelsmann Leichte Ausführung
|
Cab-over truck
|
OMW 3L4C 300BHP
|
4,000 kg
|
4,000 kg
|
| OMW Handelsmann Schwere Ausführung
|
Cab-over truck
|
OMW 5L4C 400BHP
|
10,000 kg
|
16,000 kg
|
Notable customers and licensees
