Krauss-Maffei Wegmann

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG (KMW) is a defence company based in Munich, Germany. The company produces various types of equipment as well as rail locomotives, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and other armoured vehicles.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG
TypePrivate (GmbH & Co KG)
IndustryDefence
Predecessors
Founded1999 (1999)
Headquarters
Munich
,
Germany
Areas served
Germany, EU, worldwide
Key people
  • Frank Haun (managing director)
  • Manfred Bode (chairman)
Revenue1,680,000,000 United States dollar (2018) 
Number of employees
2,771 (2014)
ParentKNDS
Websitewww.kmweg.com

KMW was formed in 1999 when the defense division of KraussMaffei Group was spun-off and merged with Wegmann & Co. Since 2015, KMW is part of KMW+Nexter Defense Systems.[1]

History

KMW's predecessor company, Krauss-Maffei, started in 1931 from a merger of the two Munich firms of Maffei (founded 1838) and Krauss & Co. (founded 1860). Both belonged to the leading German makers of locomotives of various types. Maffei also built other steam-operated vehicles and, later, manufactured vehicles with combustion engines, including locomotives, trolleybuses and buses. In 1960s Kraus-Maffei entered production of armoured fighting vehicles, starting with Leopard 1 tanks for the Bundeswehr.

In 1999 defense production was spun off and merged with Wegmann & Co to form Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. Wegman had a 51% stake and Mannesmann AG, Kraus-Maffei's holding company at the time, had a 49% stake.[1] Siemens acquired Mannesmann's share in 2000, and Wegmann Unternehmens-Holding KG based in Kassel bought this stake in December 2010 to become the sole shareholder of KMW.[2] The family holding is owned by about 26 silent partners. The partners are members of the families Bode, von Braunbehrens, von Maydell and Sethe and are all descendants of the firm's founders or the later owners of Wegmann & Co.[3][4]

In 2015, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann merged with the French state-owned defence company Nexter Systems to form KMW+Nexter Defense Systems. KMW is now a subsidiary of a newly formed holding company, 50% of which are in turn controlled by the former owners of the German company.[5]

Products

Military product examples include:

Non-military products

A locomotive built by Krauss, the "Degen und Wiegand KARL" (serial number 2062) was constructed in 1888.[7] Degen und Wiegand were a construction company in Kiel.[7] The locomotive was sold to and used by various construction companies, including Hermann Bachstein.[7] It was also used for rail services on the Sued Harz Eisenbahn.[7] The Centrale Limburgsche Spoorweg (CLS) obtained the locomotive through purchase in 1916.[7] It remained in service until 1921 and was scrapped in 1923.[7]

References
  1. "History - KMW".
  2. "Defence professionals". 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  3. "Der Panzer-Clan von Krauss-Maffei", Capital (in German), 22 Jun 2010, archived from the original on 2012-07-22.
  4. "Rüstungsfirma Kraus-Maffei Wegmann – Stur wie ein Panzer", Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German), 21 Jun 2012.
  5. "Nexter Systems and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann have completed their association". nexter-group.fr. 15 Dec 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  6. "Donar 155-mm Self-Propelled Howitzer". Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  7. Overbosch, Ir. S. (1957). De Stoomlocomotieven der Nederlandse Tramwegen [The Steam Locomotives of the Dutch Tramways]. Haarlem: Technische Uitgeverij H. Stam N.V. ISBN 9789067070515.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.