PRESS RELEASE Corporate

Commemorative Celebration on the Occasion of the 125th Birthday of mtu Company Founder, Karl Maybach

Posted on July 06, 2004

Celebrities and prominent personalities from politics, business and society were in attendance as MTU Friedrichshafen honored the 125th birthday of its company founder, Karl Maybach, with a commemorative celebration in Factory 1 on July 6, 2004.
Celebrities and prominent personalities from politics, business and society were in attendance as MTU Friedrichshafen honored the 125th birthday of its company founder, Karl Maybach, with a commemorative celebration in Factory 1 on July 6, 2004. Karl Maybach is one of the founding fathers of the Maybach Motorenbau engine manufacturers, the predecessor company of MTU Friedrichshafen. Thus, essentially, Maybach as inventor and designer gets the credit for the high-performance, diesel engines that are built in Friedrichshafen and sold throughout the world. Today, mtu is one of the leading manufacturers of high performance diesel engines and complete drive systems for off-highway applications worldwide. The company distinguishes itself from the competition - in keeping with the tradition of Maybach Motorenbau - through its role as technological leader in the field.

At the ceremony, Irmgard Schmid-Maybach, daughter of Karl Maybach and Supervisory Board member of MTU Friedrichshafen, highlighted the significant role Karl Maybach played for development in the drive engine and automobile sector, pointing out that he seamlessly continued the work of her grandfather, Wilhelm Maybach - the designer of the first Mercedes car. "Both were far ahead of the times with what they developed, and some of these developments continue to be very meaningful until today". Karl Maybach's factory is still quite an important factor in the Friedrichshafen region, she stated. "The factory that Karl Maybach established here in 1912 has continuously grown and has brought Friedrichshafen and the surrounding area more and more jobs". Today mtu Group employs nearly 6,700 employees worldwide.

Maybach Motorenbau has always been firmly rooted in the markets for drive systems as a strategic basic orientation of the company, and this continues to be a mainstay of the mtu company philosophy up until this day. Dr. Rolf A. Hanssen, Chairman of mtu's Board of Management and head of DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway, said, "Karl Maybach considerably expanded the product range of Maybach Motorenbau in the diesel engine sector. These engines were used for a number of applications, above all in the marine and railway sectors. Thus, Karl Maybach established the foundation for further development that led to the creation of mtu and our drive systems for the navy, electric power generation, industry, railway, and military vehicles.“

The strong tradition of Maybach Motorenbau as a pioneer for innovations is still very much alive. To quote Dr. Hanssen, “At mtu and in the entire DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway Unit, we and our employees want to deliver innovative products and complete drive systems of exceptional quality in the future as well. In orienting our company by this objective, we continue to pursue the goals and principles of our company founder, Karl Maybach. We consciously acknowledge the history of mtu and continue in the tradition of observing our entrepreneurial responsibility for the company and its employees.“