Burmeister & Wain
Encyclopedia
Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard
and leading diesel engine
producer headquartered in Copenhagen
, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it grew successfully into a strong company through the end of the 1960s. In the 1970s, global competitive pressures, particularly from the far east, began to take their toll. In 1980, B&W became MAN B&W Diesel A/S, part of MAN B&W Diesel Group, a subsidiary of the German corporation MAN AG, with operations worldwide. The company still maintains operations at three main sites in Denmark
for manufacturing, servicing, and licensing of its two-stroke engines and complete propulsion systems.
Hans Heinrich Baumgarten (1806–1875) was from the town of Halstenbek
near Pinneberg
, in Schleswig-Holstein
, an area of Germany that was then part of Denmark. He was apprenticed as a coffin maker by a farmer whose livestock he cared for. Later he was a carpenter before becoming a machine minder at the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende
, whose printing office he later worked for in Berlin.
After trying to start a business with different partners, while in Berlin he was allowed an audience, on the subject of establishing a business in Copenhagen, with Crown Prince Christian of Denmark who was visiting. Shortly thereafter, in 1843 he was granted a Danish Royal Charter and what would later become Burmeister & Wain was launched with the opening of a mechanical workshop in Copenhagen.
. He had been awarded a scholarship abroad after recommendation following an assistantship to Hans Christian Ørsted
who was director there at the time. Burmeister joined the H.H. Baumgarten Company in 1846, which became a partnership with the opening of its engineering works, and was renamed B&B.
Soon came the establishment of the B&B foundry in 1847, the delivery of its first steam engine
in 1848, the renting of the Jacob Holm Shipyard at the 'Englishman's Place' in 1851, and the delivery of their first ship S/S Hermod in 1854, before Baumgarten retired from regular duties in 1861. With Baumgarten as a co-owner, in 1865, William Wain (1819–1882) joined what then became B&W. In 1872 the company became A/S B&W (Aktieselskabet Burmeister & Wain), a limited liability corporation. That same year saw the founding of the Refshale Island shipyard. At this point, Baumgarten, as the first founder, became a director of the board of what he would see become Burmeister & Wain Maskin- og Skibsbyggeri (Engineering and Shipbuilding) in 1880.
Wain, from Bolton
, England had apprenticed as an engineer in his youth and come up through the trades. He had worked for the Royal Danish Navy
and the Royal Dutch dockyards. He came to have several designs to his credit within the company and his ingenuity was seen as "instrumental" in establishing its reputation.
engines began in 1890. Then, in 1898, a year after introducing it to the world, Rudolf Diesel
granted Burmeister & Wain A/S exclusive Danish manufacturing rights for the diesel engine. A test engine was built that same year. The 1903-1904 year saw delivery of their first diesel engine to the N. Larsen Carriage Factory. 1911-1912 saw the world's first ever ocean-going diesel-powered ship, M/S Selandia
, start her maiden voyage from Copenhagen to Bangkok
with two B&W four-stroke main engines (furnishing a total of 2,500 hp).
The larger Teglholmen iron foundry was established in the 1920-1921 year to provide capacity for growth in the coming years of business acquisition. The first B&W two-stroke diesel engine set off to sea in 1930 and the world's largest diesel engine at the time was delivered in 1933 to H. C. Ørsted Power Station.
Steady progress and consolidation continued through the period of World War II and the subsequent period of reinvigorated prosperity. The first turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine was commissioned in 1952 with larger and more innovative designs to follow.
By this point, the company's engines and licensed designs were used worldwide throughout the industry. Meanwhile, post-war east Asian economies began to emerge as an industrial force.
The electronically controlled line of ME diesel two-stroke engines was added in 2002 with a maximum cylinder bore of 108 cm. MAN B&W Diesel, Denmark, employed approximately 2,200 at the end of 2003 and had 100 million kW, or more than 8000 MC engines, in service or on order by 2004.
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
and leading diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
producer headquartered in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it grew successfully into a strong company through the end of the 1960s. In the 1970s, global competitive pressures, particularly from the far east, began to take their toll. In 1980, B&W became MAN B&W Diesel A/S, part of MAN B&W Diesel Group, a subsidiary of the German corporation MAN AG, with operations worldwide. The company still maintains operations at three main sites in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
for manufacturing, servicing, and licensing of its two-stroke engines and complete propulsion systems.
Foundation
Halstenbek
Halstenbek is a free municipality in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the north-western border of the city of Hamburg and approximately 5 km southeast of Pinneberg.- Geography :...
near Pinneberg
Pinneberg
Pinneberg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district Pinneberg in Germany. The town has 42,301 inhabitants. Pinneberg is located 18 km northwest of Hamburg....
, in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, an area of Germany that was then part of Denmark. He was apprenticed as a coffin maker by a farmer whose livestock he cared for. Later he was a carpenter before becoming a machine minder at the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende
Berlingske Tidende
Berlingske, previously known as Berlingske Tidende , is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen...
, whose printing office he later worked for in Berlin.
After trying to start a business with different partners, while in Berlin he was allowed an audience, on the subject of establishing a business in Copenhagen, with Crown Prince Christian of Denmark who was visiting. Shortly thereafter, in 1843 he was granted a Danish Royal Charter and what would later become Burmeister & Wain was launched with the opening of a mechanical workshop in Copenhagen.
Earliest years
Carl Christian Burmeister (1821–1898) was born into poverty. The son of a cook and restaurant keeper, he studied at the Polytechnical Institute in Copenhagen from 1836–1846, now the Technical University of DenmarkTechnical University of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark , often simply referred to as DTU, is a university just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and is today ranked among Europe's leading engineering institutions, and the...
. He had been awarded a scholarship abroad after recommendation following an assistantship to Hans Christian Ørsted
Hans Christian Ørsted
Hans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism...
who was director there at the time. Burmeister joined the H.H. Baumgarten Company in 1846, which became a partnership with the opening of its engineering works, and was renamed B&B.
Soon came the establishment of the B&B foundry in 1847, the delivery of its first steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
in 1848, the renting of the Jacob Holm Shipyard at the 'Englishman's Place' in 1851, and the delivery of their first ship S/S Hermod in 1854, before Baumgarten retired from regular duties in 1861. With Baumgarten as a co-owner, in 1865, William Wain (1819–1882) joined what then became B&W. In 1872 the company became A/S B&W (Aktieselskabet Burmeister & Wain), a limited liability corporation. That same year saw the founding of the Refshale Island shipyard. At this point, Baumgarten, as the first founder, became a director of the board of what he would see become Burmeister & Wain Maskin- og Skibsbyggeri (Engineering and Shipbuilding) in 1880.
Wain, from Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, England had apprenticed as an engineer in his youth and come up through the trades. He had worked for the Royal Danish Navy
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...
and the Royal Dutch dockyards. He came to have several designs to his credit within the company and his ingenuity was seen as "instrumental" in establishing its reputation.
Growth and development
Production of stationary paraffinParaffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
engines began in 1890. Then, in 1898, a year after introducing it to the world, Rudolf Diesel
Rudolf Diesel
Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel was a German inventor and mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine.-Early life:Diesel was born in Paris, France in 1858 the second of three children of Theodor and Elise Diesel. His parents were Bavarian immigrants living in Paris. Theodor...
granted Burmeister & Wain A/S exclusive Danish manufacturing rights for the diesel engine. A test engine was built that same year. The 1903-1904 year saw delivery of their first diesel engine to the N. Larsen Carriage Factory. 1911-1912 saw the world's first ever ocean-going diesel-powered ship, M/S Selandia
Selandia
MS Selandia was the world's first ocean-going diesel motor ship.'Selandia' is the Latin name for the Danish island of Sjælland. The original MS Selandia was ordered by the Danish trading firm East Asiatic Company for service between Scandinavia, Genoa, Italy, and Bangkok, Thailand...
, start her maiden voyage from Copenhagen to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
with two B&W four-stroke main engines (furnishing a total of 2,500 hp).
The larger Teglholmen iron foundry was established in the 1920-1921 year to provide capacity for growth in the coming years of business acquisition. The first B&W two-stroke diesel engine set off to sea in 1930 and the world's largest diesel engine at the time was delivered in 1933 to H. C. Ørsted Power Station.
Steady progress and consolidation continued through the period of World War II and the subsequent period of reinvigorated prosperity. The first turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine was commissioned in 1952 with larger and more innovative designs to follow.
By this point, the company's engines and licensed designs were used worldwide throughout the industry. Meanwhile, post-war east Asian economies began to emerge as an industrial force.
Recent adjustment and recovery
In 1971, the shipyard and the engineering works were split into two independent companies. A more challenging period ensued until the 1979-1980 year when B&W Diesel A/S was established, and its shares were sold to MAN, of Germany. Though engine production at Christianshavn was later discontinued in 1987, successful engine programs were rolled out. At Teglholmen in 1988 a spare parts and key components production factory was established as was an R&D Centre at the same site in 1992. Though all Copenhagen operations were consolidated at Tegleholmen in 1994 and the last volume production unit at the B&W Shipyard was delivered in 1996. in 2000 MAN B&W Diesel two-stroke diesel engines had over 70% market share, with a substantial number of MC-line engines on order.The electronically controlled line of ME diesel two-stroke engines was added in 2002 with a maximum cylinder bore of 108 cm. MAN B&W Diesel, Denmark, employed approximately 2,200 at the end of 2003 and had 100 million kW, or more than 8000 MC engines, in service or on order by 2004.