Dynamit Nobel AG
Encyclopedia
Dynamite Nobel AG is a German
chemical and weapons company whose headquarters was based in Troisdorf
. It was founded in 1865 by Alfred Nobel
.
in an 1864 nitroglycerin explosion at the family's armaments factory in Heleneborg
, Stockholm
, Nobel founded Nitroglycerin AB in Vinterviken, Stockholm. A year later, having found some German business partners, he launched the Alfred Nobel & Company in Germany, building an isolated factory in the Krümmel hills of Geesthacht
near Hamburg. This business exported a liquid combination of nitroglycerin and gunpowder
known as "Blasting Oil", but it was extremely unstable and difficult to transport, as shown in numerous catastrophes. The buildings of the Krümmel factory itself were destroyed in 1866 and again in 1870.
In April 1866, the company shipped three unmarked crates of nitroglycerin to California for the Central Pacific Railroad
, who wished to experiment with its blasting capability to speed the construction of a tunnel through the Sierra Nevada for the First Transcontinental Railroad
. One of the crates exploded, destroying a Wells Fargo
office in San Francisco and killing fifteen people, leading to a complete ban on the transport of liquid nitroglycerin in California.
Liquid nitroglycerin was widely banned elsewhere as well, and this finally led to Alfred Nobel & Company's development of dynamite
in 1867, made by mixing the nitroglycerin with the diatomaceous earth
(kieselguhr) found in the Krümmel hills. Competitors tried to mix nitroglycerin with other inert absorbents in many different combinations to get around Nobel's tightly controlled patents.
by the Swedish chemist and industrial Alfred Nobel
. At the beginning, the company was manufacturing nitroglycerin explosives in the dynamite factory of Krümmel located in Geesthacht, near Hamburg. This factory was the first one to be located outside of Sweden.
Nobel wanted to produce nitroglycerine on several sites in Europe because the transportation of explosives was very dangerous due to its well known sensitivity to shocks.
Because of the danger associated with handling nitroglycerine, Nobel started to develop a more secure explosive commonly known as dynamite. During the experimental stage, a very severe explosion occurred in 1866 within the Krümmel factory which was nearly destroyed. However, he was successful in mixing nitroglycerine with kieselgur which made it less sensitive to shocks. In October 1867, Nobel filed a patent for this new explosive in Sweden, the United States of America and in the United Kingdom (the patent was not filed in Germany before 1877), qui fut également commercialisé sous le nom de poudre de sécurité). The new explosive was marketed under the name of security powder. In 1874,in order to ensure a better supply of the main buyers, the mines of the region of Ruhr
, the company took over the Schlebusch factory in Manfort (since 1930 a district of Leverkusen
; Nobel s'était associé à sa construction dès 1872 et y avait dirigé la production de manière temporaire); Nobel was involved in its construction since 1872 and supervised the production on a temporary basis.
In 1876, Nobel’s company became a limited liability company and was renamed Dynamit AG, i.e. DAG). The company started manufacturing defense equipment, and soon afterwards became the biggest manufacturer of powder and ammunitions of the German Reich.
In 1884, similar to other European countries, the biggest German powder manufacturers agreed to form a cartel (here known as « Interessensgemeinschaft ») named Deutsche Union which was led by Dynamit Nobel for five years. All the largest manufacturers of powder of the German Reich abided by this union which prevented them from competing against each other due to their cooperation and agreement upon the export prices. In 1886, they approached the English powder cartel, the Nobel Dynamite Trust Co and managed to establish the General cartel made up of both the German and English powder factories.
Due to the high demand for defense equipments for the First World War, the manufacturers of powder made very high profits, which were reinforced due to their cartel organisation. Furthermore, during this period, the states strongly encouraged the development and production of weapons.
In 1886, Dynamit Nobel opened a branch in Troisdorf and as from 1905 this factory also manufactured a plastic
material based on nitrocellulose (an explosive product): known as celluloid.
Until the start of the First World War, Dynamit Nobel grew by acquiring smaller competitor companies to become the biggest explosive manufacturer in Europe. During the war, it employed prisoners of war in its factory (namely Russian prisoners in the factory of Dömitz
).
Without descendants, Alfred Nobel, decided that after his death his fortune would be used to create the Nobel foundation. This was done in 1900. Each year this foundation awards the Nobel Prize. The fortune of Nobel which was converted into shares that finance the Nobel foundation.
. Indeed, Dynamit Nobel aimed at reducing its dependence to the defense equipment in order to give more importance to the manufacture of chemical products.
In 1925, the Lindener Zündhütchen- und Thoonwaarenfabrik of Empelde was taken over by the Chemische Werke Lothringen GmbH, which itself belonged to BASF
. Production was stopped in 1928 and did not restart until the rearmament which occurred in 1938. During the 1920s, the company collaborated closely with the Siegener Dynamitfabrik AG and the Rheinisch-Westfälischen Sprengstoff-AG which belonged to I.G. Farben since 1931.
In 1926, as a result of the fusion with Köln-Rottweil AG which belonged to I.G. Farben, Dynamit Nobel was taken over by I.G. Farben. As from then, it formed a cartel with Westfalit AG (the forerunner of the WASAG, which was also taken over by I.G. Farben en 1945), which had a monopolistic position on the German powder market. In 1930, the Rheinische Spritzguß-Werk GmbH (today the Dynamit Nobel Kunststoff GmbH) was founded in Cologne. After the national-socialists
took lead of the German government, and wished to develop a strong German defense industry, the Wehrmacht
explicitly requested bigger ammunition manufacturing capacities. In order to do so, the WASAG and Dynamit Nobel founded the Deutsche Sprengchemie GmbH in 1934. New factories manufacturing explosives and ammunitions were built on government lands and received help from a company which had been nationalised, the Verwertungsgesellschaft für Mountain-Industrie mbH.
Afterwards, the Deutsche Sprengchemie GmbH became the only subsidiary of WASAG. Dynamit Nobel had the same activities in Gesellschaft zur Verwertung chemischer Erzeugnisse mbH (i.e. Verwertchemie). The latter ran more than 30 factories, namely in Liebenau, Empelde, and Stadtallendorf. At that time, Stadtallendorf was the largest place of ammunition production in Europe. During World War Two, more than people coming from camps managed by the SS were forced to work there. In 1938, a new factory manufacturing nitrocellulose was built in Aschau am Inn. After the war it became the property of WASAG due to the decartelisation of I.G. Farben.
, the manufacture of ammunition was restarted in 1957, at first in the factory of Liebenau by the Gesellschaft zur Verwertung chemischer Erzeugnisse mbH which had survived the war.
At the beginning of the 1960s, once again, the company became the leader of the military and civil powder market in Germany, namely due to the takeover of the manufacturer of ammunitions Gustav Genschow & Co. AG de Karlsruhe in 1963. At the same time, Dynamit Nobel took an increasing position in the mines market. Since 1958, around 3 million antitank mines, models DM-11 were manufactured in Liebenau under licence of the Swedish company LIAB. Moreover, in collaboration with Bölkow and Dornier, Dynamit Nobel participated to the research projects of the Ministry of nuclear energy (today known as the Federal Ministry of education and research) for the possible supply of Germany with missiles.
During the end of the 1950s, Friedrich Karl Flick
, who was a board member of the supervisory board before the war, started to monopolise the company to the detriment of the minority shareholders, sometimes by brutal means. Supported by the Bremen speculator Hermann Krages and partly due to the collusive trading of actions with the Feldmühle AG of which Flick was also a shareholder, he managed to obtain the majority of the shares of the company and became the president of the board of directors. As from then, Flick who already possessed 82% of the share capital,Die Flicks p.167 made use of the controversial Umwandlungssteuergesetzes (fiscal law regarding commercial companies) in order to squeeze out the minority shareholders of the company, in exchange of a compensation (this tool is comparable to the one used today in order to exclude minority shareholders out of a company). After several groups of shareholders protested against this law put into place under the third Reich, the Federal Constitutional Tribunal gave a judgement in favour of Flick.Die Flicks p. 160
In 1959, Dynamit AG changed its name to Dynamit Nobel AG, in remembrance of its famous founder. As from 1962, due to the pressure which occurred during the conference, the company which belonged to Flick started to negotiate the compensation to be given to forced Jewish employees who worked in the factory of Troisdorf in 1944 and 1955. After an agreement was made, Friedrich Flick personally blocked the payment of five million Deutsche Mark and no sum of money was released until his death in 1972. In January 1970, Flick made a final statement and declared that he . He affirmed that a payment would contradict his previous statements of innocence at the Flick trial
and he was unwilling to make a payment to be considered as an admission of guilt. He also affirmed that the Swiss Dieter Bührle (Oerlikon-Bührle) was also a shareholder of Dynamit Nobel, being the owner of 18% of the shares.Die Flicks p.167-169
After Bundeswehr was fully equipped with antitank mines during the late 1960s, the factory of Liebenau was sold in 1977 to the Dutch ammunitions manufacturer Eurometaal, owned by Dynamit Nobel (33% of shares). As from then, the big mines projects were put into place in Troisdorf and in Burbach-Würgendorf.
In 1986, the Flick group was bought by Deutsche Bank
for an approximate amount of 5,36 billions of DM.Die Flicks p.251 The latter restructured the group and sold parts of it while putting the rest of the group on the stock market. Deutsche Bank finally agreed to compensate the forced workers of Dynamit Nobel AG in respect of the conditions established in the 1960s. During the restructuring of Dynamit Nobel A,G a joint-venture was made with two of the companies of the Flick Group, namely Feldmühle AG and Buderus AG and was renamed Feldmühle Nobel AG. In 1986, the new group was introduced on the stock market. In 1988, the grand children of Friedrich Flick (Friedrich Christian Flick and his brother Gert Rudolf Flick) failed to gain control over the Feldmühle Nobel AG.Die Flicks p.255 Indeed in 1992, Metallgesellschaft AG (today known as the GEA Group) took over the company to fraction it again. Shares of Dynamit Nobel AG and Buderus remained the property of Metallgesellschaft, while the pulp and paper division (formely known as Feldmühle AG) was sold under the name of Feldmühle Nobel AG to the Swedish company Stora (Stora Enso
since 1998).
As early as 1988, Gesellschaft zur Verwertung chemischer Erzeugnisse mbH, which had been managed as an affiliate, and Dynamit Nobel put into force an agreement regarding the consolidation and profit transfer In 1990, the subsidiary was merged with another subsidiary, Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff- und Systemtechnik GmbH.
). About one quarter of the turnover of the company originated from the traditional sector of explosives, as well as the ammunition technology which is closely linked to the equipment projects of the Bundeswehr.
In 1992, the company took over Cerasiv GmbH and Chemetall GmbH, and in 1994 Sachtleben Chemie GmbH and Chemson GmbH were also taken over. In 1996, the company acquired CeramTec AG which belonged to Hoechst and merged with Cerasiv GmbH under the name of CeramTec Innovative Ceramic Engineering AG.
In 1997, Dynamit Nobel took over Phoenix Kunststoff GmbH in order to reinforce its position in the plastic equipments market. In 1999, Dynamit Nobel and the chemical company Solvadis were united within the MG chemical group. The scope of chemical activities within Chemetall was optimized by the acquisition of Cyprus Foote (1998) and Brent (1999), followed by the sale of two subsidiaries namely, Chemson GmbH (1999) et Coventya GmbH (2000).
In 2001, the industrial activities of Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff und Systemtechnik GmbH was taken over by Orica
. In 2002, the Swiss group RUAG technology took over Dynamit Nobel Ammotec GmbH, which had been separated from Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff und Systemtechnik GmbH. In this company, the production was focussed on the manufacture of ammunitions of small calibre.
In 2004, MG technologies AG sold its chemical activities to emphasise the manufacture of equipment. Therefore Dynamit Nobel AG was dismantled and taken over by several companies. The American company
Rockwood Specialties Group Inc, the largest buyer, acquired Sachtleben Chemie GmbH, Chemetall GmbH, CeramTec Innovative Ceramic Engineering AG and DNSC GmbH as of the 31st July 2004 for 2,25 billions of euros through its Luxemburg subsidiary Knight Lux 1 S.A.R.L.. Part of DNSC GmbH remains in Leverkusen and is known as Dynamit Nobel GmbH ES.
Rockwood is a chemical holding company that the financial investor company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co had acquired. Dynamit Nobel Kunststoff GmbH was taken over in 2004 by the Swedish company Plastal Holding AB for 915 millions euros.
The technical armament activity was reduced under the name of Dynamit Nobel Defence GmbH, with the registered office located in Würgendorf (Burbach). The company was specialised in the manufacture of small calibres for the army, official authorities, hunters and shooting sports and was taken over by the Swiss group RUAG in 2002 and merged with its ammunitions branch. Therefore the former companies Dynamit Nobel Marken RWS, Rottweil and Geco were named RUAG Ammotec GmbH (Fürth).
The dismantlement of the Nobel group was made in close collaboration with the employees representatives, who were highly involved during the sales negotiations. Indisputably the employees’ committee would have preferred that the chemical activity remains within MG technologies AG, but an agreement was reached as Rockwood Inc. certified that the long term interests of the company would be maintained and that all the German employees would keep their jobs.
As from 1958, Gesellschaft zur Verwertung chemischer Erzeugnisse mbH/Verwertchemie, a subsidiary of Dynamit Nobel manufactured antitank mines of type DM-11 in Liebenau, under licence of the Swedish company LIAB.
The antitank mines AT-2 were created by Dynamit Nobel and approximately 1,3 millions were manufactured. Bundeswehr ordered of them for the LARS (a system of light artillery with missiles) which was into place until 2000, about were manufactured for Minenwurfsystem Skorpion (a vehicle which installed mines) and for M270 (a multiple rocket launcher).
Between 1981 and 1986, Bundeswehr invested 564,7 millions of DM in mines projects,. Besides the antitank mines AT-2, Dynamit Nobel developed an antipersonnel mine AP-2, an anti-material mine, a signal mine and a shallow water mine.
HK G11, a new assault rifle using an ammunition without casing was developed in collaboration with the weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch
between 1968 and 1990, whereas Dynamit Nobel developed the ammunitions without casing. The project was completed but the Bundeswehr declined it due to financial considerations.
Dynamit Nobel marketed the Swedish antitank mine FFV 028SN of the company FFV and took charge of the transformation of 125 000 antipersonnel mines, model DM-31 which had been manufactured between 1962 and 1967 by Industriewerke Karlsruhe (today KUKA
) which belonged to the Quandt group at the time, in order to enable them to conform to the antitank mines authorised by the Ottawa convention. However, the detonator was not sufficiently modified, and it could therefore be used against people, while it should only have been used against tanks.
In respect of an agreement made in 1989, Dynamit Nobel was manufacturing blank cartridge bullets and figure targets in Würgendorf. Dynamit Nobel also agreed to develop the Panzerfaust 3, in order to progressively deliver it to the Bundeswehr and other armies as the priority antitank defence mechanism in the infantry. In 2010, several different types are manufactured for the Bundeswehr.
Today, in the Bundeswehr controversial antitank mines manufactured by Dynamit Nobel can still be found. It is suspected that they can also be used against people and are nowadays officially prohibited by the Ottawa convention. In 2003, an amount of 1,2 million of these mines was estimated.
into polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) in the factory of Troisdorf. At this time, about 130 to 140 employees were regularly in touch with it. In total, about 3600 persons have worked within this division since the launching of the production in Troisdorf in the 1940s.
Infringing the health and safety regulations in force at that time, the employees of Dynamit Nobel were exposed for years, with little protection, to this harmful substance which later turned out to be carcinogenic. Therefore, they were heavily contaminated by vinyl chloride gas or by cleaning up the autoclaves. At this time, most of the other manufacturers of PVC had already put into place systems of production, which were less dangerous for the health. The same has not been done in Dynamit Nobel because of financial considerations. Moreover, regular controls were not made, others were partially manipulated or the results were kept secret. Also, the company made an important contribution to the region, regularly obtained extensions of time to apply the regulations. Contamination due to vinyl chloride was so severe that for years in the company, the employees complained of damages relating to their liver, anemia, finger circulation disorder resulting in acro-osteolysis (necrosis of the first phalanxes), as well as headaches and dizziness. Cancers also resulted from the exposure.
After the announcement of the first thirteen severe diseases during spring 1972, work inspectors from Bonn ordered Dynamit Nobel to take the appropriate measures in order to improve the health and safety conditions of work. But the company took a long time to put them into place.
Afterwards, the 40 sick employees gathered together as Interessengemeinschaft der VC-Geschädigten in order to file a complaint for violation of duty against the Land of North-Rhine-Westphalia and asked for damage compensation, just like in the Contergan trial. The local committee of the DKP in Troisdorf filed a complaint for injury and involuntary homicides against the board of directors of Dynamit Nobel AG. Both complaints remained unsuccessful. After more details about the scandal were made public, employees and inhabitants of Troisforf organised a series of demonstrations. In 1975, the company’s board of directors decided to shut down PVC polymerisation workshop to escape the expensive costs related to modernization and security of the plant.
Since the first announcement about the existing risks, the company has tried its best to keep things quiet. In that respect, it has put a lot of pressure on the journalists and editors. During the following years, some employees were contaminated and died due to their disease without the company ever compensating them.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chemical and weapons company whose headquarters was based in Troisdorf
Troisdorf
Troisdorf is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Troisdorf is located approx. 22 kilometers south of Cologne and 13 kilometers north east of Bonn.-Division of the town:...
. It was founded in 1865 by Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He is the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments...
.
Creation
After the death of his younger brother EmilEmil Oskar Nobel
Emil Nobel was a member of the Nobel family, the youngest son of Immanuel Nobel, the younger, and of his wife Caroline Andrietta Ahlsell. He was brother of Robert Nobel, Ludvig Nobel and Alfred Nobel. Emil died on 3 September 1864, the victim of an explosion while experimenting with...
in an 1864 nitroglycerin explosion at the family's armaments factory in Heleneborg
Heleneborg
Heleneborg is an estate on Södermalm, a part of the city of Stockholm, Sweden. It is opposite Långholmen island ....
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Nobel founded Nitroglycerin AB in Vinterviken, Stockholm. A year later, having found some German business partners, he launched the Alfred Nobel & Company in Germany, building an isolated factory in the Krümmel hills of Geesthacht
Geesthacht
Geesthacht is the largest city in the District of the Duchy of Lauenburg in Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany, 34 km southeast of Hamburg on the right bank of the river Elbe.-History:*Around 800: A church is documented....
near Hamburg. This business exported a liquid combination of nitroglycerin and gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
known as "Blasting Oil", but it was extremely unstable and difficult to transport, as shown in numerous catastrophes. The buildings of the Krümmel factory itself were destroyed in 1866 and again in 1870.
In April 1866, the company shipped three unmarked crates of nitroglycerin to California for the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
, who wished to experiment with its blasting capability to speed the construction of a tunnel through the Sierra Nevada for the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
. One of the crates exploded, destroying a Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
office in San Francisco and killing fifteen people, leading to a complete ban on the transport of liquid nitroglycerin in California.
Liquid nitroglycerin was widely banned elsewhere as well, and this finally led to Alfred Nobel & Company's development of dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
in 1867, made by mixing the nitroglycerin with the diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth also known as diatomite or kieselgur/kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to...
(kieselguhr) found in the Krümmel hills. Competitors tried to mix nitroglycerin with other inert absorbents in many different combinations to get around Nobel's tightly controlled patents.
History of component companies and mergers
- 1865 Alfred Nobel & Co founded in Krümmel near Hamburg.
- 1866 United States Blasting Oil Company founded in the United States
- 1867 Nobel receives patent for dynamite
- 1871 British Dynamite Company founded in Ardeer, Scotland
- 1876 Nobel receives patents for geligniteGeligniteGelignite, also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre .It was invented in 1875 by Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented dynamite...
- 1876 Société Générale pour la Fabrication de la Dynamite founded in Paris, France
- 1876 Alfred Nobel & Co changes its name to Dynamitaktiengesellschaft (DAG)
- 1877 British Dynamite Company changes its name to Nobel's Explosives Company
- 1880 Dynamite Nobel formed by merging Italian and Swiss companies
- 1886 Nobel-Dynamite Trust Co formed by merging DAG and the Nobel's Explosives Company in the UK
From 1865 to 1918
Dynamit Nobel AG originates from the company Alfred Nobel & Co., founded on the 21st June 1865 in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
by the Swedish chemist and industrial Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He is the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments...
. At the beginning, the company was manufacturing nitroglycerin explosives in the dynamite factory of Krümmel located in Geesthacht, near Hamburg. This factory was the first one to be located outside of Sweden.
Because of the danger associated with handling nitroglycerine, Nobel started to develop a more secure explosive commonly known as dynamite. During the experimental stage, a very severe explosion occurred in 1866 within the Krümmel factory which was nearly destroyed. However, he was successful in mixing nitroglycerine with kieselgur which made it less sensitive to shocks. In October 1867, Nobel filed a patent for this new explosive in Sweden, the United States of America and in the United Kingdom (the patent was not filed in Germany before 1877), qui fut également commercialisé sous le nom de poudre de sécurité). The new explosive was marketed under the name of security powder. In 1874,in order to ensure a better supply of the main buyers, the mines of the region of Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
, the company took over the Schlebusch factory in Manfort (since 1930 a district of Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
; Nobel s'était associé à sa construction dès 1872 et y avait dirigé la production de manière temporaire); Nobel was involved in its construction since 1872 and supervised the production on a temporary basis.
In 1876, Nobel’s company became a limited liability company and was renamed Dynamit AG, i.e. DAG). The company started manufacturing defense equipment, and soon afterwards became the biggest manufacturer of powder and ammunitions of the German Reich.
In 1884, similar to other European countries, the biggest German powder manufacturers agreed to form a cartel (here known as « Interessensgemeinschaft ») named Deutsche Union which was led by Dynamit Nobel for five years. All the largest manufacturers of powder of the German Reich abided by this union which prevented them from competing against each other due to their cooperation and agreement upon the export prices. In 1886, they approached the English powder cartel, the Nobel Dynamite Trust Co and managed to establish the General cartel made up of both the German and English powder factories.
Due to the high demand for defense equipments for the First World War, the manufacturers of powder made very high profits, which were reinforced due to their cartel organisation. Furthermore, during this period, the states strongly encouraged the development and production of weapons.
In 1886, Dynamit Nobel opened a branch in Troisdorf and as from 1905 this factory also manufactured a plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
material based on nitrocellulose (an explosive product): known as celluloid.
Until the start of the First World War, Dynamit Nobel grew by acquiring smaller competitor companies to become the biggest explosive manufacturer in Europe. During the war, it employed prisoners of war in its factory (namely Russian prisoners in the factory of Dömitz
Dömitz
Dömitz is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, 25 km southwest of Ludwigslust, and 37 km northwest of Wittenberge....
).
Without descendants, Alfred Nobel, decided that after his death his fortune would be used to create the Nobel foundation. This was done in 1900. Each year this foundation awards the Nobel Prize. The fortune of Nobel which was converted into shares that finance the Nobel foundation.
From 1918 to 1945
After the end of the war, parts of the factory’s facilities were dismantled and after the enforcement of the Versailles treaty, companies were forbidden to manufacture defense equipment. As from then, the company manufactured mostly explosives destined to mines, detonators, ignition systems as well as ammunitions for hunting and sports. The end of the production of the highly profitable defense equipment caused the company to suffer from heavy financial losses. This caused the company to close down some factories while reducing the production capacities in others. In 1923, the company launched the manufacture of plastic parts made of nitrocelluloseNitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it is also known as guncotton...
. Indeed, Dynamit Nobel aimed at reducing its dependence to the defense equipment in order to give more importance to the manufacture of chemical products.
In 1925, the Lindener Zündhütchen- und Thoonwaarenfabrik of Empelde was taken over by the Chemische Werke Lothringen GmbH, which itself belonged to BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
. Production was stopped in 1928 and did not restart until the rearmament which occurred in 1938. During the 1920s, the company collaborated closely with the Siegener Dynamitfabrik AG and the Rheinisch-Westfälischen Sprengstoff-AG which belonged to I.G. Farben since 1931.
In 1926, as a result of the fusion with Köln-Rottweil AG which belonged to I.G. Farben, Dynamit Nobel was taken over by I.G. Farben. As from then, it formed a cartel with Westfalit AG (the forerunner of the WASAG, which was also taken over by I.G. Farben en 1945), which had a monopolistic position on the German powder market. In 1930, the Rheinische Spritzguß-Werk GmbH (today the Dynamit Nobel Kunststoff GmbH) was founded in Cologne. After the national-socialists
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
took lead of the German government, and wished to develop a strong German defense industry, the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
explicitly requested bigger ammunition manufacturing capacities. In order to do so, the WASAG and Dynamit Nobel founded the Deutsche Sprengchemie GmbH in 1934. New factories manufacturing explosives and ammunitions were built on government lands and received help from a company which had been nationalised, the Verwertungsgesellschaft für Mountain-Industrie mbH.
Afterwards, the Deutsche Sprengchemie GmbH became the only subsidiary of WASAG. Dynamit Nobel had the same activities in Gesellschaft zur Verwertung chemischer Erzeugnisse mbH (i.e. Verwertchemie). The latter ran more than 30 factories, namely in Liebenau, Empelde, and Stadtallendorf. At that time, Stadtallendorf was the largest place of ammunition production in Europe. During World War Two, more than people coming from camps managed by the SS were forced to work there. In 1938, a new factory manufacturing nitrocellulose was built in Aschau am Inn. After the war it became the property of WASAG due to the decartelisation of I.G. Farben.
From 1945 to 1992
After World War Two, Dynamit Nobel began manufacturing plastic equipment and ammunition in West Germany but was not able to keep the factories located in the areas occupied by the Soviets. These factories were partly dismembered. From 1953, Dynamit Nobel tried to develop intermediary organic products in order not to rely completely on the plastic equipment. After deciding the rearmament of BundeswehrBundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, the manufacture of ammunition was restarted in 1957, at first in the factory of Liebenau by the Gesellschaft zur Verwertung chemischer Erzeugnisse mbH which had survived the war.
At the beginning of the 1960s, once again, the company became the leader of the military and civil powder market in Germany, namely due to the takeover of the manufacturer of ammunitions Gustav Genschow & Co. AG de Karlsruhe in 1963. At the same time, Dynamit Nobel took an increasing position in the mines market. Since 1958, around 3 million antitank mines, models DM-11 were manufactured in Liebenau under licence of the Swedish company LIAB. Moreover, in collaboration with Bölkow and Dornier, Dynamit Nobel participated to the research projects of the Ministry of nuclear energy (today known as the Federal Ministry of education and research) for the possible supply of Germany with missiles.
During the end of the 1950s, Friedrich Karl Flick
Friedrich Karl Flick
Friedrich Karl Flick was a German-Austrian industrialist and billionaire....
, who was a board member of the supervisory board before the war, started to monopolise the company to the detriment of the minority shareholders, sometimes by brutal means. Supported by the Bremen speculator Hermann Krages and partly due to the collusive trading of actions with the Feldmühle AG of which Flick was also a shareholder, he managed to obtain the majority of the shares of the company and became the president of the board of directors. As from then, Flick who already possessed 82% of the share capital,Die Flicks p.167 made use of the controversial Umwandlungssteuergesetzes (fiscal law regarding commercial companies) in order to squeeze out the minority shareholders of the company, in exchange of a compensation (this tool is comparable to the one used today in order to exclude minority shareholders out of a company). After several groups of shareholders protested against this law put into place under the third Reich, the Federal Constitutional Tribunal gave a judgement in favour of Flick.Die Flicks p. 160
In 1959, Dynamit AG changed its name to Dynamit Nobel AG, in remembrance of its famous founder. As from 1962, due to the pressure which occurred during the conference, the company which belonged to Flick started to negotiate the compensation to be given to forced Jewish employees who worked in the factory of Troisdorf in 1944 and 1955. After an agreement was made, Friedrich Flick personally blocked the payment of five million Deutsche Mark and no sum of money was released until his death in 1972. In January 1970, Flick made a final statement and declared that he . He affirmed that a payment would contradict his previous statements of innocence at the Flick trial
Flick Trial
The United States of America vs. Friedrich Flick, et al. or Flick trial was the fifth of twelve Nazi war crimes trials held by United States authorities in their occupation zone Germany after World War II...
and he was unwilling to make a payment to be considered as an admission of guilt. He also affirmed that the Swiss Dieter Bührle (Oerlikon-Bührle) was also a shareholder of Dynamit Nobel, being the owner of 18% of the shares.Die Flicks p.167-169
After Bundeswehr was fully equipped with antitank mines during the late 1960s, the factory of Liebenau was sold in 1977 to the Dutch ammunitions manufacturer Eurometaal, owned by Dynamit Nobel (33% of shares). As from then, the big mines projects were put into place in Troisdorf and in Burbach-Würgendorf.
In 1986, the Flick group was bought by Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
for an approximate amount of 5,36 billions of DM.Die Flicks p.251 The latter restructured the group and sold parts of it while putting the rest of the group on the stock market. Deutsche Bank finally agreed to compensate the forced workers of Dynamit Nobel AG in respect of the conditions established in the 1960s. During the restructuring of Dynamit Nobel A,G a joint-venture was made with two of the companies of the Flick Group, namely Feldmühle AG and Buderus AG and was renamed Feldmühle Nobel AG. In 1986, the new group was introduced on the stock market. In 1988, the grand children of Friedrich Flick (Friedrich Christian Flick and his brother Gert Rudolf Flick) failed to gain control over the Feldmühle Nobel AG.Die Flicks p.255 Indeed in 1992, Metallgesellschaft AG (today known as the GEA Group) took over the company to fraction it again. Shares of Dynamit Nobel AG and Buderus remained the property of Metallgesellschaft, while the pulp and paper division (formely known as Feldmühle AG) was sold under the name of Feldmühle Nobel AG to the Swedish company Stora (Stora Enso
Stora Enso
Stora Enso Oyj is a Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer, formed by the merger of Swedish mining and forestry products company Stora and Finnish forestry products company Enso-Gutzeit Oy in 1998. It is headquartered in Helsinki, and it has approximately 29,000 employees...
since 1998).
As early as 1988, Gesellschaft zur Verwertung chemischer Erzeugnisse mbH, which had been managed as an affiliate, and Dynamit Nobel put into force an agreement regarding the consolidation and profit transfer In 1990, the subsidiary was merged with another subsidiary, Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff- und Systemtechnik GmbH.
Since 1992
At the beginning of the 1990s, the company was present in the basic and intermediary chemical products, synthetic fibres, specific chemical products (such as silicon wafers) and the processing of plastic materials (in particular PVCPVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
). About one quarter of the turnover of the company originated from the traditional sector of explosives, as well as the ammunition technology which is closely linked to the equipment projects of the Bundeswehr.
In 1992, the company took over Cerasiv GmbH and Chemetall GmbH, and in 1994 Sachtleben Chemie GmbH and Chemson GmbH were also taken over. In 1996, the company acquired CeramTec AG which belonged to Hoechst and merged with Cerasiv GmbH under the name of CeramTec Innovative Ceramic Engineering AG.
In 1997, Dynamit Nobel took over Phoenix Kunststoff GmbH in order to reinforce its position in the plastic equipments market. In 1999, Dynamit Nobel and the chemical company Solvadis were united within the MG chemical group. The scope of chemical activities within Chemetall was optimized by the acquisition of Cyprus Foote (1998) and Brent (1999), followed by the sale of two subsidiaries namely, Chemson GmbH (1999) et Coventya GmbH (2000).
In 2001, the industrial activities of Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff und Systemtechnik GmbH was taken over by Orica
Orica
Orica is a multinational corporation that manufactures various chemical products. It is the largest supplier of mining explosives in the world. -History:...
. In 2002, the Swiss group RUAG technology took over Dynamit Nobel Ammotec GmbH, which had been separated from Dynamit Nobel Explosivstoff und Systemtechnik GmbH. In this company, the production was focussed on the manufacture of ammunitions of small calibre.
In 2004, MG technologies AG sold its chemical activities to emphasise the manufacture of equipment. Therefore Dynamit Nobel AG was dismantled and taken over by several companies. The American company
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Rockwood Specialties Group Inc, the largest buyer, acquired Sachtleben Chemie GmbH, Chemetall GmbH, CeramTec Innovative Ceramic Engineering AG and DNSC GmbH as of the 31st July 2004 for 2,25 billions of euros through its Luxemburg subsidiary Knight Lux 1 S.A.R.L.. Part of DNSC GmbH remains in Leverkusen and is known as Dynamit Nobel GmbH ES.
Rockwood is a chemical holding company that the financial investor company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co had acquired. Dynamit Nobel Kunststoff GmbH was taken over in 2004 by the Swedish company Plastal Holding AB for 915 millions euros.
The technical armament activity was reduced under the name of Dynamit Nobel Defence GmbH, with the registered office located in Würgendorf (Burbach). The company was specialised in the manufacture of small calibres for the army, official authorities, hunters and shooting sports and was taken over by the Swiss group RUAG in 2002 and merged with its ammunitions branch. Therefore the former companies Dynamit Nobel Marken RWS, Rottweil and Geco were named RUAG Ammotec GmbH (Fürth).
The dismantlement of the Nobel group was made in close collaboration with the employees representatives, who were highly involved during the sales negotiations. Indisputably the employees’ committee would have preferred that the chemical activity remains within MG technologies AG, but an agreement was reached as Rockwood Inc. certified that the long term interests of the company would be maintained and that all the German employees would keep their jobs.
Defence projects since the Second World War
The antitank mines AT-2 were created by Dynamit Nobel and approximately 1,3 millions were manufactured. Bundeswehr ordered of them for the LARS (a system of light artillery with missiles) which was into place until 2000, about were manufactured for Minenwurfsystem Skorpion (a vehicle which installed mines) and for M270 (a multiple rocket launcher).
Between 1981 and 1986, Bundeswehr invested 564,7 millions of DM in mines projects,. Besides the antitank mines AT-2, Dynamit Nobel developed an antipersonnel mine AP-2, an anti-material mine, a signal mine and a shallow water mine.
HK G11, a new assault rifle using an ammunition without casing was developed in collaboration with the weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...
between 1968 and 1990, whereas Dynamit Nobel developed the ammunitions without casing. The project was completed but the Bundeswehr declined it due to financial considerations.
KUKA
KUKA is a leading German producer of industrial robots for a variety of industries - from automotive and fabricated metals to food and plastics...
) which belonged to the Quandt group at the time, in order to enable them to conform to the antitank mines authorised by the Ottawa convention. However, the detonator was not sufficiently modified, and it could therefore be used against people, while it should only have been used against tanks.
In respect of an agreement made in 1989, Dynamit Nobel was manufacturing blank cartridge bullets and figure targets in Würgendorf. Dynamit Nobel also agreed to develop the Panzerfaust 3, in order to progressively deliver it to the Bundeswehr and other armies as the priority antitank defence mechanism in the infantry. In 2010, several different types are manufactured for the Bundeswehr.
Criticisms of these defence projects
Dynamit Nobel AG, as well as the company which took its place in the defence projects field, the Dynamit Nobel Defence GmbH were often heavily criticised due to the mines system they manufactured. Since the creation of Bundeswehr, the company has delivered 3,2 millions of land mines. In 1992 the company had the following advertising tag line «Dynamit Nobel — the first address for the mines» in specialised magazines.Today, in the Bundeswehr controversial antitank mines manufactured by Dynamit Nobel can still be found. It is suspected that they can also be used against people and are nowadays officially prohibited by the Ottawa convention. In 2003, an amount of 1,2 million of these mines was estimated.
Polyvinyl chloride poisoning in Troisdorf
Until the 1970s, Dynamit Nobel polymerised the monomer vinyl chlorideVinyl chloride
Vinyl chloride is the organochloride with the formula H2C:CHCl. It is also called vinyl chloride monomer, VCM or chloroethene. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride . At ambient pressure and temperature, vinyl chloride...
into polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...
(PVC) in the factory of Troisdorf. At this time, about 130 to 140 employees were regularly in touch with it. In total, about 3600 persons have worked within this division since the launching of the production in Troisdorf in the 1940s.
Infringing the health and safety regulations in force at that time, the employees of Dynamit Nobel were exposed for years, with little protection, to this harmful substance which later turned out to be carcinogenic. Therefore, they were heavily contaminated by vinyl chloride gas or by cleaning up the autoclaves. At this time, most of the other manufacturers of PVC had already put into place systems of production, which were less dangerous for the health. The same has not been done in Dynamit Nobel because of financial considerations. Moreover, regular controls were not made, others were partially manipulated or the results were kept secret. Also, the company made an important contribution to the region, regularly obtained extensions of time to apply the regulations. Contamination due to vinyl chloride was so severe that for years in the company, the employees complained of damages relating to their liver, anemia, finger circulation disorder resulting in acro-osteolysis (necrosis of the first phalanxes), as well as headaches and dizziness. Cancers also resulted from the exposure.
After the announcement of the first thirteen severe diseases during spring 1972, work inspectors from Bonn ordered Dynamit Nobel to take the appropriate measures in order to improve the health and safety conditions of work. But the company took a long time to put them into place.
Afterwards, the 40 sick employees gathered together as Interessengemeinschaft der VC-Geschädigten in order to file a complaint for violation of duty against the Land of North-Rhine-Westphalia and asked for damage compensation, just like in the Contergan trial. The local committee of the DKP in Troisdorf filed a complaint for injury and involuntary homicides against the board of directors of Dynamit Nobel AG. Both complaints remained unsuccessful. After more details about the scandal were made public, employees and inhabitants of Troisforf organised a series of demonstrations. In 1975, the company’s board of directors decided to shut down PVC polymerisation workshop to escape the expensive costs related to modernization and security of the plant.
Since the first announcement about the existing risks, the company has tried its best to keep things quiet. In that respect, it has put a lot of pressure on the journalists and editors. During the following years, some employees were contaminated and died due to their disease without the company ever compensating them.
External links
- www.dynamit-nobel.de
- CoventyaCoventyaCoventya Group is a worldwide player in the specialty chemicals industry for electrolytic surface finishing, including the processes relating to metal deposits through chemical reduction plating...
- Bown, Stephen R. A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World. Macmillan, 2005 (ISBN 9780312329136)