Loading AI tools
Camping - Towing Company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Westfalia-Werke (Westfalia works), now two firms: Westfalia-Automotive GmbH and Westfalen Mobil GmbH, are a manufacturer of automotive camping equipment and trailers.[1] Westfalia-Werke is based in Rheda-Wiedenbrück in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Westfalia invented the ball head trailer hitch in 1934. Westfalia is best known for Volkswagen Westfalia Campers. Westfalia is a leading manufacturer of trailer hitches for cars and light commercial vehicles. Westfalia also manufactures a line of automotive bicycle racks.[2][3]
| |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Industry | Vehicle customization - Automotive supplier |
| Founded | October 1, 1844 in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany[1] |
| Founder | Franz Knöbel and Johann Bernard Knöbel |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | International |
Key people |
|
| Products | Camping Van Conversion (trailers - towing-cycle carriers) |
| Brands |
|
| Revenue | 190 Million Euro (2015) |
Number of employees | ~700[1] (2019) |
| Parent | Rapido Group (since 2011) |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website |
|
Westfalia traces its founding back to Johann Bernard Knöbel, who opened a blacksmith shop in Wiedenbrück on October 1, 1844.[1] The blacksmith shop was passed on to Knöbel two sons Wilhelm and Franz. Wilhelm and Franz added wagon and saddlery products to the business. Near the end of World War I, the two brothers ended their blacksmith partnership. Franz Knöbel changed the blacksmith shop to the manufacture of hunting wagons and horse-drawn sleighs, founding Franz Knobel & Sohn GmbH. In 1918, the company built a self-propelled carriage. In 1922, Franz Knöbel called his new company Westfalia, Fahrzeugfabrik Westfalia (Vehicle factory Westfalia). In the 1920s he start making a line of automobile products, including trailers, truck body, coachbuilding and taxi cab conversions.[4] Before 1932, trailers used only jaw or hook couplings with an eyelet for trailer towing. In 1932, Franz Knöbel developed the trailer hitch with a ball head and socket joint. Franz Knöbel patented the ball head-socket joint trailer hitch invention on March 14, 1934. Westfalia hold a number of towing patents. [5][3][6]
The first camping conversions was the Volkswagen Camping Box, built by request in 1951 on a Volkswagen Type 2 van. The request was for VW van to have a sleeping, living and working space. As cars and truck power increased Westfalia built motorhomes and camping trailers. In the 1960s Westfalia built driver's cab for the Mercedes unimog[3]. In 1966, Westfalia was the first manufacturer to market a removable trailer coupling using bolt on system. In 1987, Westfalia introduced a fully automatically removable trailer coupling.
In 1999, Westfalia-Werke divided into three divisions: [3]
In 2002, Westfalia introduced an electrically swiveling trailer hitch. In 2006 Westfalia took over trailer coupling manufacturer SIARR in France. In 2007 Westfalia took over of the trailer coupling manufacturer Monoflex in Sweden. In 2008, Westfalia introduced a wide range of bicycle rack systems. [3]
On 28 January 2010, Westfalia-Werke filed for bankruptcy after having a 40 percent drop in sales. Under bankruptcy restructure Westfalia-Werke was able to stay open. In 2011 Westfalia was acquired by the Rapido Group, a French motorhome company.[7][8]
Westfalia-Automotive GmbH now has 1,700 different types of trailer coupling covering almost all vehicle makes. In October 2016, Westfalia-Automotive trailer couplings was sold to the American trailer hitch manufacturer Horizon Global Corporation.[9][10]
_ITB_2017_(1).JPG)
_with_Westfalia_Wolfsburg_trailer_(1958)_ITB_2017_(2).JPG)
_ITB_2017_(2).JPG)
.jpg)
_(4650818851).jpg)
_Interior_(4651436324).jpg)
_(4812495500).jpg)
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
