SINGER
NÄHMASCHINEN IN GERMANY
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G. Neidlinger Singer Generalagent für Deutschland und den Norden
Headquarters & Warehouse : Neuer Wall Nr 3, Hamburg
from 1860-3 to 1895
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Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft
Headquarters & Warehouse : Admiralitätstrasse 79, Hamburg
from 1895 to 1920
Singer Nähmaschinenwerk Wittenberge, district Potsdam
from 1904 to 1845-6
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Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (AG)
Headquarters : Kronenstrasse 22, Berlin
from 1920 to 1949 (?)
Köpenicker Straße 9, Berlin. This address was added with the head office for Berlin city and country. 1939/1940
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Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (AG)
Headquarters : Singerhaus, Gutleutstrasse 42-44, Frankfurt am Main
from 1949 to 1982 (?)
Industrial department: Stiftstrasse 19, Frankfurt a. M. (1902 advert)
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Haid und Neu
Nähmaschinen Fabrik : Strasse 7, Karlsruhe
from 1851 to 1958
In 1951 the company Haid & Neu entered into a license and supply agreement with Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (AG) in Frankfurt. In 1958 the company Haid & Neu was taken over by Singer and renamed as Singer Nahmaschinenfabrik, Karlsruh.
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Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (AG)
Headquarters : Singerhaus, Gutleutstrasse 42-44, Frankfurt am Main
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Karlsruhe Factory 1958-1982
Singer Nähmaschinenfabrik : Karlsruhe
from 1958 to 1965
Singer Karlsruhe GmbH : Karlsruhe
from 1965 to 1967
Singer Werke GmbH : Karlsruhe
from 1967 to 1982
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Wittenberge Factory 1946-1992
After 1946 the Wittemberge factory had been dismantled and taken to Russia and lay empty for several years. Under the DDR, the factory was re-equipped and traded as "VEB Nahmaschinenwerk Wittenberge" as part of the state textile machinery combine, "VEB Kombinat Textima".
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In 1860 circa, the Singer Mfg Co. in New York, selected Georg Neidlinger to organize the sales of Singer sewing machines in Germany.
(*) possibly in 1862-3 ... For this purpose, Georg Neidlinger settled in Hamburg, where has been working extremely successfully in the following years for his independent sales company "G. Neidlinger Singer Generalagent", which has been producing sewing machines with Singer sewing machines' parts imported into Hamburg final assembly production probably until 1883.
To meet growing demand in Europe, Singer opened the largest sewing machine factory in the world in Kilbowie, Scotland in 1883
In 1885 Georg Neidlinger had a newly built commercial building on Admiralitätstrasse, Hamburg, which served as an office and warehouse for his sewing machine sales and still bears his name, the so-called "Neidlinger-haus" with its representative neo-Gothic facade.
When, in 1895, the Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft company was founded in Hamburg, Georg Neidlinger's sales company was converted into a stock corporation; Neidlinger joined its board.
In 1901 the Singer Mfg Co. was interested in buying an area in Wittenberge.
On January 23, 1902 Georg Neidlinger visited the area in Wittenberge on behalf of Singer that was suitable for the construction of a sewing machine factory. In the same year Singer opened a factory in Podolsk, Russia.
In April 1903 the construction of the Wittenberg factory began, under the direction of Georg Neidlinger. The Wittenberg factory was the only sewing machine factory that Singer built in Western and Central Europe. In principle, the other factories were only taken over. So also the Singer factory in Karlsruhe (formerly Haid & Neu).
In 1904, Singer opened the Wittenberg factory and Neidlinger had another commercial building built on the corner of Jungfernstieg, Alsterarkaden on the site of the former Hotel St. Petersburg, which was also known at the time as the Neidlinger-Haus.
Georg Neidlinger died April 20, 1920 in Hamburg
In 1920 the Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (AG) moved his headquarters to Berlin.
1940. The Singer Wittenberge factory production continued until 1940 when military production displaced most of the sewing machine lines. The restrictions caused by the Second World War in 1940 led to a partial changeover to the production of various armaments, from 1944 to 1945 only armaments were produced.
The total Singer Wittenberge factory production up to 1943 ran to approximately 6.5 million machines. After the war, Wittenberge found itself in Eastern Germany, the area under Russian control. The production site in Wittenberge survived the war almost unscathed, but the plant was completely dismantled from June 15, 1945 until 1946 as a reparation service by the Soviet occupying powers. The then Singer plant management, which was prohibited from accessing the former Singer sewing machine factory, had to relocate to the former Singer branch at Bahnstrasse 79 in Wittenberge. Production of Singer sewing machines could not be resumed, the former Singer sewing machine factory buildings and plots remained unused until further notice but owned by the Singer Company and its successor companies.
In June 1946, the Singer Company were informed that the machinery in the Wittenberge factory had been dismantled and taken to Russia as war reparations and the factory lay empty for several years.
In 1949 the Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (AG) relocated his headquarters to Frankfurt am Main.
In 1951 the company Haid & Neu entered into a license and supply agreement with Singer Nähmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (AG) in Frankfurt.
In 1954 Singer purchased the factory and sewing machine business of the Haid & Neu company in Karlsruhe. The factory was built in 1893.
In 1958 the company Haid & Neu was taken over by Singer and renamed as Singer Nahmaschinenfabrik, Karlsruhe. At the same time the Haid und Neu name was taken over by the Maschinenbau Betz subsidiary in Offenbach/Main, which continued to produce machines under the Haid und Neu brand until it was sold in 1963. As Singer took over, the Karlsruhe factory continued to make the old Haid und Neu designs which were marketed as Singer models such as the 215G, 216G, 218G etc. After the factory was refitted with the latest machinery for aluminium bodied machines, it became a centre of excellence for complex machining and provided finished machined bodies to other European Singer factories for final assembly.
By the mid 1960's a series of rationalisations began so that by the time the factory closed in 1982 the workforce had been reduced to around 450. The buildings were demolished soon after the closure. Machines produced at the Karlsruhe factory were identified by a suffix G added to their model numbers. i.e. 215G. Serial numbers took the form of PA, PB, PC etc. followed by 6 digits starting at 000001 up to 999999.
In 1965 the Singer Nahmaschinenfabrik was changed to Singer Karlsruhe GmbH.
In 1967 the Karlsruhe factory was renamed again as Singer Werke GmbH.
In 1982 Singer Werke GmbH sewing machine production in Karlsruhe was discontinued and thus in Germany.
www.hamburgerpersoenlichkeiten.de
(*) ... In 1862-3, the American Singer Company which had operated the installment business in the United States for a decade, appeared on the German market, opened branches, began to sell and thereby created competition for the German sewing machine industry that was difficult to compete with; at least not without the sell-off that has proven to be stronger in terms of sales ...
"Das Abzahlungsgeschäft in Handel und Industrie und seine Finanzierung"
(The retail and industrial repayment business and its financing)
By Waldemar Koch
At the start of the twentieth century, Singer’s Clydebank factory could not keep up with supplying the whole European market so two large new factories were planned; one in Germany and the other in Russia. The German factory was started in 1903 at Wittenberge in Prussia, west of Berlin on the river Elbe.
The first machines were produced in 1904.
Wittenberge machines were given the suffix D to the class number (e.g. class 15D) and serial numbers carried the prefix letter C.
Production continued until 1940 when military production displaced most of the sewing machine lines.
Total production up to 1943 ran to approximately 6.5 million machines. After the war, Wittenberge found itself in Eastern Germany, the area under Russian control.
In June 1946, the Singer Company were informed that the machinery in the factory had been dismantled and taken to Russia as war reparations and the factory lay empty for several years. Under the DDR, the factory was re-equipped and traded as VEB Nahmaschinenwerk Wittenberge as part of the state textile machinery combine, "VEB Kombinat Textima". The machines made for the DDR were badged with some new names and some old names such as Veritas, used by Clemens Muller of Dresden before the war and Naumann, used by Seidel & Naumann of Dresden before the war.
note: VEB= Volkseigener Betrieb=State-owned company
With the reunification of Germany the plant was closed on January 31st 1992 having produced just over 7.5 million machines.
THE SINGER BUTTONHOLE
The buttonhole for sewing machines by Georg Neidlinger shows an interesting device in Hamburg (DRPP Nr. 10.326 from September 21, 1879), which can be attached to any Singer sewing machine if you want to sew around with these buttonholes without making any changes to the machine itself. The effective part in this apparatus is a crochet needle, which draws the lower thread in loop form over the sewing edge with each stitch, so that the ordinary needle must pierce through this loop at the top. This creates an imitated seam formed from two threads, which wraps around the sewing edge of the buttonhole and a strong thread lying on it. The apparatus for guiding and moving the hook needle is screwed onto the sewing machine head, but its movement is brought about by the descending needle bar in interaction with a spiral spring. An auxiliary needle, moved by the hook needle, pushes the thread loop out of the hook at the right time. In addition to the opening for the usual sewing needle, the presser foot to be used for buttonhole also has one for the hook needle and a third one for the strong thread that is fed in and attached to the buttonhole edge. While the hook needle pulls the thread loop up, it turns 90°, because with a pin protruding from it at a right angle, it is inserted in a sinuous groove of its guide sleeve and its shape must follow.
US PATENTS FOR BUTTONHOLE MACHINES