Thyssen AG
| Industry | Steel and Vertical Transport |
|---|---|
| Successor | ThyssenKrupp |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Defunct | 1999 |
Thyssen was a major German steel producer founded by August Thyssen. After over 100 years of existence, the company merged with Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp to form ThyssenKrupp in 1999.
On 29 September 1891 August Thyssen and his brother Joseph came to be in possession of all shares of Gewerkschaft Deutscher Kaiser, a coal mining company. On 17 December 1891 the steelworks of the same company opened in Hamborn, Duisburg.
Subsequently, the plant was modernized and expanded by August Thyssen, becoming a vertically integrated company producing iron and steel and manufacturing ships, machines etc.
After the First World War came the occupation of the Ruhr and the loss of many foreign interests; however the company remained viable.
On 4 April 1926, August Thyssen died; his son, Fritz Thyssen became chairman of a new group Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG (United Steelworks) which was formed by a consortium of companies, with Thyssen representing 26% of the company's value. In 1934, August Thyssen-Hütte AG was founded as part of the new group.
The Nazi rearmament policy and subsequent war made the plants essential to the war economy. After the end of World War II, the Allies ordered the company to be liquidated and in 1953 a new company, also named August Thyssen-Hütte AG, was formed in Duisburg. The other mills of the company in Duisburg became legally independent entities; in the 1950s and 1960s they were reintegrated into the Thyssen group. However, the mining division was not reconglomerated; thus Thyssen became largely a steel company.
In 1954/55, the group focused on acquisitions to restore the vertical integration by acquiring mining concerns.
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