Vabis
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| Industry | |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged with Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania, to create Scania-Vabis |
| Founded | December 1891 |
| Defunct | 1911 |
| Headquarters | Södertälje, Sweden |
| Brands | Vabis |
Vabis was the abbreviation and later also trademark of Swedish railway car manufacturer Vagnfabriks Aktiebolaget i Södertelge, which translates Wagon Factory Limited Company of Södertälje, established in 1891 in Södertälje. Vabis also manufactured petrol engines, automobiles, trucks, motor-powered draisines, motorboats and marine engines. The company was in 1911 merged with Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania, to form Scania-Vabis.
The company was established in December 1891 by steel manufacturer Surahammars Bruk and engineer and entrepreneur Philip Wersén, in what was then known as Södertelge, Södermanland County. Customers for the railway cars were the Swedish State Railways (SJ), and other, private railway operators. In 1900, Vabis had a peak year, building a total of 323 carriages. Around 1904, they were allocated to build 150 carriages per year for SJ. The demand for carriages had levelled out, and manufacturers like Vabis needed to find other markets to stay afloat.
The first automobile built related to the company was a four-seater designed by Gustaf Erikson in Surahammar in 1897. Erikson had been hired by Vabis in 1896 to design engines and motorized carriages. Strongly resembling a contemporary carriage, it used a one-cylinder kerosene engine, tiller steering, and was not a success. Erikson replaced it with a tube-ignition four-stroke flat-twin in 1898, mounting it in a horse carriage, which he drove briefly. He then joined Vabis and started building automobiles. The first truck was built in 1902. In December 1903, one of their automobiles was displayed at the auto show in Paris. The same year, they also received the first actual order for a motor vehicle, a rail inspection car for Ystad–Eslövs Järnväg, powered by a one-cylinder 3.5-horsepower engine.
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