Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein
Flight and vehicle plants Altenrhein AG ( FFA) was a Swiss manufacturer of aircraft and rail vehicles, based in the village of Altenrhein in the community Thal SG in the canton of St. Gallen.
The company was sold in 1987 and broken down step by step. Since then, there are a number of successor companies, which go back to the FFA, including the Gautschi AG ( aircraft - Zuliefererin and owner of trademark rights), the Pilatus Aircraft subsidiary Altenrhein Aviation Ltd ( Aircraft Maintenance ), Stadler Altenrhein AG ( wagon ) and Schindler Technik AG. Closely related to the FFA is also the Airport St. Gallen -Altenrhein, on which the former FFA premises is known as an industrial park Altenrhein today.
History
Flight and vehicle plants Altenrhein go back to the Dornier -Werke Altenrhein AG, founded in 1924 by Claude Dornier, after Germany was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles of the aircraft. Interest in the aircraft in Switzerland showed in particular the Swiss Air Force and the Ad Astra Aero, a predecessor of the later Swissair.
In order for the aircraft Dornier -Werke could stand, an airfield with a 600 -meter-long grass runway was created in Altenrhein, on the 1927 Flying operations began and arose from the passage of time and Altenrhein Airport.
After the Second World War, the company of the German control was withdrawn and moved to Swiss craftsmanship. 1948 Claudio Caroni was entrusted with the management of the company, in 1949 the name in flight and vehicle plants Altenrhein AG ( FFA) changed and was also active in the wagon. Claudio Caroni bought the company in 1952 to complete, so it moved to the family.
Own aircraft developments were exceptions, though the Swiss Air Force ordered 100 aircraft of the type FFA P-16 but since shortly after ordering the Vorserienflugzeug J -3003 because of a defect in the Bodensee crashes the order was canceled. (Parts of the FFA P-16 found use in Learjet No. 1.)
An important pillar of the company made the wagon, where in addition to the car for the standard gauge railways also those for narrow gauge railways (especially the unit cars for the Rhaetian Railway ) and tram networks ( for example, many followers after the model of the Swiss standard car ) occupied an important place. Particularly noteworthy is the railcar BDeh 1/2 of the nearby gondola Rheineck - Walzenhausen the car body comes from the FFA. He graduated in 1958 on its maiden voyage and is still in operation ( as of Nov 2013). The railcar is being revised and should fulfill his duties for at least another 10 years. The unique railcar of the narrow gauge rack railway ( 1200 mm gauge ) has already covered more than 1,000,000 km. and was restored several times the original.
However, it was in wagon innerschweizerisch in constant competition with the Swiss Wagons and Aufzügefabrik Schlieren ( SWS), the Swiss Industrial Company (SIG ) and Schindler Waggon Pratteln ( SWP) was. Also in the 1980s, concluded by the Swiss rolling stock industry standstill agreement could not secure the survival of businesses.
Restructuring, outsourcing and sales
Luciano Caroni 1987 sold the company to the Schindler Holding. This kept the wagon and a considerable part of the premises and formed their second wagon - subsidiary, Schindler Waggon Altenrhein ( SWA). The aircraft plants and the FFA naming rights sold to the Schindler Zurich Justus Dornier Holding.
The aircraft range was newly renamed FFA Flugzeugwerke Altenrhein AG and worked only as a supplier in the aircraft and as an aircraft maintenance company. The company was further divided, in 2000, the maintenance area has been transferred to the FFA Aircraft Maintenance Ltd, which was eventually taken over by the Pilatus Group 2002. The maintenance area has been integrated into the Pilatus subsidiary Altenrhein Aviation Ltd in 2003 and the FFA Aircraft Maintenance AG was transformed and sold in the airport company Airport Altenrhein AG.
By resolution of the General Assembly in June 2002, the merger of the FFA Flugzeugwerke Altenrhein AG was established by Gautschi AG. The Gautschi AG as the owner of the trademark has since been working in the supply business under the brand name FFA. Are manufactured, among other components for the F/A-18 fighter-bomber, the Airbus A320 family and A330/A340 family. Furthermore, maintains and provides the " FFA " parts for the FFA AS -202 Bravo.
Industrial Park Altenrhein
In the 1990s, there was at Schindler overcapacity in wagon, which came under increasing pressure from foreign competition and suffered from a discontinuous orders by the Swiss regulars. Despite several internal restructuring of Schindler Waggon, concentrating on Pratteln as the main operation ( development and construction) and Altenrhein as a Child Site (maintenance, component manufacturing ), the division slipped into the red zone.
Schindler Holding decided in 1996 its subsidiary Schindler Wagon for sale. The choice fell on the factual consortium partner ABB, with which one had developed together countless rail vehicles. The ABB transport technology had come together at the beginning of 1996, Daimler -Benz to Adtranz and was interested in taking over the site Pratteln. For the location Altenrhein was found Meanwhile, another solution: the Waggonbaubereich was taken over in 1997 by the Stadler vehicles AG, which was converted into a holding company and took over parts of the Schindler factory as Stadler Rail Altenrhein AG. As a collecting society for the remaining plant parts Schindler Technik AG was founded and took over the management area.
Since Stadler did not need the entire work on the takeover, the " surplus " Supplying and manufacturing components of Schindler Technik continued and were sold until the end of 2000 to various investors. This company settled over a dozen on the former factory premises at which Orgama AG was until the end of 2004, the Schindler real estate subsidiary. Schindler sold the industrial park Altenrhein January 1, 2005, finally, to the German TMW Pramerica Property Investment GmbH and dissolved the Orgama AG - the management of industrial parks is done, however, continue to Schindler Technik ( Pratteln ), which in Pratteln also the now closed former Schindler plant care.