Magirus

This article is about the European truck manufacturer. For other uses, see Magirus (disambiguation).

Iveco Magirus AG^[1]

Type	Aktiengesellschaft
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1864 (As Magirus Kommanditist) 1974 (Magirus Deutz) 1983 (Iveco Magirus)
Founder(s)	Dietrich Magirus
Headquarters	Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Number of locations	Production locations: Germany: Ulm, Weisweil & Görlitz Austria: Graz France: Chambéry Italy: Brescia
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Paolo Monferino (CEO) Roel Nizet (Chairman)
Products	Trucks
Operating income	€1.042 billion (2009)
Employees	2,100 (2009)
Parent	Iveco S.p.A
Subsidiaries	Iveco Magirus Brandschutz-technik GmbH
Website	iveco-magirus.com

Iveco Magirus AG^[2] is a truck manufacturer based in Ulm, Germany, founded by Conrad Dietrich Magirus (1824–1895). The company began manufacturing fire-fighting vehicles in 1864. In the late 1910s, it started the production of trucks and buses. These vehicles developed a reputation for high engineering standards, able to operate under the most arduous conditions.

During World War II, Magirus Deutz was involved in producing gas vans, an extermination method devised by Nazi Germany to kill victims of the regime.^{[3][not in citation given]} Gas vans were used, particularly at Chełmno extermination camp, until gas chambers were developed as a more efficient method for killing large numbers of people. The total number of gas van gassings is unknown. One German document dated June 5, 1942 in occupied Minsk indicates that from December 1941 to June 1942 3 gas vans were used to kill 97,000 civilians.

The company also invented the turntable ladder, as Magirus Leiter, which quickly became an essential item of fire brigade equipment worldwide.

The parent company was Klöckner Humbolt Deutz AG, maker of the well-known Deutz engines, so the brand commonly used was Magirus Deutz, and for a short time Klöckner. The logo of Magirus Deutz was a stylised M with a sharp, long center point to represent the tower of the Ulm Cathedral.

In 1975, Magirus was purchased by Iveco which continued producing some Magirus trucks for a short while under the name "Iveco Magirus" before abandoning it completely in most countries. However, Iveco trucks were sold under the Magirus brand in Germany and other European and Middle Eastern markets until the end of the 1980s. Nowadays the Magirus brand is only used for the company's fire fighting equipment section, but not for the whole fleet of manufactured trucks anymore.

Iveco Magirus is one of the leading manufacturers of fire fighting equipment. Basis for the fire fighting trucks are mainly Iveco's own chassis and engines, but also platforms of other truck manufacturers are used to build up the fire fighting equipment. With its Magirus brand turntable ladder, Iveco Magirus is the unrivalled global market leader.

Most trucks from Magirus are also known as Magirus Deutz because the air-cooled engine came from the factory of Deutz AG. These engines are still being sold for agricultural and marine use.

Products

Current products

• Iveco Magirus Eurocargo
• Iveco Magirus Stralis
• Iveco Magirus Trakker

Gallery

• 

  Magirus Fire Engine Model "Bayern" 1923

• 

  Magirus Fire Engine 1961

• 

  Iveco Magirus fire engine

• 

  Volvo Magirus fire engine

• 

  Japanese Fire Service Hino Motors Magirus fire engine

• 

  Italian Fire Service vehicles with an Astra crane on the left and a Magirus turntable ladder on the right, Army Parade in Rome, 2 june 2006.

• 

  Magirus-Deutz van in Chełmno extermination camp

Timeline

• 1864 - Founded by Conrad Dietrich Magirus
• 1872 - 1872 2-wheel hand ladder climbable when free-standing, model »Ulmer Ladder«
• 1892 - First horse-pulled rotating ladder 25 m
• 1904 - First steam powered self propelled “fire engine”
• 1916 - First fully automatic drive turn table ladder in the world
• 1917 - Production of Magirus motor vehicles
• 1931 - First turn table ladder with steel ladder set
• 1936 - Fusion with Humboldt-Deutz Motorenfabrik
• 1951 - Made the highest turntable ladder in the world 52 m
• 1953 - First turntable ladder with hydraulic drive
• 1965 - First forward control truck chassis
• 1971 - First rescue vehicle RW-rail for subway and local railway operation
• 1972 - First large airport crash tender
• 1980 - First turntable ladder »low-design«
• 1986 - First computer controlled turntable ladder
• 1987 - Take over of previous Bachert production plant in Weisweil, Germany
• 1992 - Iveco Mezzi Speciali, Brescia, Italy
• 1994 - First articulated ladder DLK 23-12 GL CC
• 1996 - Production start of light pumper vehicles in Görlitz/Germany
• 1997 - Lohr-Magirus in Graz/Austria
• 2000 - First oscillation-free turntable ladder (Computer Stabilized)
• 2005 - „Firework of Novelties“ at the Interschutz in Hannover
• 2007 - New modular bodywork generation AluFire 3
• 2010 - Presentation of the models M 32 L-AT, M 33 P, SuperDragon 2, MultiStar2 at the Interschutz in Leipzig

See also

	Germany portal
	Companies portal

• Fiat S.p.A
• Irisbus Iveco
• Iveco S.p.A
• Fiat Industrial S.p.A

References

1. ^ http://top500.welt.de/detail/10679/
2. ^ http://top500.welt.de/detail/10679/
3. ^ "Gas Wagons: The Holocaust's mobile gas chambers", an article of Nizkor Project

External links

Official sites

• Iveco Magirus
• Iveco Magirus Germany
• Magirus-Deutz fan site (UK)