Early 20th Century Industrial Shelving By Max H König-Albert-Werk Circa 1900

Early 20th Century Industrial Shelving By Max H König-Albert-Werk Circa 1900

Product code #OA1977

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- Cast iron frame
- Adjustable shelve brackets each marked DRGM
- New ebonised pine shelves
- German ~ 1900
- 57cm deep x 205cm tall x 240cm long

The factory in 1946

Max H König-Albert-Werk

The history of the Maxhütte settlement, which is now part of Zwickau, southwest of Zwickau's main train station, began in the last decade of the 19th century. In August 1893, the Queen Marienhütte in nearby Cainsdorf , designated in 1892 as the largest ironworks in Saxony, stopped the production of pig iron in the blast furnace ( Bessemerstahl ) due to the depletion of ore supplies from the surrounding area . This ended the block supply contract for Maxhütte (Unterwellenborn) , which was producing Bessemerstahl , a Thuringian branch of Maximilianshütte in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Upper Palatinate, founded in 1872, with the Queen Marienhütte in Cainsdorf. The general director of the Maxhütte in Rosenberg decided to build a new Thomas Stahl plant with an attached rolling mill on the area south-west of Zwickau's main train station , which was then part of the Lichtentanne community . This method had inter alia. the Bessemer process has already been replaced at the main plant in Rosenberg. For the new plant in West Saxony spoke among others. the location in the Kingdom of Saxony , which was considered to be the main sales area for rail deliveries due to the increasingly dense railway network, and the direct proximity to the Zwickau hard coal area , which is next to the North Bohemian lignite areas ( North Bohemian Basin andFalkenauer Becken ) served as an energy supplier.

For the new Maxhütte plant, land was acquired in the west of the city of Zwickau and in the neighboring community of Lichtentanne in 1893. In 1895 the construction of the steelworks, named after the then Saxon King Albert , began with block and prefabricated streets. Commissioning took place on August 10, 1898. The pig iron was supplied by Maxhütte Unterwellenborn, whose blast furnace system had meanwhile also been converted to the Thomas process. The early days of the new steel mill were difficult because there was a lack of trained staff. In 1899 a factory bathing establishment was built. With the construction of the sheet rolling mill in 1901/02, sales could be increased. In 1907 the plant was expanded structurally. During theDuring the First World War (1914 to 1918), the sheet rolling mill was shut down for the first time in 1914. On the other hand, full employment could be achieved one year later, but this was followed by another standstill in 1917 after the coal crisis in 1916.

The death of the smelter's director Josef Baum in 1917 and the takeover of the Saxon State Railways by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920, through which the railroad's rail requirements could now also be met from other sources, had further negative effects on the development of the König-Albert-Werk . In 1922, a new sheet rolling mill was built, which went into operation in 1926. In 1925 the plant was shut down again. However, after resuming in the following year, operations were partially closed again in 1926.

In December 1930 the König-Albert-Werk was finally shut down. At that time, the plant comprised three converters , each with a capacity of 16 tons and a crude steel capacity of around 120,000 tons per year, two rail and shaped iron lines and two sheet metal lines. The three converters were subsequently relocated to Unterwellenborn.

Condition Report

The frame has been burnished and given a coat of clear lacquer, there are some rust spots and pitting in places but no cracks or major damage the the steel.

As with all of our products this product is an original piece and has lived a life before it arrived at Otto's HQ. It has been sympathetically restored by the Otto's team to ensure it has a life for many more years to come. All of our products will show signs of patina and cosmetic wear, this we believe is what gives our products their unique charm. If you have any further questions regarding the condition of this product or any others please don't hesitate to contact us and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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