Rasmus Sigvardt (born 26 February 1886) was a mechanic from

Orehoved Orehoved is a small harbour town in the north of the Danish island of Falster. It grew up mainly as a result of the railway and ferry services in the late 19th century. As of 2024, it has a population of 450. Etymology The element "''ore''" stem ...

on the Danish island of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

. In 1904, he opened a cycle repair shop which later developed into an engine factory, specializing in boat motors and mechanized fruit-tree sprayers.

Career

The little workshop Sigvardt opened in 1904 was only but in 1906 he expanded it to . Around that time, when motorcycles came to Denmark, he was one of the first to obtain the tools he needed for their maintenance and repair. In 1909, he built even larger facilities, where he and his staff of three could repair automobiles, motorcycles and boat motors."Orehoved Motorfabrik, Danmark"
Dansk Motor- og Maskinsamling. Retrieved 16 December 2012. In 1915, the factory began to manufacture two-stroke

glow fuel Glow fuel is a fuel source used in model engines – generally the same or similar fuels can be used in model airplanes, helicopters, cars and boats. Glow fuel can be burned by very simple two-stroke engines or by more complicated four-stroke engin ...

or gasoline engines to serve as boat motors. They were marketed as R. S. M. Motorer from R. Sigvardts Motorfabrik. By the 1920s, Sigvardt was manufacturing even more sophisticated engines, always keeping up to date with developments. In 1926, he began manufacturing spraying equipment for fields and gardens, marketing Denmark's first mechanized sprayer by the end of the same year. By that time he was employing 14 workmen. He also made a success of stationary engines for winching. While continuing his engine business, he later also moved into radios which he assembled himself until he met competition from larger manufacturers. In 1936, Sigvardt organized the ''Brohallen'' bridge exhibition in Orehoved in connection with the building of the

Storstrøm Bridge The Storstrøm Bridge (, ) is a road and railway arch bridge that crosses Storstrømmen between the islands of Falster and Masnedø in Denmark. Together with Masnedsund Bridge it connects Falster and Zealand (''Sjælland''). It was the main r ...

. In 1951, he had 12 houses built in the town for his factory employees. In 1970, the Sigvardt factory was taken over by Hardi International. It has now moved to Nørre Alslev where it is the town's largest employer."375-1 Gåbense"
, Museum-online.dk. Retrieved 16 December 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigvardt, Rasmus Engine manufacturers of Denmark 20th-century Danish engineers 20th-century Danish businesspeople People from Falster 1886 births Year of death unknown