Robur was a
marque
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
of the
Volkseigener Betrieb
The Publicly Owned Enterprise (; abbreviated VEB) was the main legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany. These state-owned enterprise were all publicly owned and were formed after mass nationalisation between 1945 and the early 1960s, ...
''VEB Robur-Werke Zittau'' of
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
(GDR). It mainly produced 3-ton trucks. The vehicles were mainly produced in the town of
Zittau
Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...
in what now is South-East
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
.
Until 1946, company produced under the marque ''Phänomen'' (English: Phenomenon), and until 1957 under the name ''VEB Phänomen Zittau''.
History
In 1888,
Karl Gustav Hiller founded a company for the distribution of a
pom-pon
A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material.
The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as a ...
machine that he had invented and would receive a patent for in 1894. On a trip to England he obtained an exclusive license to import and build Rover Safety Bicycles. He became shareholder and later owner of the Zittau machine factory "Müller & Preußger", refined the Rover bicycles and began to distribute them under the name "Phänomen-Rover" in 1894. In 1900 the company began to produce Phänomen
motorcycles
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
. At first the motorcycles were fitted with
Fafnir engines, but from 1903 onwards single-cylinder four-stroke engines of Phänomen design were used. This change of engine necessitated a strengthening of the bike frame and a change of wheels. 26-inch wheels with 2-inch tires were now used. Permanent improvements led to the development of a two-cylinder engine.
In 1905 the company began the mass production of its three-wheeled Phänomobil. The two-cylinder engine used in motorbikes was used here as well. However, similarities in construction with Berlin-made three-wheeler Cyklonette of
Cyklon, led to arguments over patent. Later, a twin-fan-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke engine was used in the vehicles from 1910, production running until 1927. Between 1912 and 1927 the company, by now known as "
Aktiengesellschaft
(; abbreviated AG ) is a German language, German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e., one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria ...
Phänomen-Werke Gustav Hiller", offered four-wheeled cars that unfortunately did not succeed in establishing themselves in the market. The coachwork was done by the "Karosseriewerk August Nowack AG" in
Bautzen
Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...
.
By request of the
Reichspost
''Reichspost'' (; "Imperial Mail") was the name of the postal service of Germany from 1866 to 1945.
''Deutsche Reichspost''
Upon the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the break-up of the German Confederation in the Peace of P ...
for a cheap, safe and capable vehicle, the company introduced its ''4 RL'' truck that could carry loads between 0.75 and 1
tons. The basis for this model was the four-cylinder engine used in the Phänomobil. As demand for higher payloads increased, the company brought the ''Granit 25'' (1.5 tons) and ''Granit 30'' (2.5 tons) trucks into production in 1931 and 1936, respectively. With the increasing arms production in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
the product portfolio was reduced to the ''Granit 1500'' model (called ''Granit 27'' after the war) with a payload of 1.5 tons.
All ''Phänomen'' trucks and tricycles had air-cooled engines, only the four-wheeled passenger cars were equipped with water-cooled engines. In 1930, the company took up production of light motorcycles, using Sachs engines. Until 1945 Phänomen produced 14 different models.
In consequence of a referendum of 30 April 1946 in Saxony, all property of those judged to be
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
and war criminals was expropriated. In line with this, the Phänomen works became
Volkseigener Betrieb
The Publicly Owned Enterprise (; abbreviated VEB) was the main legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany. These state-owned enterprise were all publicly owned and were formed after mass nationalisation between 1945 and the early 1960s, ...
. Aside from the production of desperately needed commodities, some 1000 vehicles of the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
were repaired. In 1949 the mass production of the pre-war models was resumed on a low scale. Only in January 1950 were the first 13 ''Granit 27'' finished. In the next year the payload of the model was increased to 2 tons. 1952 the company presented the ''Phänomen-Granit 32'' prototype that was equipped with an air-cooled diesel engine - in contrast to the
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter)
is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...
engines used until then. The mass production of the diesel engine began in 1954. In the meantime, the new ''Granit 30k model debuted, with an upgraded version of the'' carburetor engine used in the ''Granit 27'' model which produced .
Later, the ''Garant'' model introduced with new design and chassis. This model’s production was around 50,000 pieces built in several variations (bus, truck, ambulance) until 1961. Aside from the ''Garant K 30'' model with a petrol engine the ''Garant 32'' with a diesel engine was also available.
In the beginning of 1957 Hiller’s heirs took control of the company, and after deciding that the name it had did not seem profitable, they decided to name the company ''VEB Robur Werke Zittau.'' The name Robur stems from the Latin name of the
pedunculate oak
''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soi ...
, Quercus robur. The logo design was inspired by a crankshaft. Several other factories were merged with the company, among others the
auto body
A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.
The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, motor coaches, and railway carriages.
The word ...
works in Bautzen and Zittau, an engine plant in
Kamenz
Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian, ) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotth ...
and the fire-extinguisher works in
Görlitz
Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...
. The very successful ''Garant'' model was replaced by the ''Robur LO 2500''. It was first presented at the
Leipzig Trade Fair
The Leipzig Trade Fair () is a major trade fair, which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became one of the most importan ...
in 1961 and was constructed according to international development trends of the time. This modern
COE truck had the carburetor engine of its predecessor, with an increased output of 70 HP. It had a payload of 2.5 tons. The four-wheel driven variation with a 1.8 ton payload was called Robur ''LO 1800 A''.
Further development resulted in 1968 in the ''LO 2501'' and ''
LO 1801 A'' models, distinguishable by a changed
grille
Grill or grille may refer to:
Food
* Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function
* Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...
. Several further improvements were made over the years, before the 3-ton truck ''LO 3000'' was introduced in 1974. It became the basis for a number of special models. The four-wheel variant also saw its payload increased and was sold under the designation ''LO 2002A''. From the fall of 1982 a diesel engine was offered alongside the carburetor engine Type 4 ''KVD 12,5 SRL''. Development of the ''LD/LO 3000'' series in the 1980s aimed to extend the lifetime of the various components and reaching international level in terms of quality. These changes, that were in part also made to the AWD types ''LD/LO 2202 A'', led to the diesel-driven models ''LD 3001'' and ''LD 3002'', recognizable by smaller wheels and increased
tread
Tread may refer to:
Arts and media
*Tread (film), ''Tread'' (film), a 2019 American documentary film about Marvin Heemeyer
*Tread (Transformers)
* Tread, a character in the novel series ''Transformers: The Veiled Threat''
*Tread rap, subgenre of t ...
. The carburetor-engined LO variants lost import.
Robur trucks were not only deployed in the
COMECON
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, often abbreviated as Comecon ( ) or CMEA, was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc#List of states, Easter ...
area, but in several overseas countries. In order to open up new markets the ''Robur-Safari'' program was created. In this, trucks would be adapted to the climactic and geographic conditions of their future country of deployment.
The production of the newly developed ''O 611''/''O 611A'' and ''D 609'' models was not approved by the government and development was restricted to existing models.
After
German reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
the company quickly folded. Deployment of
Deutz diesel engines did nothing to save it and production was cancelled in 1991. In 1995 a new company called ''Robur-Fahrzeug-Engineering
GmbH
(; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland.
It is a ...
'' was founded and bought all know-how of the Robur-Werke Zittau. In 1999 another successor was founded, ''FBZ GmbH Zittau.'' The company builds and supplies components for vehicles.
Models
Passenger cars 1907–1927
Trucks 1927–1991
Most vehicles were equipped with a petrol engine. The type designation LO (Luftgekühlter Ottomotor, German for air-cooled petrol engine) led to the nickname ''Ello'' which became the popular designation for all Robur trucks, as it is impossible to differentiate between the diesel and petrol engines from the outside.
The vehicles were modified for a number of different purposes, e.g. a mobile
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
,
fire engines
A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...
and dumpers. Generally speaking, the following models existed.
All-wheel drive vehicles
* LO 1800A/1801A (air-cooled petrol engine, the A is for "Allrad", the German term for all-wheel drive)
* LO 2002 (air-cooled petrol engine, 2 ton payload)
* LD 2002 (air-cooled diesel engine, 2 ton payload)
* LD 2202 (air-cooled diesel engine, 2.4 ton payload)
* Safari models, modified for export
* vehicles with closed body, multi-purpose
Rear-wheel drive vehicles
* Bus - B21 Type ''LD 3001 FR M2/B21''
* Refrigerator truck
* Light panel van
* Pick up
* Multi-purpose Type ''LO 3002 Fr M5/MZ 11''
References
External links
Nachfolgefirma FBZ GmbH Zittau(parked page)
Community for Robur ownersGerman FAQ for Robur vehicles UK-based official Wartburg, Trabant and IFA owners' club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robur (Truck)
Truck manufacturers of Germany
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany
Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau
Zittau