The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-31
|GUNMAKERS OF
GERMAN EMPIRE
Krupp the Largest Firearm
Manufacturing Establish
ment in Europe

From the New York Evening Sun
The house of Krupp. to which atten-
ton has been drawn recently by dis
closures in German political circles, is
the largest steel. iron and gunmaking es.
tablishment in Europe. 1t was founded
1O1 years ago. Last August at Essen,
Germany, the home of the Krupp works,
was held the centennial of Friedrich
Krupp's venture into the manufacturing
of crucible steel and cast steel goods.
Among those who attended the celebra-
ton were Kaiser Wilhelm and many
noted German officials.
The wear i'm which Friederieh Krupp
actually began the manufacturing of steel
also marked the birth of his son Alfred.
One of these events was just as import
ant as the other For, while the father
started the business, it was tie son who
built it up.
Friederich Krupp, a merchant of the
township of Essen, decided in November,
1911. to manufacture c4ucibie steel and
cast steel goods to compete with the
English products of this class. He went
into partnership with two men who knew
how to make crucible steel and also
claimed they possessed a valuable secret,
the knowledge of which was considered
quite essential then to the making of the
higher grade crucible steel.
Krupp rented a small shed end, helped
by these two men, began experimenting
with crucible steel. His aim was to be-
come a manufacturer of it, so in 1S12
l.. 70 ff,f
crucible steel foundry and forge con-
tanning a tilt hammer. Power to operate
the factory came from a small stream
near by.
He went at his new work enthusiastic
cally, but suffered more than the usual
number of business reverses. His part
nershp was a failure. His partners lost
money. The next partner he took also
failed him and lawsuit Krupp instituted
against him was never settled until three
years before his death. And yet, in spite
of all his hardships, the Industrious man
ufacturer toiled on and on, experimental
more and more, discovered new ways
of treating metal and never lost cour-
age At times he had more orders on
his hands that he could possibly fill, When
he tried to enlarge his plant, however,
he found his funds were exhausted. APP
pealS TO tne SldIe LOT llfdncldl dlu ldlieu
Then his family managed to get enough
money together to help him cut. For a
time he got along well, doubling his for
mer output. Financial difficulties again
overlook him. and he was unable to get
credit with which to go on with his work.
The state again refused to aid him. He
frequently was compelled to stop work
because of lack of water from the stream
that supplied him with power. He had
~ oof I'M Ic-1 ff1ar m
pay his workmen. Bad weather made
the roads impossible a considerable por-
tion of the year, so that deliveries could
not be made for months at time. With
all these reverses he finally fell i'll and
died at the age of 80, leaving to his wife
and children his factory and his debts.
Immediately after his death his widow
issued circular stating that the secret
of making erucible steel was not lost but
had been transferred to her and her eld-
est son, Alfred, then IA years old, and
that they would continue the business
together. The name of the firm was still
Friedrich Krupp as it is today.
Despite his ext. me youth, Alfred knew
considerable about the factory, and with
his energy and the able counsel of his
mother the business prospered. Relatives
again loaned them money with which to
operate, and when his mother died, in
1878 Alfred became sole owner.
In investigating new devices and proc
esses for steel making Alfred equaled his
father in zeal, He was the first to OBJ
tain the German rights for the famous
Bessemer process, that revolutionized the
steel industry.
Although famous now for gunmaking
the house of Krupp made no business of
firearms for the first 40 years of its ex-
istence. 1t was some time later that
Krupp went into the armament business
in earnest. The story is told that the
German government did not recognize the
merits of the Krupp guns until the
French government ordered some of
them. Whereupon the German war de-
partment Immediately began ordering Of
him and caused him to stop supplying
the French. Now the Krupps are the
armament supplers of the German gov
ernment. Essen, a town of 1000 when
Friedrich Krupp started his factory
there, has now a population of 100000. The
Krupps works cover 232 acres.
Alfred Krupp was the moving spirit of
the concern until his death in 1887. His
son, FREDERICK Alfred Krupp, then un-
dertook the general management of the
establishment. The business is now run
by a company, although most of the
stock is still in the hands of the Krupp