page_title: Robur (truck)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Robur (truck) / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: &#160; Robur LKW Betriebsfeuerwehr der Technischen Universität Dresden English: &#160; Robur truck (east germany) Fire brigade of the Dresden University of Technology
context_page_description: Robur was a marque of the Volkseigener Betrieb VEB Robur-Werke Zittau of East Germany. It mainly produced 3-ton trucks. The vehicles were produced in the town of Zittau in what now is South-East Saxony. Until 1946, company produced under the marque Phänomen, and until 1957 under the name VEB Phänomen Zittau.
context_section_description: In 1888, Karl Gustav Hiller founded a company for the distribution of a pom-pon 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. 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. Now 26-inch wheels with 2​¹⁄₄-inch tires were 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 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.
  By request of the Reichspost 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 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 and war criminals was expropriated. In line with this, the Phänomen works became  Volkseigener Betrieb. Aside from the production of desperately needed commodities, some 1000 vehicles of the Red Army 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 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 60 horsepower (45 kW).  
  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 they decided that the name it had until now was not seeming 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 logo design was inspired by a crankshaft. Several other factories were merged with the company, among others the auto body works in Bautzen and Zittau, an engine plant in Kamenz and the fire-extinguisher works in Görlitz. The very successful
caption: Robur LO 2002 A Fire Engine
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