Ábrahám Ganz

Many famous engineers worked at Ganz Works inter alia Károly Zipernowsky, Ottó Bláthy, Miksa Déri, András Mechwart, Kálmán Kandó, Donát Bánki, János Csonka and Theodore von Kármán and several world-famous inventions were done there, like the first railway electric traction, or the invention of the roller mill, the carburetor, the transformer and the Bánki-Csonka engine.

At the age of twenty he travelled a lot in Germany, France, Austria and Italy, and worked in different factories where he gathered experience.

[2] István Széchenyi initiated the building of a steam mill in Buda, and he established the Josef Rollmill Company (József Hengermalom Társulat).

The finished casts were introduced to the public at the first Hungarian Industrywork Exhibition (Magyar Iparmű Kiállítás) in 1842.

In the same year he gave a job to his brother, Konrád Ganz, who was also a casting master.

He gave his brother, Henrik a job as a clerk, because of the growing administration work.

In 1846, at the third Hungarian Industrywork Exhibition (Magyar Iparmű Kiállítás), he introduced his stoves to the public.

At that time, European foundries made wrought iron rims for spoked wagon wheels by pouring the casts in shapes in sand, and leaving them to cool down.

Ganz also bought an English patent, the invention of Ransomes and Biddel, which concerned parts for rail switches.

They also made parts for bridges (e.g. most of the Lánchíd's cast iron cross beams and the molding pieces of the Szeged Bridge in Szeged), as well as crust cast notched cylinders for the mill industry.

The products of the company obtained international recognition: at the World's Fairs in Paris (three bronze medals Exposition Universelle (1855)), in London (bronze medaile 1862 International Exhibition) and, at the Swiss Industrywork Exhibition, a silver medal in 1867.

They could not have their own children, so they adopted two related orphan girls, Anna Pospech and Jozefina Ganz.

In 1865 the emperor, Francis Joseph I, personally expressed his highest appreciation to Ábrahám Ganz.

On the 23 November 1867 they celebrated the production of the hundredth wheel, made by chill casting, and Ganz gave a dinner for all his employees and their families.

With his works he contributed a lot to the development of the Hungarian casting and machine manufacturing industry.

After the death of Ábrahám Ganz, András Mechwart continued his plans and managed the company.

It was active in the machine, vehicle and electrical manufacturing industries with world-famous inventions and technical solutions.

Unter-Embrach , Switzerland , the birthplace of Ábrahám Ganz
Ábrahám Ganz
The building of the foundry (today 20 Bem József Street, Budapest)
Hard cast wheel according to Ábrahám Ganz's own patent
Interior of the Foundry Museum ( Öntödei Múzeum )(today 20 Bem József Street, Budapest)
Statue of Ábrahám Ganz
Tomb of Ábrahám Ganz