Borgward: A Legacy of German Innovation and Resilience in Automotive History

Founded by Carl F. W. Borgward in 1933, the Borgward car manufacturing company became a cornerstone of German automotive history, producing cars under four brands: Borgward, Hansa, Goliath, and Lloyd. With its headquarters in Bremen, Borgward established a reputation for engineering excellence and innovative design. One of the company’s standout achievements was the Borgward Isabella, introduced in 1954. The Isabella, with its sleek lines and advanced engineering, quickly became a symbol of German quality, regarded as one of the top premium vehicles of the 1950s and a serious competitor to Mercedes-Benz models.

Carl Borgward’s entry into the automotive world began in 1924 with the creation of the Blitzkarren, a small, three-wheeled delivery vehicle. Aimed at small business owners and tradespeople, the Blitzkarren was affordable and functional, filling a post-war demand for simple, reliable transport. Encouraged by its success, Borgward developed the Goliath Pionier, another three-wheeler, which further cemented his role in the industry. By 1929, Borgward had gained control of Hansa-Lloyd, integrating it with his company to create the Borgward Group, which became known for a diverse portfolio ranging from compact cars to trucks.

The Borgward Group faced challenges during World War II, as its factories suffered extensive bombing damage. However, with remarkable resilience, the company rebuilt and resumed production, and by the 1950s, Borgward was again a leader in the automotive market. Its models often showcased advanced technology, such as air suspension and automatic transmissions, rare for the time.

Despite its achievements, Borgward encountered severe financial problems, partly due to overproduction and mismanagement. The company was forced into insolvency in 1961, a controversial decision that some argue was hastened by political pressure rather than pure financial necessity. This marked the end of an era for the original Borgward company.

The brand was revived in 2015 by Borgward Group AG, based in Stuttgart, with financial backing from China’s Foton Motor. This revival introduced modern SUVs, built in China and primarily marketed in Asia, a nod to Borgward's reputation for quality and innovation. The legacy of Carl Borgward and the Isabella model remains influential, symbolizing a unique chapter in German automotive history marked by resilience and ingenuity.
Borgward: A Legacy of German Innovation and Resilience in Automotive History

History of Renault S.A: French multinational automobile manufacturer

In February 1899 Renault was created by The Renault brothers (Louis, Marcel and Fernand) assisted by two friends (Thomas Evert and Julian Wyer). Louis Renault was born in Paris on February 12, 1877.

Following preparatory studies at Ecole Monge, Louis failed the entrance exam for the elite national engineering school, Ecole Centrale. He seized the opportunity to indulge in his passion for machines.

In the autumn of 1898, upon his return from military service, he built his first little car or Renault Voiturette, equipped with an original “direct drive” transmission system. The system of chains and belts that earlier builders had used to transfer energy to the wheels was replaced by a gearbox and differential, directly linked to the rear axle by a crankshaft and two universal joints. It was an elegant solution, typical of Louis Renault.

Renault Voiturette was the first ever produced automobile. It was designed by Louis Renault and manufactured between 1898 and 1903. The name was used for five different models.

On December 24, 1898, at a Christmas party in Montmartre, Louis demonstrated the advantages of this motorcar by driving up steep Rue Lepic. The vehicle performed so convincingly that his friends immediately pledged funds to the venture, placing orders for twelve copies of the Voiturette.

He and his brothers Fernand and Marcel then built a series of small cars and formed the automobile firm Renault Frères (“Renault Brothers”). Renault vehicles attracted much attention by winning numerous road races until Marcel was killed during a Paris-Madrid run in 1903.

Renault’s victories in many automobile races across Europe were its best advertisement. Seeing this, the Renault brothers did not hesitate to quickly expand their commercial network, both in the domestic market (where Renault had more than 100 commercial agents only five years after its establishment) and abroad.

From 1905, the young factory received an order for 205 taxis and adopted mass production techniques.

The first commercial agents were established in London and Milan as early as 1900. Shortly afterwards, more agents were added in Chicago, New York, Vienna, Buenos Aires, and Berlin.

At the end of World War II, the company was nationalized (largely caused by the alleged collaboration with the Nazi enemy). Louis Renault died in prison in October 1944; he had been accused of collaborating with the Nazi occupation. His company was nationalized a few months later.

From 1945, the Renault brothers company implemented new production sites and modernized its plans. Between 1950 and 1975 Renault failed to conquer the American market. However, the international expansion of Renault was launched.

Renault is privatized again in the 1990s in order to revive its brand after the disastrous decade of 1980.
History of Renault S.A: French multinational automobile manufacturer

SSL International

SSL International was founded in two successive rounds in 1998 and 1999 by the mergers of respectively, Seton and Scholl and then Seton Scholl and the London International Group.

In the early years the company had approximately 1000 employees, three manufacturing sites, one distribution center and its operations were mainly based in the north west of the United Kingdom. 

The oldest of SSL’s founding entities was the Scholl Manufacturing Company (1904), founded by William Mathias Scholl, an apprentice for a shoemaker in Indiana at 16 who began selling specialty comfort shoes and inserts in 1899 in Chicago. He enrolled in medical school in order to study food problems and became a podiatrist in 1904.

The London International Group was born as the London Rubber Company in 1915. In 2010, SSL International was acquired by a £2.5 billion deal by Reckitt Benckiser.

The addition of SSL would increase the size of the health and personal care category of Reckitt Benckiser by 36% and add two new brands (Durex and Scholl) to the powerbrand list.
SSL International

Del Monte Foods

Del Monte Foods is an American food manufacturing and distribution company that was launched in 1899 when 18 California packers representing about half of the fruit canners in California formed the California Fruit Canners Association.

Seventeen years later the association incorporated under the name California Packers Association or Calpak. It began marketing a line of canned goods under the Del Monte brand (the name of a luxurious hotel on Monterey, California) in 1916.

California Packers Association remained the firm’s name until 1967, when Calpal took the name of its brand and became Del Monte Foods.

From the beginning, the company expanded its operations and packed a vast array of products, including peaches, baked beans, olives berries, squash, sweet potatoes, peppers and cranberries as well as dried fruit, jams, and jellies.

During the 1920s, the company expanded its operations into an array of other canning business including tuna and coffee.

In 1917 Calpak enlisted the culinary expert Marion Harris Neil to write an advertising cookbooklet, Good Things to Eat, feature Del Monte products. The company has regularly published cookbooklets ever since.

Del Monte established operations in Hawaii shortly after its founding. When the United States entered World War II, the company sent 50 percent of its canned fruits and vegetables to the military. After World War II, Calpak increased its sales to foreign countries and by 1965 exports topped $96 million.

In 1979, Del Monte merged with RJ Reynolds Industries. During the following two decades there were several ownership changes. In 1999 Del Monte Foods became a publicly traded Company. Del Monte fresh produce was then spun off, although it still continues to display the Del Monte label, as do independent firms in Canada, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Del Monte Foods

International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances was founded in the United States in the 1930s as ‘Van Ameringen-Haebler’ and is headquartered in New York City.

This American company had it origins in a small business created by Arnold Lewis van Ameringen, a Dutch man who had emigrated to the United States in 1917.  After working briefly for a Dutch exporter of essential oils to the United States he set up his own firm in New York and then merged his company with Morana Inc. Morana Inc. a producer of perfumes was established in 1909.

As its employees were highly skilled, highly paid and sworn to secrecy, the company became during the 1920s a leader in its unique small specialized niche.

After the company joined with the Dutch fragrance firm Polak & Schwarz in 1958, the name became International Flavors and Fragrances.

The new company became an immediate success in Europe, where it focus on food flavors.

By 1963 International Flavors & Fragrances had sales of %47 million, of which perfumery accounted for $32.5 million, making it the single largest supplier firm to the fragrance industry.

Its major manufacturing plants are in Europe, Asia and South America. By the 1980s, International Flavors & Fragrances had catalogued more than 30,000 different fragrance and flavor molecules.

In 2000, International Flavors & Fragrances acquired Bush Boake Allen, making International Flavors & Fragrances the largest flavor and fragrance house at that time. Bush Boake Allen was about one-third the size of International Flavors & Fragrances.

The flavor division of the company is a leading creator of flavor solutions for beverages, sweet goods, and savory and dairy products around the world.

The fragrances division develops scents and fragrances that are key component in many of the world’s finest perfumes and best-known consumer products brands including beauty care, fabric care, home care and personal wash products.
International Flavors & Fragrances

Alex Foods

Sonoran immigrants, Alex Morales Sr. began selling his wife’s homemade tamales in Anaheim in 1906 from a horse-drawn wagon.

Morales, a ditch digger by trade grew the concept into a restaurant. The Alex Tamale Company opened this factory in the 1920s at 415 South Olive Street.

Alex Tamale Co. factory

The family run company was finally incorporated as Alex Foods in 1951. As the company came to be known, grew to become a major manufacturer of more than 200 premium prepared foods.

By the 1950s, Alex Foods had a fleet of thirty-two shiny trucks that delivered their tamales and other food products across Southern California, along with distributing produce that wasn’t Mexican food.

Albert Morales, a vice-president in the company, worked for the family business until well past normal retirement age.  Today the company became part of Don Miguel Mexican Foods.
Alex Foods

Ward Mill Site

In 1845 Joseph Marshall Ward (1822-1902) joined William Fargo in livery and freight business, located on the corner of State and Jefferson Streets.

In 1848, Charles Mason and Joseph Ward joined together and founded the Michigan Woolen Mill. In 1849 Ward bought full ownership which he operated until 1860.

In 1861, he converted the woolen mill to flour production. In 1882, Ward’s son Frank (1860-1936) and E.C. Hinman (1852) took over the business.

Hinman left the business in 1888, and Frank Ward moved to Detroit in 1887, Joseph resumed control of the business until his death.
Ward Mill Site 

Morris Motor Company

The two seater Morris Oxford was announced at the 1912 Motor Show and the car first appeared in March 1913.

William Morris starting with the repair of bicycles, he branched out into selling them. Then he progressed to motorcycles, before to the sale and hire of motorcars.

The Morris Motor Company was started in 1910 when he turned his attention to car manufacturing and began to plan a new light car.

A factory was opened in 1913 in a former military college at Crowley, Oxford, United Kingdom and the company’s first car, the 2-seat Morris Oxford ‘Bullnose’ was introduced.

Morris bought almost all the parts from various producers, with only final assembly being undertaken in the Morris works.

The only part that was his design was the ‘face’ of the car, the so-called bull-nosed radiator. In a year, he sold more than 1000 cars. In 1921, Morris Company countered a serious slump in the motor trade by reducing the prices of the car, but always competitive, the company doubles the production each year.

Production boomed in the 1920s and Morris became a millionaire.

After 1923 and until 1950s, Morris started purchasing the suppliers, the Birmingham engineering work of Wrigley, one of his main competitors, the Wolseley Motor, the S.U Carburetter Co and the Coventry firm.

By 1925, Morris produced 67,000 cars, more than one-third of the country’s car output.

Morris named ceased to appear on motorcars after 1983 when Morris Motors was part of British Leyland, but the MG (Morris Garages) badge has survived under British Leyland’s successor , Rover Cars.
Morris Motor Company

History of Mattel

Mattel reigns as the world’s largest toy manufacturer. Ruth Handler was the motive force behind the creation of Mattel Inc., a producer of America’s most enduring toys of the 20th century.

Ruth met her future husband and business partner, Elliot Handler in 1932 when she was 16. They married in Denver on June 26, 1938.

Arriving in Los Angeles in 1937, Ruth worked as a stenographer as Paramount studios to husband Eliot’s way through art school.

In Los Angeles, their dream apartment sans furniture was more space than meaning. Elliot turned to designing coffee tables, lamps and accessories. The couple then purchased equipment and established a shop in the garage before moving to a small Chinese laundry building. Eliot had been experimenting with small-scale designer goods in early plastics including jewelry, lighting and picture frames. Later he made picture frames out of wood and used the off-cuts for doll-house furniture.

In Ruth and Elliot joined with their friend Harold ‘Matt’ Matson to establish carpentry business.

In 1945 this cottage industry became Mattel, originally Mattel Creations of Hawthorne, California.

The colleagues agreed upon the name Mattel derived from the names Matt and Elliot, to represent their products.

Mattel was not a doll producer in the 1950s, but it was already a savvy player in the burgeoning toy market. When to create the Barbie look Mattel collaborated with dress designer Charlotte Johnson, who was responsible for linking the doll to images of French couture.

In 1955, Mattel began advertising regularly on Disney’s; Mickey Mouse Club. This media campaign marked the first time a toy company had advertised consistently on kid’s television show.

By 1959 Mattel sold over 351,000 Barbie dolls. Beginning in 1980, Mattel marketed a collectors set, Dolls of the World Collection, which contained over 40 different dolls representing countries around the world.

In 1996 Mattel developed the Designer Barbie computer game, and in 1999 the company marketed a pink computer for girls.
History of Mattel

Kenner Products

Kenner Products was United States toy company from the 1940s into the 1990s. It was founded in 1947 in Cincinnati by the Steiner brothers: Albert, Joseph L. Steiner, and Philip.

Kenner first product was the Bubble-matic gun of 1947 and its Bubble-rocket of 1949 sold in a million units.

The company introduced Girder and Panel Construction in 1957. The success of the Construction Sets allowed Kenner to grow quickly.

Kenner diversified their product line in the late 1950s and introduced a number of American classics during the 1960s. The company was a pioneer in the television advertising world, with its first adverts appearing in 1958.

In 1959, the company introduced Give-a-Show projector, the Easy-Bake Oven in 1963, the ‘gun that shoots around the corner’ in 1964 and the Spirograph in 1966.

Kenner Products was sold to General Mills in 1967 and it achieved major success in 1977 after obtaining the rights to produce Star Wars toys and figures.

In 1985, general Mills merged Kenner with Parker toys, forming Kenner Parker Toys, Inc., later acquired by Tonka in 1987. Tonka was bought by Hasbro in 1991.
Kenner Products

Dom Pérignon (wine)

A wine originally associated with dissipation and hedonism was now believed to have been invented by a monk.

Dom Perignon (1639-1715) was identified as the originator of the technique that put the frothiness in champagne.

Dom Perignon was the first to understand that what champagne producers now refer to as a liqueur de tirage had to be added to the still wine to be certain that the essential second fermentation process would take place.

The most famous modern Champagne, Dom Perignon, was named by the Moet family in 1936, when they introduced the region’s first luxury brand.

The Moets claimed that they uncovered Perignon’s memoirs containing the secret recipe for winemaking.

Established in 1743, Moet and Chandon is today the largest producer of Champagne in the world.  It was Robert-Jean de Vogue who persuaded his fellow Moet directors to relaunch an unused marque called Dom Perignon, which had actually been bought from Mercier in 1930.

The first shipments arrived in London in 1935 and in New York the following year.
Dom Pérignon (wine)

Alfa Romeo history

Alfa Romeo was founded on 24 June 1910 as a company called ALFA located near Milan, Italy. ALFA is acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili.

In 1910, the company came out with tis very first car, called the 24 HP. It has four cylinders and a top speed of 62 miles per hour (100 km/h). ALFA made its first racecar, the Corsa in 1911.

1933 Alfa Romeo

The company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo in August 1915, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts.

In 1920, ALFA changed its name to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20-30 HP becoming the first car to be badged as such. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Alfa Romeo became known for its racing wins.

In 1950, Alfa Romeo showed the 1900 sports sedan at the Paris Motor Show, this was the first Alfa Romeo built on a production line.

Alfa Romeo began exporting cars to the United States in 1961. The first car to come to the United States was the Giulietta.

Alfa Romeo has been part of the Fiat group since 1986.
Alfa Romeo history

Business history of Horlicks

Originally developed as a nutritional supplement for infants and people with bad digestion, malted milk changed how Americans ate.

Horlicks the malted beverage was invented by two English brother James and William Horlick, inhabitants of Ruardean west of Cinderford.

James Horlick, an English pharmacist who had worked in England, came to United States in 1875 at the urging of his brother, William Horlick who wished to manufacture a Liebig-type infant food.

The two brothers team up to start a company in 1873 in the Town of Mt. Pleasant just northwest of Racine.

The Malted Milk was patented in 1883, first intended as an infant food under the name ‘diastoid’: it was later renamed ‘Horlicks’ and a large factory was built for its English production at Slough between 1906 and 1908.

James and William Horlick created the idea and formula for malted milk in Racine, Wisconsin in the late 19 century. It was to be an easily digested powdered baby formula high in protein and carbohydrates.

William was granted a U.S patented for the first malted malt drink powder that could be mixed with hot water. The beverage was said to promote sleep when drunk at bedtime.

The drink has become famous in United Kingdom, India and South East Asia such as Philippines and Malaysia.

The firm was sold to Horlicks Limited of England in 1946. Later it was acquired by the Beecham Group in 1969 and is currently a GlaxoSmithKline brand.

The Horlicks brand was re-launched in 2002, with the tag ‘Nourishment for Internal resistance’.
Business history of Horlicks

History of Subaru car

Fuji Heavy Industries was one with high technology antecedents. The company can trace its origins back to the second decade of the 20th century, when the company was founded as an aeronautical research laboratory.

Airplane manufacturer Nakajima Hikoki increased production of military airplane during the outbreak of war in Manchuria in 1931 and World War II. It soon became the largest airplane manufacturer in Japan.

With the end of World War II, Nakajima Hikoki was dissolved. Some of its former employees established Fuji Industries which began producing electrical parts and small motors.

Active in the Japanese space programme, the company’s technological expertise was used to design and build the Lunar Lander FTB (Flying Test Bed) for the Japanese Space Agency.

The company launched its first motor car in 1958, which was a mini car with a 360 engine. Subaru 360 a compact car and the production expanded rapidly after 1960.

The Subaru sold nearly 250,000 units of the 360 in its 12 years production run.

Then in May 1966, the company launched a new model, the FF-1, the first mass –produced front wheel drive vehicle in Japan. By 1968 the company was producing 100,000 vehicles annually with exports representing 73 percent of that.

The word Subaru means ‘to gather together.’ The five stars on the logo today represent the five companies uniting to form Fuji Heavy Industries. 

The technological developments continued with launch of the first all-wheel drive vehicle in 1980, a design which has since been the basis for all Subaru drive systems.
History of Subaru car

Business history of Volvo

In 1927, Volvo completed its first automobile, essentially hand –built on an island near Gothenburg. Volvo was founded in August 1926 as a spin off from the Swedish company SKF.

Initially the company was founded in 1915 for the manufacture and marketing of bearings for the automotive industry.

Volvo gradually emerged as a quality produce of durable, affordable but non fancy cars that could be sold in export markets at reasonable prices, at the time because of low Swedish wages.

Volvo managed to become internationally competitive despite its small scale of operations.

During the 1960s, Volvo’s production was far smaller than that regarded by industrial economists internationally as the viable minimum and even the Swedish Treasury refused to support financially Volvo’s attempt to launch its cars in the US market.

By the early 1970s the US Volvo’s largest market. By the mid to late 1990s Volvo had begun to introduce a series of new products that would literally change its image: the S80 luxury sedan, the C70 coupe and convertible, the V70 T5 turbocharged high performance sports-wagon, the S&V40 (new smaller Volvos) and the SUV-like Cross Country all-wheel-drive wagon.

In 1999, Volvo has been acquired by Ford, before to be sold to Chinese Geely in 2010.
Business history of Volvo

Toshiba in history

Toshiba dates back to 1904 but only became a comprehensive manufacturer of electric goods following a merger carried out in 1939 under the military campaign to consolidate and rationalize production.

Specialized firms Tokyo Denki (founded in 1890) and Shibaura Seisaku-sho (founded in 1875) joined forces in the formation of the company. The original name was Tokyo Shibaura Electric KK. It was officially changed to Toshiba Corporation in 1978.

Toshiba’s superior management techniques, borrowed from GE during the inter-war period, made it the largest supplier of electrical equipment to the armed forces.

The company made significant investments in information, communication and semiconductor technology in the early 1980’s.

Among the products it developed and produced in the course of its history were incandescent lamps (1890), white goods (including electric refrigerators, 1930), fluorescent lamps (1940), nuclear-powered turbine generators (1963) and transmitting devices for use in satellite transmission (1963).

Toshiba was the first firm to set up an independent electronics research laboratory; while other firms reorganized and expanded their R & D laboratories.

In the end of March 2004, its employees numbered 161,000 globally, with 120,000 of these employed in Japan.
Toshiba in history

Airbus Company in history

Airbus Industry GIE was established in 1970 as a European collaborative venture for the development and production for large civil aircraft and from its inception had to find a way to compete against the US industry to gain a part of the market.

It was established as a French-German consortium later joined by Spanish and UK firms.

The four Airbus partner companies had operations in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, with each partner company having work-share responsibilities that reflected their particular areas of expertise.

The first Airbus transport, a wide-body twin engine jet called the A300, entered service in 1974. A complete family of Airbus models followed, competing head to head with McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. 

Within ten years of its inception, Airbus captured a strong foothold in the market for large passenger jets, having 256 orders from 32 countries.

This encouraged the consortium partners to turn their loose alliance into a more structured federation and to conceive a long term vision to develop a complete family of large aircraft, ranging from 100-seat to 400-seat passenger jets.

In 2000, in response to the new bigger Boeing, Airbus became bigger as well. Three Airbus partners – Aerospatiale Matra of France, Daimler Chrysler Aerospace of Germany and Construcciones Aerospatiale of Spain – merged to form a single integrated firm, European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS).

In 2010, Airbus achieved a 50.7% share of the global market.
Airbus Company in history

History of Boeing Company

History of Boeing Company
Shortly after the Wright brother’s famous flight, William Boeing assembled his first seaplane and established the Boeing B&W Seaplane Company in 1916.

On May 9, 1917, the company became the “Boeing Airplane Company.”

In the 1930s and 1940s Boeing manufactured bombers and aircraft for commercial transport.

In 1954 the company developed the first prototype of 707, which ultimately revolutionized our travel around the world.

In 1967 McDonnell Douglas was formed by a merger of two separate companies, McDonnell and Douglas.

The merged company continued to manufacturer commercial aircraft, combat aircraft and space vehicles.

McDonnell Douglas introduced the DC-3, which became so popular that 90 percent of the world’s air travelers flew on them.

North American Aviation Inc. was first established in 1928.

In the beginning the company focused its business primarily on small, single engine to avoid competing with manufacturer of large, multi-engine aircraft.

During the late 1930s the company also began to make military aircraft. According to the company, between the years 1939 – 67 the company built more military aircraft than nay other aircraft manufacturer in the United States.

McDonnell Douglas developed Mercury and Gemini, the manned space flights in the early 1960s. In 1968 Boeing introduced its jumbo jet, the 747, to meet the growing demand for air travel and MacDonnell Doulas developed the F-4 Phantom II fighter aircraft.

The business interests of Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and North American began to intersect in the 1960s when they became partners on the NASA Apollo Program, followed by the International Space Station.

The three companies finally merged in December 1996 to become the New Boeing.

A prime motive for the merger was to compete more effectively with rivals.
History of Boeing Company

History of Ford Motor

History of Ford Motor
Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) stands alone as a lone visionary personally responsible for the creation of the automobile industry in America.

A self trained mechanic with a lifelong disdain of experts with university degrees, Ford built his firsts automobile in 1893, and a decade later he founded the Ford Motor Company.

He intended to produce “the car for the great attitude,” and to do he had to harmonies mass production with mass consumption. Ford was not the first manufacturer to use interchangeable parts or to run an assembly line, but in his quest to produce an inexpensive and standardized product he perfected assembly line production techniques.

The result proved dramatic. In 1908, before he introduced the assembly line, Ford made 10,607 Model Ts – the “Tin Lizzie” – which he sold for $850 each. He shifted to an assembly line in 1913, and production quickly rose to 300,000 cars a year.

In 1916 he sold 730,041 Model Ts for $360 each, and in 1924 he produced two million of the cars retailing at $290 each. A total of fifteen million Model Ts rolled out of Ford plants before production ceased in 1927.

Prior to Ford, it took over twelve hours to assemble a car. By contrast his first assembly line turned out a model T every 93 minutes, and by 1927 Ford was making a Model T every 24 seconds.

The Ford Motor Company became not only the word’s largest automobile manufacturer but the world’s largest industrial enterprise.
History of Ford Motor