Johann Puch | |
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| Born | (1862-06-27)27 June 1862 |
| Died | 19 July 1914(1914-07-19) (aged 52) |
| Resting place | Graz, Austria |
| Citizenship | Austro-Hungarian |
| Occupation(s) | Craftsman, industrialist, automotive pioneer |
| Known for | Puch AG & Co. KG |
Johann Puch (Slovene:Janez Puh, 27 June 1862 – 19 July 1914) was aSloveneinventor andmechanic who went on to become the founder of the AustrianPuch automobile plants, then one of the most significant vehicle producers in Europe.
Johann Puch was born on 27 June 1862 to Slovene peasants at house no. 79 inSakušak nearPtuj (Pettau), part of LowerStyria,Slovenia. He was the son of the cottager Franz Puch and Agnes Ziserl Puch, and he was baptizedJohann Puch the same day inJuršinci.[1] The eldest son of nine children, he left his family home at the age of eight and at twelve apprenticed as alocksmith in Ptuj. Having finished his training in 1877, he moved to the Styrian capitalGraz, where he did his military service and from 1885 worked for several employers. He concentrated onbicycle manufacturing and soon became a noted specialist. On 18 September 1889, he married Maria Anna Reinitzhuber at thecathedral in Graz.[2]
In 1889 Puch travelled to a bicycle trade fair inLeipzig, where he concluded a contract withThomas Humber's cycle company. The same year he founded his first workshop in Graz and started to distributeStyriasafety bicycles. His enterprise quickly expanded and in 1891 he founded theJohann Puch & Comp. trading company with 34 employees, selling bicycles all overAustria-Hungary, as well as exporting to theUnited Kingdom andFrance. Racers onStyria bicycles were successful in long-distance road races, most notablyJosef Fischer, winner of the first edition ofParis–Roubaix in 1896. At that time, Puch already employed more than 300 workers and sold about 6,000 bicycle per annum.
His achievements but also discrepancies with his affiliates led to the founding of his own manufacturing company in 1899, calledJohann Puch - Erste steiermärkische Fahrrad-Fabriks-Actien Gesellschaft (First Styrian Bicycle Stock Company) in Graz. The company started producingmotorcycles in 1903 andautomobiles in 1904. By 1912 Puch's factory employed 1,100 workers and manufactured 300 cars, 300 motorcycles and 16,000 bicycles per year. He retired in 1912 but remained honorary president of the company.
Up to 1914Puch developed 21 different types of cars, and alsolorries,buses, military and some other special vehicles, includingsedan limousines for the imperialHabsburg family. He successfully obtainedpatents for more than 35inventions and improvements. He died of a stroke while attending a horserace inAgram (Zagreb).
The Puch company manufactured vehicles for theAustro-Hungarian Army duringWorld War I. Puch's motorcycles and cars were successful inraces andrallies all over Europe and carried his name among vehicle producers. From 1934 the tradition was continued by theSteyr-Daimler-Puch company in Graz andVienna.
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| Settlements | Administrative seat:Juršinci
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