Alexander Leutner & Co. (full name in Russian: Велосипедная фабрика "Россия" Александра Лейтнера и Ко., Bicycle Factory "Rossiya" Alexander Leutner & Co.) was the first manufacturer of bicycles[1] and motorcycles, and a pioneer of automobiles, in the Russian Empire. The company was based in Riga.
Contents |
The company was originally founded in 1886 by the Baltic German entrepreneur, Alexander Leutner (1864–1923).[2] In 1896 or 1897 it became the limited liability company Alexander Leutner & Co., with stocks being held by Leutner, two Riga German merchants, and three professors from the Riga Polytechnicum.[2]
In time, A. Leutner & Co. grew to be not only the largest bicycle manufacturer in Riga, but also in all of the Russian Empire. In 1907 its annual production was 5,000 bicycles.[3]
The company had 130 employees,[2] who were subjected to Taylorist management methods in order to increase productivity.[4]
In 1915, during World War I, the Leutner factory was evacuated to Kharkiv in the Ukraine, to protect it from falling into the hands of the invading Imperial German Army.
A. Leutner & Co. produced bicycles under the brand name "Rossiya", and "Rossiya/Fafnir" motorised bicycles and motorcycles.
By 1907, the company was producing a range of automobiles, and its first truck rolled off the assembly line in 1912.
The company also manufactured firearms.