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Private company

Henschel & Sohn

Logo: HENKE Property UG, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

German transportation equipment company

Henschel & Son (German: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons. Georg Christian Carl Henschel founded the factory in 1810 at Kassel. His son Carl Anton Henschel founded another factory in 1837.2 It ceased to exist in 1957.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1810Founded1
  • Industrymachinery industry and plant construction, manufacture of railway locomotives and rolling stock (NACE 30.2), mechanical engineering, vehicle construction, weapons industry1
  • HeadquartersKassel1
  • Founded inKassel1
  • Legal formAktiengesellschaft1

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Comboio Histórico do Douro 07
Photo: sanjorgepinho, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Henschel & Son (German: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicles and weapons.2

Corporate structure

Henschel & Sohn sits at the top of its group. 3 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Henschel & Sohn Kassel
    • Fablok Subsidiary · Chrzanów
    • Oberschlesische Lokomotivwerke Subsidiary · Poland

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Founded by Carl Henschel and Werner Henschel in 1810, in Kassel.1

Leadership

Who has led Henschel & Sohn, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Board members and other officers (1)

Products and brands

  • truck

Listed on Wikidata.1

Manufacturing began again in 1948. In 1964, the company took over Rheinische Stahlwerke and became Rheinstahl Henschel AG (Hanomag). The truck production of Henschel was merged with that of Hanomag that spun off to form Hanomag-Henschel in 1969, this later went to Daimler-Benz, which discontinued the brand name Hanomag-Henschel in 1974. The production was switched to commercial vehicle axles, in this area it is the largest factory in Europe. In 1976 Thyssen-Henschel, and 1990 ABB Henschel AG. In 1996, the company became ABB Daimler Benz Transportation Adtranz. The company was subsequently acquired by Bombardier (Canada) around 2002. In 2021 Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation. The Kassel facility still exists and is one of the world's largest manufacturers of locomotives. Main product built and serviced today in Kassel is the Alstom Traxx.

From Wikipedia’s article on Henschel & Son, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Fablok
  • Oberschlesische Lokomotivwerke

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded WUMAG Hamburg1

Timeline

  1. 1957Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1810Founded Founded in Kassel1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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