Company history

MAN’s history started with the foundation of the ironworks “St. Antony” in Osterfeld, Germany in 1758. After the merger with two neighbouring ironworks, the company was renamed to “Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH) – Actienverein für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb in Sterkrade” (engl.: ironworks of good hope – joint stock corporation for mining and steel in Sterkrade). In 1840, GHH opened a branch in Southern Germany called “Sander’sche Maschinenfabrik”, which will be renamed to “M.A.N. Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG” in 1908. While GHH Sterkrade still focused on steel production and ore mining, MAN rather focused on mechanical engineering, especially engaging in locomotion, power train engineering and steel manufacturing. Thanks to MAN’s openness towards new technologies, the company soon became one of the pioneers in building the first steel bridges and supported Rudolf Diesel in developing the first Diesel engine in 1897. In 1921, GHH acquired a major share of MAN, renaming MAN to GHH until 1986. However, at the same time, GHH’s economic condition weakens due to the aftermath of World War I, as well as the world economic crisis, resulting in the dismissal of 50% of all MAN employees during 1931/1932. Yet, due to an increasing production in military machinery, GHH/MAN managed to survive. After World War II, the Allied reorganised the entire GHH group, resulting in the concentration on mechanical engineering, commercial vehicles and printing machines instead of iron and steel production. This reorganisation was strengthened by several acquisitions like the truck and bus division of the commercial vehicle producer Brüssing in 1971, as well as the acquisition of the printing machine manufacturer Faber & Streicher, leading to the formation of “MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG” in 1979. However, in 1982/83, GHH found itself in a deep financial crisis spurred by the aftermath of the second oil crisis and a shrinking economic activity. Yet, not only external factors, but also the structure of the GHH corporation itself represented one of the main problems. As a result, the group underwent a structural reorganisation in 1986, also including the new name “MAN AG”. After several smaller business divisions had been sold, MAN now focusses on the four major divisions commercial vehicles, Diesel engines, turbo machinery, and industrial services.

Key people

 Georg Pachta-Reyhofen, CEO

Georg Pachta-Reyhofen serves as Chief Executive Officer at MAN AG since January 2010. Before joining MAN in 1986, he studied mechanical engineering at Vienna University of Technology, graduating with a Dipl.-Ing. degree in 1981. At MAN, he held various positions such as technical director at MAN A.S. in Ankara and Head of Engine Development at MAN Truck & Bus AG.

 Frank H. Lutz, CFO

Frank H. Lutz serves as Chief Financial Officer at MAN AG since December 2009. Before joining MAN, Lutz worked for Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank AG where he held various management functions (Head of Industrials Germany and Chief of Corporate Advisory Group Germany) from 2005 onward.