F. X. MEILLER Fahrzeug- und Maschinenfabrik – GmbH & Co KG

MEILLER, formally F. X. MEILLER Fahrzeug- und Maschinenfabrik – GmbH & Co KG, is a German manufacturer of commercial-vehicle superstructures and hydraulic systems headquartered in Munich. Founded in 1850 by the blacksmith Lorenz Meiller, the company evolved from a smithy into a globally active industrial group and remains family-owned to this day. Its core business is the design and production of tipper bodies, tipping trailers, hooklifts, skip loaders and the associated hydraulics and controls, supplied as a single-source system to the construction, waste-management and commercial-vehicle sectors. The product range includes the TECTRUM hooklift, TECTRIS skip loader, TRIGENIUS three-way tipper, MAXTREME rear tipper, GRANDLOAD tipping semi-trailer, asphalt tipper bodies, centre-axle trailers and container transport trailers. A second division, MEILLER Doors, produces lift doors. The company describes itself as a premium supplier and market leader as a system provider in construction, waste management and the commercial-vehicle industries. Manufacturing and sales subsidiaries operate in Germany (Munich headquarters and Karlsruhe), Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. MEILLER positions itself on quality, durability and long product life cycles, and has set a target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 65% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.

MEILLER was founded in 1850 in Munich by the blacksmith Lorenz Meiller, who already owned three smithies at Mauerkirchen near Endorf, Weissach near Tegernsee and Heilbrunn near Bad Tölz. His hammer mill and armoury on Lilienstrasse in Munich's Au district was approved on 1 June 1853 by the local building commission. Within a few years he was supplying forged construction equipment and winches to the forestry and construction industries. In 1907 the company produced its first superstructure for a winched tipper on a truck, laying the foundation for MEILLER as a tipper manufacturer. When the company started making trailers, orders were so numerous that a new factory had to be built; even then MEILLER was selling products outside Europe, in Brazil. Franz Xaver Meiller, Lorenz's nephew and successor, continued the work and was granted the title Königlich-Bayrischer Hof-Werkzeugfabrikant (Toolmaker to the Royal Court of Bavaria) by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, and in 1917 was awarded the title Kommerzienrat. After the First World War, MEILLER purchased the factory site at Landshuter Allee 20 in Munich in 1918 and produced swing-axle trailers, brakes and vehicle lifts. From 1924 his two sons developed the first motor-driven hydraulic pump for a truck, ordered by Büssing. From 1925 the first hydraulic three-way tipper built by MEILLER, based on a patent by Jakob Wirz of Switzerland, achieved worldwide technical breakthrough, eliminating the need to reposition the winch and allowing the platform to tip to three sides; the hydraulics were manufactured in-house. This marked the company's definitive transformation from a craft workshop to an industrial enterprise. F. X. Meiller senior died in 1935 and his sons took over, with F. X. Meiller junior continuing the business. During the Second World War the company was involved in armaments production, including a specially designed transport trailer for the V2 rocket known as the Meillerwagen. With 500 employees production was maintained until 1944, after which about 70% of the Meiller factory halls were destroyed by the end of the war. The remaining 100 employees began reconstruction after 1945. In 1956 MEILLER acquired the majority of shares in the wagon factory Josef Rathgeber, based in Untermenzinger Straße in Munich-Moosach, which had built trams and later the first U-Bahn cars for the 1972 Munich Olympics; through this acquisition MEILLER obtained the Moosach site that later became its headquarters. In 1962 Franz Xaver Meiller (1885–1966) handed over management to the fourth Meiller generation. The economic miracle boosted demand. In 1972 the first roll-off tipper came onto the market. In October 1974 the Delta project was initiated, the largest order in the company's history: the Soviet Union ordered a total of 10,000 rear tippers, with the tipping bodies completed by 1976 and used to equip around 9,500 Magirus-Deutz trucks for Siberian oil fields and the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM). In 1986 the company had around 2,000 employees; in 1990 a plant was established in Karlsruhe for just-in-time deliveries, followed in 1993 by a production site in Slaný near Prague, Czech Republic. Around this time the fifth Meiller generation entered the business. Today the MEILLER Group operates two divisions, MEILLER Tippers and MEILLER Doors, and describes itself as a premium supplier with a history of success going back to 1850, having grown from a simple smithy to a globally active group.

• 1993

  Production site established in Slaný near Prague, Czech Republic.

• 1990

  Plant established in Karlsruhe for just-in-time deliveries.

• 1986

  Company has around 2,000 employees.

• 1976

  Tipping bodies for the Delta project completed, equipping around 9,500 Magirus-Deutz trucks.

• 1974

  Delta project initiated: Soviet Union orders 10,000 rear tippers.

• 1972

  First roll-off tipper comes onto the market.

• 1962

  Franz Xaver Meiller hands over management to the fourth Meiller generation.

• 1956

  MEILLER acquires majority of shares in the wagon factory Josef Rathgeber.

• 1935

  Kommerzienrat F. X. Meiller senior dies; his sons take over the company.

• 1925

  First hydraulic three-way tipper built by MEILLER based on Jakob Wirz's patent.

• 1924

  First motor-driven hydraulic pump for a truck developed by his two sons, ordered by Büssing.

• 1918

  Factory site at Landshuter Allee 20 in Munich purchased.

• 1917

  F. X. Meiller awarded the title Kommerzienrat.

• 1907

  F. X. Meiller granted the title Königlich-Bayrischer Hof-Werkzeugfabrikant by Prince Regent Luitpold.

• 1904

  First superstructure for a winched tipper on a truck built, the birth of the Meiller tipper.

• 1881

  Nephew Franz Xaver Meiller takes over the smithy business.

• 1861

  Winches for forestry and construction added to the forged tool range.

• 1853

  Hammer mill and armoury on Lilienstrasse in Munich's Au district approved on 1 June.

• 1850

  Lorenz Meiller founds MEILLER in Munich.

Premium supplier and market leader as a system provider in construction, waste management and the commercial-vehicle industries, offering bodywork, hydraulic equipment and controls from a single provider.

• TECTRUM® hooklifts

• TECTRIS® skip loaders

• TRIGENIUS® three-way tippers

• MAXTREME® rear tippers

• GRANDLOAD® tipping semi-trailers

• Asphalt tipper bodies

• Centre-axle trailers

• Container transport trailers

• Hydraulic systems

• Lift doors (MEILLER Doors division)

1. 1MEILLER Kipper - Innovation born from traditionmeiller.com
2. 2MEILLER Tipper locations in Germany and Europemeiller.com
3. 3MEILLER tippers: A history of success since 1850meiller.com
4. 4Corporate Social Responsibility at MEILLERmeiller.com
5. 5Meillerwikidata.org
6. 6Meiller (Unternehmen)de.wikipedia.org