Wiking Schlauchbootwerft Hanel KG

Wiking Schlauchbootwerft Hanel KG was a German manufacturer of inflatable boats based in Hofgeismar. Its origins trace to the early 1950s, when brothers Otto and Klaus Hanel began experimenting with inflatable boat construction in their father's woodworking business. After building their first series model in 1953, the company was formally registered in 1956 as Wiking Schlauchbootwerft Hanel KG. The shipyard became known for its paddle and motorized inflatable boats, selling 200 units with Zündapp engines in its first year alone. Over the decades it developed numerous innovations, including the collapsible V-plate floor, the patented Speed-Heck transom, the Spider frame, and the Adrian floor, accumulating 31 registered patents. The company sold directly from the shipyard and later through representatives in Germany and abroad, including Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands, Austria, Canada, and the United States. Its customer magazine, Wiking-Ahoi, first published in 1964, reached a circulation of 30,000 and fostered a community of tens of thousands of boaters. In 1985, at the peak of its development, the Hanel brothers sold the shipyard to two long-time employees and emigrated to Canada. Under new management the yard expanded, building a new exhibition hall in 1988, but economic decline led to a first insolvency at the end of 2000. Despite a change of ownership, the shipyard ceased operations in November 2005. Former employees attempted to continue the business, and in 2014 a new managing director took over, but on 23 August 2017 the Wiking Schlauchbootwerft GmbH in Hofgeismar was finally dissolved due to renewed insolvency. The old factory building was demolished in February 2018. The brand remains remembered by enthusiasts, and its publications are now collector's items.

The history of the Wiking Schlauchbootwerft began in the early 1950s with the construction of inflatable boats. In 1952, while the brothers Otto and Klaus Hanel were in the water on the Rhine, Otto remarked to his brother that one could build a floor under their car tires so they would no longer freeze. Thus the idea for boatbuilding was born. In their father's woodworking business, they converted a tractor tire into an inflatable boat. After these first experiments, the siblings built their first series-production inflatable boat in 1953, and boatbuilding was incorporated as a new branch of their father's company. Following great sales success, a separate company was registered in 1956 under the name Wiking Schlauchbootwerft Hanel KG. From the initial paddle boats of the "Standard" type, the first of which floated on the Weser in 1953, the motorizable inflatable boat was developed in 1954. In the first year, 200 units with Zündapp engines were already sold. Further developments in the following years and 31 registered patents drove the growth of the shipyard. In 1985, at the peak of development, the siblings Otto and Klaus Hanel sold the Wiking shipyard to two long-time employees. Otto and Klaus Hanel emigrated to Canada with a new goal. They wanted to build boats for the US market, but this idea did not catch on there. Both brothers continued to live in Canada and pursued other ideas and passions. Otto Hanel returned to Germany in 2000, where he died in 2004 at the age of 80. Klaus Hanel died on 6 January 2011 at the age of 87 in Ontario, Canada. Meanwhile, the shipyard continued to expand under the new management, so that in 1988 a new exhibition hall had to be built. After further years of growth, however, the economic situation declined, so that at the end of 2000 insolvency was filed for the first time. Despite a new owner in the interim, the shipyard initially came to an end in November 2005. Former employees tried to continue the business activities until a new managing director took over the shipyard in 2014. On 23 August 2017, Wiking Schlauchbootwerft GmbH in Hofgeismar was finally dissolved due to renewed insolvency, and in February 2018 the old factory building was demolished. On 5 April 2019, the mechanical engineer Heinz-Jürgen Prust died at the age of 71. As a long-time employee, he was one of the two managing directors from 1985 to 2001. He was the designer of almost all Wiking boats and the holder of several patent rights for Wiking inflatable boats.

• 2018

  Old factory building demolished in February.

• 2017

  Wiking Schlauchbootwerft GmbH in Hofgeismar dissolved on 23 August due to renewed insolvency.

• 2014

  New managing director takes over the shipyard.

• 2005

  Shipyard ceases operations in November; issue 32 of Wiking-Ahoi published by the Wiking-Schlauchbootclub e.V.

• 2000

  First insolvency filed at the end of the year.

• 1992

  Last issue of Wiking-Ahoi published (issue 30).

• 1988

  New exhibition hall built due to expansion.

• 1985

  Hanel brothers sell the shipyard to two long-time employees and emigrate to Canada.

• 1977

  Patented Speed-Heck transom introduced.

• 1964

  First issue of the customer magazine Wiking-Ahoi published, with a circulation of 30,000.

• 1956

  Company registered as Wiking Schlauchbootwerft Hanel KG.

• 1954

  Motorizable inflatable boat developed; 200 units with Zündapp engines sold in the first year.

• 1953

  First series-production inflatable boat built; first "Standard" paddle boat floats on the Weser.

• 1952

  Otto and Klaus Hanel conceive the idea of building an inflatable boat from a tractor tire.

Handcrafted, innovative inflatable boats with a focus on safety, durability, and direct customer relationships.

• Standard

  First series paddle boat, introduced in 1953.

• Wega 480

  Model available with or without front deck.

• Planet

  Model with special hull construction.

• Cat

  Model with special hull construction.

• Oktant

  Model with special hull construction.

• Sirius

  Model with special hull construction.

• Freiboot

  Model with special hull construction.

1. 1Wiking Schlauchbootwerft Hanel KG - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Wiking Schlauchboote - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org