Draft:Borsig

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Borsig GmbH

Type	GmbH
Industry	Mechanical engineering and process engineering
Founded	1837
Founder	August Borsig
Headquarters	Berlin , Germany
Website	www.borsig.de/en/

Borsig GmbH is a German mechanical and process engineering company based in Berlin. It traces its history to the machine works founded by August Borsig in 1837. During the 19th century, Borsig became one of the largest locomotive manufacturers in Europe.

The company's activities later shifted from locomotive construction to other areas of mechanical and process engineering. The present Borsig business emerged from a management buyout in 2003 following the insolvency of its former parent company, Babcock Borsig, and was acquired by Malaysian engineering group KNM Group in 2008.

History

Founding and early engineering

August Borsig founded an iron foundry and machine works near the Oranienburger Tor in Berlin in 1837. Before establishing his own business, he had spent about ten years working at the engineering works of Franz Anton Egells. One of the new company's first large orders was the production of 117,000 screws for the Berlin–Potsdam railway. The first casting at Borsig's works took place on 22 July 1837, which subsequently became regarded as the founding date of the company.

The factory initially accepted a variety of orders. Borsig produced railway components, steam machinery and iron structures. He designed and built the steam engine for the pumping station that supplied the fountains and irrigation system at Sanssouci Park. The company was also involved in the construction of the iron dome of St. Nicholas' Church in Potsdam and the dome of the former Berlin Palace.

Locomotive manufacturing

Borsig entered locomotive manufacturing after repairing imported locomotives used by the Berlin–Potsdam railway. In 1841, the company completed its first locomotive. The design was based partly on locomotives built by the American manufacturer Norris Locomotive Works, but incorporated changes made by Borsig. The locomotive was sold to the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company.

Production increased rapidly. Borsig completed its 100th locomotive in 1846 and its 500th in 1854. The 1,000th locomotive was completed in 1858. According to the Neue Deutsche Biographie, Borsig had become the largest locomotive factory on the European continent during August Borsig's lifetime.

After August Borsig died in 1854, his son Albert Borsig took over the business. He expanded the company's access to raw materials through coal mines, ironworks and rolling mills in Upper Silesia.

Tegel works

Later generations of the Borsig family continued to manage the company. In 1898, a new factory complex was inaugurated in Berlin-Tegel. In addition to locomotives, the Tegel works produced steam engines, marine steam engines, refrigeration machinery and other heavy equipment.

The Tegel site became one of Berlin's major industrial locations. A 2011 article in Der Tagesspiegel described the works as the center of Borsig's locomotive and heavy engineering activities after the company's move to Tegel in 1898.

End of family control and Rheinmetall-Borsig

The Great Depression brought major changes to the company. In 1931, Borsig's locomotive activities were combined with those of AEG. Locomotive production was subsequently transferred from Tegel to AEG's works in Hennigsdorf.

In 1935, Rheinmetall acquired the remaining Borsig machinery business, ending the Borsig family's control of the company. The combined company subsequently operated under the name Rheinmetall-Borsig.

During the Nazi period, subsidiaries of Rheinmetall-Borsig were involved in the German armaments industry. The Krumpuhler Weg forced labor camp in Berlin-Tegel was operated from 1942 to 1945 by Altmärkische Kettenwerke (Alkett) and Maschinen- und Gerätebau Tegel (Maget), both subsidiaries of Rheinmetall-Borsig. The camp had capacity for approximately 1,500 people and housed Soviet forced laborers as well as French forced laborers and Italian military internees.

Postwar period and Babcock ownership

Borsig AG was re-established in 1950 as a subsidiary of Rheinmetall. Production at the Tegel works included machinery, boilers, steel tubes, refrigeration equipment and equipment for chemical plants. In 1967, the company became Borsig GmbH.

In 1970, Borsig was acquired by Deutsche Babcock. During the following decades, the company's activities increasingly moved away from locomotive manufacturing and toward industrial machinery and process equipment.

A 2002 report in Der Tagesspiegel, published shortly before the insolvency of the Babcock Borsig group, described the Tegel operation as primarily producing equipment for the chemical and petrochemical industries.

Management buyout and KNM ownership

Following the insolvency of Babcock Borsig, members of Borsig's management and the investment company capiton acquired the business in 2003 through a management buyout.

In 2008, KNM Group acquired Borsig for €350 million. Contemporary reports described Borsig as specializing in industrial cooling systems, heat exchangers and power plant services.

Current activities

Borsig's activities today are centered on industrial process equipment. A 2012 report in Der Tagesspiegel described the group's products as including cooling and heat exchanger systems, boiler systems for power plants, reciprocating compressors and gas separation systems. A later report described Borsig's Tegel operation as developing and manufacturing equipment for cooling gases at high temperatures and pressures.

Compression

Borsig manufactures compressors for process gases. In 2024, the first of three reciprocating compressors produced by Borsig ZM Compression for an RWE hydrogen storage project in Gronau-Epe underwent factory testing. Each compressor was reported to have a drive power of 2.8 megawatts.

Membrane technology

Borsig is also active in membrane separation technology. Commercial membranes manufactured by Borsig have been studied in peer reviewed research on organic solvent nanofiltration.

A 2021 study published in Separation and Purification Technology investigated the long-term stability of four commercial organic solvent nanofiltration membranes, including the GMT-oNF2 membrane manufactured by Borsig Membrane Technology.

A 2025 study in Green Chemistry compared several commercially available membranes, including Borsig oNF-1, oNF-2 and oNF-3 membranes, for the recovery of a palladium catalyst in a pharmaceutical manufacturing process. The researchers selected the oNF-1 and oNF-2 membranes for further experiments and reported that the recovered catalyst could be reused over several cycles.

See also

• August Borsig
• Albert Borsig
• Borsigwalde
• Rheinmetall
• Deutsche Babcock

External links

• Official website
• Borsig company history collection at the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• Companies based in Berlin
• Engineering companies of Germany
• Locomotive manufacturers of Germany
• German companies established in 1837