Das 100. Schiff - ein Werftjubiläum von 1883

Abstract

"The present-day large-scale shipyard operation Howaldtswerke - Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) dates back to a shipyard foundation of 1876. In that year, the engineer Georg Howaldt of Kiel (1841-1909) established a shipyard for the construction of iron ships in Dietrichsdorf, a town near Kiel (and since incorporated into that city). Primarily small and medium-sized cargo steamers, tugboats and other specialised vessels were built there. The Gebrüder Howaldt machine factory, founded in Kiel in 1837 by Howaldt's father and uncle, moved to a site in the direct vicinity of the shipyard in 1882. From this time on, the machine factory was the neighbouring shipyard’s chief supplier of marine engines. Present-day shipyards, like other companies, tend to take their 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th, etc. anniversaries as occasions to celebrate in the form of an all-company party. In the late nineteenth century, however, when the German shipbuilding industry was still in its infancy and had no tradition to look back on, shipyards would celebrate the completion of ships bearing round serial numbers. This is a custom practised in other industries as well, where a round production number (referring to piece numbers or tons) sometimes provides the occasion for festivities. Howaldt maintained active business relations with one of the leading shipping companies of Kiel: Sartori & Berger (founded in 1858). Twenty new ships were delivered to that company in the years 1877-1889 alone. Even after that time, the shipping company continued to receive new cargo vessels made in Dietrichsdorf. The cargo steamer EMMA, built for Sartori & Berger in 1883, bore the serial number 100, providing the occasion for a celebration arranged by the two companies. The Gebrüder Howaldt machine factory was also involved, as the ship had received the factory's 250th engine. Its launching on August 23, 1883 was celebrated by the assembled workers, and the EMMA's trial run on September 12 was honoured with a company celebration for business friends, complete with an excursion on the new vessel. Serial numbers 200 (the cargo steamer HOLSTEIN, 1890) and 300 (the Chinese cargo vessel HSI PING, 1897) were also celebrated, if not as elaborately as in the case of the EMMA. After that, the custom was no longer practised at Howaldt’s. The year 1901 marked the company's 25th anniversary, which - in keeping with the custom usual in industry - served as the occasion for festivities, as did its 100th and 125th anniversaries (in 1938 and 1963)." (author's abstract)