Heinrich Ehrhardt was a German inventor, industrialist and entrepreneur.
Family
Ehrhardt's uncle was the successful locomotive manufacturer and inventor Johann Heinrich Ehrhardt.
Career
Around 1864 he studied and worked at the company Richard Hartmann in Chemnitz, which was the largest Saxon company.
Patents and start-ups
He registered 128 patents in the German Empire. In 1891 he patented the process that became known as the "Ehrhardt'schen pressing and drawing method" for the manufacture of seamless tubes. He influenced the development of the recoiling gun. The Ehrhardt 7.5 cm Model 1901 mountain cannon was named after him. He founded in 1878, among other things, a metal and arms factory in Zella St. Blasius, 1889, the Rheinische Metallwaren- und Maschinenfabrik AG in Düsseldorf, 1896, the Eisenach car factory and the Blasius 1903 Ehrhardt Automobil AG. In 1920 at the age of about 80, Ehrhardt resigned from the leadership of Rheinmetall.
Commercial vehicle
Heinrich Ehrhardt taught in 1903 in his hometown of Zella St. Blasius. He created the Gustav Ehrhardt Automobile AG for passenger utility vehicles. This automobile factory, which was housed in the Maschinenfabrik has existed since 1878. Since 1903 trucks were built for the imperial army administration. From 1906, subsidized by the German Reich, only trucks were built. Purchasers had to establish that the army would have access to them in case of war. The Ehrhardt truck years had eleven types. Its gross vehicle weight ranged from 2.5 to 6 tons. A balloon defense special vehicle was built with eight tons dead weight at the start of the war. In 1924 two types of trucks were built with 35 hp and 80 hp. In 1925 the commercial vehicle industry was shut down.
Passenger cars
Ehrhardt initially had 31.2 percent ownership in the joint-stock company vehicle factory Eisenach. This was the vehicle factory that became Germany's third auto maker. Guns and bicycles were manufactured under the "Wartburg" brand, and by the end of 1898 car production had begun under the same name. The Wartburg motor car was modeled after the French two-cylinder engine "Decauville". Ehrhardt's son Gustav led the plant in Eisenach. Its 1,300 workers made the firm one of Thuringia's largest. In order to convince the public and shareholders of the quality of the "Wartburg"-Motorwagens, Heinrich Ehrhardt and a companion drove up a steep road to show that the car could handle the climb. In 1903, Ehrhardt withdrew after losses and disagreements other shareholders. The Decauville license was taken away. He founded Ehrhardt Automobil AG, making luxury cars, such as the "Emperor class" limousine. A brochure from 1911 shows an output of 50 hp from 8 liters capacity. The price was 26,000 marks.
