Under the influence of the Stinnes Group (1921-1933)

HOCHTIEF overcomes the Stinnes crisis

The French military occupation of the Ruhr shattered the hopes that the HOCHTIEF managers had had of the connection with Stinnes. The situation turned dangerous for HOCHTIEF when the Stinnes concern collapsed after the death of Hugo Stinnes. HOCHTIEF also teetered towards insolvency,

but with the help of the banks with which it had collaborated closely ever since it had become an Aktiengesellschaft, it managed to overcome this crisis as well. RWE and a major electrical engineering company, AEG, became the main shareholders with 30 and 13 percent respectively. The situation at HOCHTIEF calmed down again. There was a change at the top in 1927 when Eugen V�gler replaced Hans Weidmann as Chief Executive Officer.

Numerous major projects are completed

Once the 1923 hyperinflation in Germany had been halted, HOCHTIEF's business started to develop positively again. Amongst its major projects were the gymnasium and sports hall of the stadium in Frankfurt am Main (1919-1926);

a big power station in Klingenberg, a district of Berlin (1926-1927); the Westfalenhaus in Dortmund (1928-1929); and new buildings for the Zollverein colliery in Essen (1929-1931).

HOCHTIEF was also involved in major reservoir and waterways projects such as the Schluchsee dam in the southern Black Forest (1929-1931). One particular technical challenge was the construction of a viaduct over the Ammer River near Echelsbach in Bavaria (1928-1929). Nearly all these orders were follow-up business; HOCHTIEF was apparently able to benefit from good business relationships.

HOCHTIEF gains a foothold abroad

Mainly, however, in the 1930s HOCHTIEF was busy gaining a foothold in other countries. Amongst its major foreign projects were a cellulose factory in Finland, the Moselle Canal near Metz in eastern France and its work on the Albert Canal between Li�ge and Antwerp (in Belgium) between 1930 and 1934.

These projects were carried out in a number of phases and ensured employment for HOCHTIEF for many years at a time. Other contracts, of a kind that only appear once each but are none the less welcome for that, were the construction of a road bridge over the Maritza River near Philoppopel in Bulgaria (1929-1931) and of a coal bunker in Lutterade, in Holland (1931). Despite a universally poor economic situation, HOCHTIEF's business went relatively well. Accordingly, this extract appeared in the Annual Report published in 1932:

"As a result of the expansion of our foreign interests mentioned in our Annual Report last year and the level of orders received earlier from within Germany, we can nevertheless present satisfactory results to our shareholders."

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