In 1785, the predecessor of the Mann factory, the St. Anthony Steel Plant, was completed in Oberhausen, Germany. As an important milestone in the German Industrial Revolution at that time, the steel plant brought Germany into a new industrial race track. Since then, the San Antonio Steel Plant has accumulated extremely strong capital strength by producing steel, laying the foundation for the later established Augsburg Nuremberg Machinery Manufacturing Plant, also known as MAN.
In 1858, Rudolf Diesel was born in Paris, France. Those who have some mastery of English should be able to see that the Diesel after his name is the current English name for diesel, and Rudolf Diesel was the inventor of the diesel engine.
In 1893, Rudolf Diesel published an article about his independently developed new model and applied for a patent for this brand new model in 1892. However, years of research and development limited his funds, and Rudolf Diesel found the well-known German machinery manufacturing company at the time – MAN. With the technical and financial support of MAN Corporation, he successfully joined MAN Corporation and became a mechanical engineer responsible for the development and manufacturing of new models.
In 1893, the new model produced by Rudolf Diesel had an explosion pressure of 80Pa (atmospheric pressure) inside the engine during testing. Although there was still a significant gap compared to the current megapascals, for the first new engine, the explosion pressure of 80Pa meant a strong force to drive the piston, which traditional steam engines did not have.
The first experiment lasted only one minute before the engine burst, but this was enough to prove Rudolf Diesel’s success. With the unremitting efforts of Mann Company and Rudolf Diesel, the improved diesel engine was successfully ignited at the Mann Augsburg factory in 1897, with a power of 14kW making it the engine with the highest horsepower at that time.
In 19th century Europe, petroleum products were quite scarce. Therefore, during the same period, Otto engines could only use gas as the main fuel for the engine. However, the carrying and storage of gas poses significant safety hazards. Rudolf Diesel decided to open up a new route. He increased the engine compression ratio, removed the spark plug, and brought the cylinder to a high-temperature and high-pressure state for retesting. Finally, he found that the way to increase the compression ratio was very feasible, so the world’s first compression combustion engine was officially born and named diesel engine after him.
After the invention of the diesel engine, it was not immediately applied to cars, but was first used in weapons and equipment, such as submarines and ships that used steam engines as power sources. In 1915, with the support of diesel engine technology, Mann Company began to transform diesel engines into civilian use. In the same year, MAN produced the first civilian light truck in a joint venture factory with ADOLPH SAURER AG. Named Saurer. The first Saurer truck has been widely recognized for its excellent performance in the market and represents the official commercial use of diesel engines.
At present, the direct fuel injection technology used in our truck engines has become mainstream. Fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber through the fuel injector, which is convenient and efficient. But when diesel engines were first introduced, there was no such thing as direct fuel injection technology. All diesel engines adopt mechanical oil supply pumps.
In 1924, Mann officially launched a diesel engine equipped with fuel direct injection technology. This engine used the most advanced Diesel Dirkteinspritzung (fuel direct injection technology) at the time, which comprehensively improved the power and efficiency of diesel engines and laid the foundation for the later modernization of diesel engines towards high-pressure common rail.
In the 1930s, the rapid development of the European economy raised new demands for faster and larger trucks and buses. Thanks to the application of diesel direct injection technology and the widespread adoption of turbochargers. In 1930, Mann launched a new generation of high-power truck S1H6, which had a maximum of 140 horsepower (later introduced a 150 horsepower model), becoming the most powerful truck on the market at that time.
After the end of World War II, Mann entered an era of comprehensive innovation in vehicle design. In 1945, Mann launched the first generation short nose truck F8 to the market. As the first heavy-duty truck launched after World War II, this car’s appearance effectively filled the gap in post war reconstruction vehicles. The new V8 engine used in this car has a compact structure, shorter front end and better visibility. And this V8 engine can reach a maximum horsepower of 180, breaking the limit of 150 horsepower previously established by Mann and becoming a brand new high horsepower model.
In 1965, the 100000th vehicle of the Mann Munich factory was taken offline, only 10 years after the Munich project was officially put into operation. This shows Mann’s development speed in industrial technology. Through Mann’s 180 year development, we can see that as a century old enterprise, Mann has innovative capabilities at different stages. However, as the company’s strength gradually grows, the acquisition of more excellent card and bus enterprises has become a key focus for future development.
Post time: Oct-03-2023