FFG History

Innovative by tradition: FFG derives the fascination for mobility and the talent of looking ahead from its corporate history

The history of FFG Fahrzeugwerkstätten Falkenried GmbH starts in 1880 with foundation of the Straßen-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG) in Hamburg. In 1892 the company opens the Falkenried depot with 10 hectares; at that time the largest depot in Hamburg. Here the horse-drawn tram cars were housed, maintained and repaired in huge, multi-track halls. Stalls for 300 horses are on the site, as well as the administration building and company housing. In the 1890s the world moved from horse-drawn trams to electric trams - in Falkenried in 1894 the first tram lines were produced and the depot was transformed into a production facility. The heyday of the Waggonfabrik Falkenried started at the turn of the century: Production of electric trams was so successful that the company supplied transportation companies throughout Germany, and shortly thereafter, throughout the world. By 1914 approximately 6000 vehicles of all types were manufactured - not only trams, but also omnibuses and underground tram cars. In 1919 SEG was acquired by Hamburger Hochbahn AG.

In 1926 the workshops were repaired and expanded, the result today is an outstanding example of the modern industrial architecture of the 1920s. In the following years the streetcar stock in Hamburg reached its highest level: 1600 passenger vehicles and 165 work vehicles, and 130 omnibuses. With this vehicle fleet the workshops in Falkenried were used to capacity. In the mid 1950s there was a major change: Tram lines were gradually discontinued, the omnibus and underground network was extended. In Falkenried experts developed new underground rail cars and urban buses. FFG Fahrzeugwerkstätten Falkenried GmbH was founded in 1968. From 1975, with the world’s first low-floor articulated bus - FFG was also engaged in special vehicle manufacturing. In 1999 corporate headquarters were moved from the historic Falkenried site in Eppendorf to Hamburg-Hummelsbüttel.