The History of FFG

Innovative by tradition: Our history makes us strong for the mobility of the future.

The history of FFG Fahrzeugwerkstätten Falkenried GmbH begins in 1880, with the founding of the Straßen-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG) in Hamburg. In 1892, it opened the Falkenried Depot, which at ten hectares was the largest depot in Hamburg at the time. Here, horse-drawn trolleys were housed, maintained and repaired in huge, multi-track halls. The stables for 300 horses are also located on the site, as well as administrative buildings and company apartments. In the 1890s, the world switched from horse-drawn streetcars to electric streetcars – Falkenried produced its first streetcars in 1894, and the depot was transformed into a production facility. The heyday of the Falkenried wagon factory began around the turn of the century: The production of electric streetcars was so successful that transport companies were supplied throughout Germany, and shortly afterwards throughout the world. By 1914, about 6,000 vehicles of all kinds were produced – not only streetcars, but also omnibuses and subway cars. In 1918, SEG became the property of Hamburger Hochbahn AG.

In 1926, the renovation and expansion of the workshops began, and the result today is an outstanding example of modern industrial architecture of the 1920s. In the following years, the number of streetcars in Hamburg reached its peak: 1,600 passenger and 165 work vehicles, as well as 130 buses. The workshops in Falkenried were working at capacity due to this large fleet of vehicles. In the mid-1950s, change arrived: The streetcar lines were gradually discontinued, as the bus and subway network was expanded. At Falkenried, experts were developing new subway railcars and public buses. In 1968, FFG Fahrzeugwerkstätten Falkenried GmbH was founded. Beginning in 1975 – with the world's first low-floor articulated pusher bus – FFG took off into the special vehicle construction sector and awarded the license for the articulated control system to Mercedes-Benz. In 1999, the company headquarters were moved from the Falkenried site in Eppendorf to Hamburg-Hummelsbüttel.