In 1933, Dr. Bungartz had a very good and secure job at the company I.G. Farbenindustrie in Frankfurt a.M.-Griesheim. In the second half of 1933 his father-in-law, Hugo Asbach, approached him and proposed to set up an engineering factory in Munich, in order to utilise the vacant buildings of the Macholl company. Despite his good job he could not resist the tempt to become an independent entrepreneur. He quit from the I.G. Farbenindustrie on 1 April 1934 and started the company Bungartz & Co in Munich, in the buildings where the company would remain seated for many years.

Mr. Asbach's proposal was inspired by the developement of a new, cheap twoseater car. This was designed by Josef Ganz, a German engineer born in Hungarian Budapest. In the early thirties Ganz built several small cars, like the Standard (Gutbrod) "Superior", an Ardie, the Adler "Maikäfer", and the Bungartz "Butz". After the nazis took over the German government in 1933, Ganz had to go into exile in Liechtenstein in order to escape from the persecution of jews. There he started a small design office and built another prototype, the "Erfiag" with a Motosacoche (M.A.G.) engine. In 1945 he built a new car named "Rapid" for the Swiss company of Rapid Motormäher AG in Zürich. Josef Ganz later worked for Holden in Australia and died in 1967. The Bungartz "Butz" (see picture) was assumably built for only one year, until Bungartz took over the Siemens patents for construction and manufacture of rotary tillers. It is interesting that the Volkswagen, wanted by Adolf Hitler and constructed around the end of the thirties by Ferdinand Porsche, had many characteristics of the small car that Josef Ganz had been building previously.

Besides cars Bungartz & Co. (Fahrzeugbau und Maschinenfabrik, Abteilung Anhänger) also built the appropriate trailers. These were made under the Butz brand name, with a proper emblem, for which appearantly a stream line trailer stood model. Specialist car designers constructed the chassis after the latest German insights in vehicle construction: chassis with one central tube, undependant spring action and especially a new form of front wheel suspension. All of this provided the trailers with perfect road-holding qualities, unequalled by any other make, they simply could not lurch or skid.

After the customer's wish a variety of different trunks could by built on the chassis, see my models page. The trailers could transport 600 liters of milk, the cans included, or one slaughtered cow, or a set of tool boxes, or luggage for a large family with at least three nubile daughters... Bungartz standard could supply trailers with open cargo floor, with rear board, with a cover, with a canvas hood, without boards or with high boards. There were trailers with lath-work, with multiple floors, zinc plate covered, with furnished boards or with loose trunks.
In cooperation with Sport-Berger-Werk in Rotschwaige-Dachau (Oberbayern), Bungartz & Co. even supplied a folded caravan, the Auto-Wohnwagen "Hausdabei" (Take Your House with You). It could be unfolded in 3 seconds, sold for 690 Reichsmark in standard form, but could be expanded with any thinkable extra luxury.

All the way from the start, Bungartz greatly valued the maximal extension of their design and research departments, in order to always be able to advertise their machinery to the customer as the best that could be obtained. The developments did not only lead to new models, but a whole series of attachments was presented, such as ploughs, pumps, mowers and cultivators. The object was not just to sell as many machines as possible, but also to advise the customer. The numerous dealers at home and abroad have always exceedingly maintained this customer service. Because of the immensely growing number of customers and the hard traveling possibilties caused by war conditions, it became desirable to contact the customers directly from the factory every now and then. To perform this, the "Bungartz-Fräsendienst" (tiller-service) in DIN-A5 size was regularly published from 1941 (the picture shows the first issue of March 1, 1941, 24 pages). This periodical reported about factory news, gave practical advise, but also gave word to the people who worked with the machinery.

In spring of 1939 Mr. Johannes Sembdner, a Bungartz dealer in Germering near Munich, describes his experience with a. o. the Bungartz L3: I sold and demonstrated over 30 machines in only a couple of days! Among them were 3 customers who already bought their second Bungartz tiller, design Siemens!
No wonder, when one sees, that over 20 % of the current production of Bungartz & Co., Munich, is exported abroad. And this despite many other countries building tillers nowadays and German products are hard to sell abroad because of the severe anti-German propaganda. Products that show such fine export numbers in spite of the large competition at home and abroad, simply have to be of outstanding quality!
The latest statistics show that a 100 % of the common tiller export from Germany has been sold exclusively by the company of Bungartz & Co., Munich! This proves better than any testimony (of which I publish several from the last weeks nevertheless) the quality of the machines I supply. Only the very best can survive on the nowadays export market and that very best is exactly fit for my customers in horticulture! Bungartz tillers control the entire market. During 1938, Bungartz alone produced 84 % of the common German export of rotary tillers and small tractors, in 1939 this was even 94,5 % till now! Financially, Bungartz supplied 80,2 % of the total German sales!

Sales numbers of Bungartz tillers show that they did not stop selling during the Second World War:

until 1940	5000
until 1942	10.000
until 1945	35.000

The Bungartz factory in Munich suffered a lot from the allied bombings during World War II. These pictures show the re-erection of the demolished buildings in 1944: With a small crew of employees, but with a wealth of experience, the destructed factory buildings were rebuilt. Already in 1945 they supplied the first rotary tillers, which were manufactured between the remains of ruins and ashes. A large advantage in getting assigned enough raw material, was that the Bungartz tillers were not fit for military purposes.

In 1953 Bungartz & Co. again had around 350 employees. From 1945 till 1953 they supplied 8000 weed tillers as well as 11,500 walk behind tractors, 20 % of which had still been manufactured by contract suppliers. The large demand after Bungartz tillers was mainly caused by the application of high quality materials and by the good isolation of the machines' interior against dirt and dust.

As the U1's successor, the Bungartz L5 was offered from 1953, from the start powered by the same Bungartz or Stihl engines as the U1 had had. But the L5 gained real succes by the application of the 10 or 12 Sachs two stroke diesel engines (developed by Max Holder), and the 13 hp Hatz four stroke diesel engine. The L5 had more gears than the U1, and unlike it's predecessor, also standard had a blockable differential in it's gearbox. The outstanding quality of the Bungartz L5 may become clear from the fact that it remained available until 1969!

In cooperation with the company of Hummel in Heitersheim (Germany), a trailer was developed of which the wheels were driven by the walk behind tractor's PTO. With this trailer after the tractor, a four wheel drive vehicle came into existence, which had the advantage that the trailer's cargo contribute to the tractive power.

Of course, the own Bungartz trailers were still made as well. At least until the war Bungartz manufactured car trailers, the trailers for use with walk behind and four wheel tractors were constantly under developement and remained available in many different variations until deep into the sixties.

Meanwhile,the medium weight two wheel tiller F40 had been evolved into the Bungartz F55 and FR, the lather of which was equipped with two forward and two reverse gears, as well as optional steering clutches. Both models were available with 6 hp TWN engine, the FR also with a 6 hp Ilo two stroke, or Universal four stroke engine. The Universal engine was purchased from the company Alfred Berning Motorenbau in Schwelm (Westfalen, Germany), who produced these petrol engines as licensee of the Swiss company Universal.

The growers neede more application possibilities in this model range as well. Therefore, in 1953 theBungartz H4 was introduced, a tractor with four forward and two reverse speeds. There seemed to have been put incredibly many possibilties into this relatively small gearbox. The application of the patented Bungartz quick-action coupling simplified switching between attachments. It was powered by a 5 hp petrol engine, at first from TWN (H4 series 1), later from Fichtel & Sachs (H4 series 2, 3 and 4). The H4 had a long range of successors, each of which had more possibilties hidden into the gearbox, whose form almost remained unchanged:
FRN (series 4) in 1955 and 1956, 6 - 7.5 hp Sachs petrol engine, 4 forward and 2 reverse gears.
H5 (series 5) from 1957 till 1959, this was a cheaper version of the FRN, with just a 5 hp engine.
FRK and FRNK (series 5), made from 1957 till 1959, 6 forward and 2 reverse speeds, petrol or diesel engine.
FRNK (series 6 and 7), 1959 till 1961, standard with blockable differential, petrol or diesel engines.
H5 (series 6 and 7), 1959 till 1961, 7.5 hp Sachs petrol engine, gearbox without differential and low gearing (so 3+1 gears).

Of course, all of this had transformed the Bungartz FRNK into a medium weight class walk behind tractor.

Appearently, part of the clientele felt that the Bungartz FK was too complicated, and therefore too expensive. That is why Bungartz presented the Bungartz H6 in 1963, available under the model name Bungartz F6. Again, this tractor had a completely new gearbox, this time very much simplified and with conical gears instead of the regular worm wheel transmission. This machine was equipped was 3 forward and 1 reverse gears, and only single side steering clutch. The speeds were perfectly chosen for tilling, ploughing as well as transport work. For transporting purposes there were wheel brakes available for both sides, besides the standard internal transmission brake. The F6 again was available with a large range of different engines in order to fit every customer's wishes. There was the Sachs two stroke engine, as well as the 9 hp strong BMW Industriemotor model 403 (a adaption from BMW's Isetta engine). But the F6 is most common equipped with the 7 hp four stroke diesel engine E79 from the Hatz company in Ruhstorf (Germany). The quality of the Bungartz F6 was confirmed by the fact that it remained available for almost 30 years, and that it still is much looked for nowadays.

More succesful than the T3 was the Bungartz T5, now based on the walk behind tractor L5, with 12 - 13 hp engines and introduced in 1956. Unfortunately it came just at a time that the German market for agricultural tractors dramatically collapsed. The T5 had certainly not been developed for use at every farm, but instead as a special tractor for intensive row crop as well as for mainenance jobs. Thus Bungartz stayed closely attached to the large scale horticulture, which had always been purchasing a lot of walk behind tractors as well. This was also clear from the technical features: narrow track, fit for use on slopes, engine powered hydraulics, well thought-out transmission, it was very manouevrable by use of the smallest possible turning radius, this completed with a range of attachments such as rotary tillers, irrigation pump and compressed air hammer; all of this showed that Bungartz had created something special with the T5. Also noteworthy is the patented 90-degree steering. This enabled the wheels to turn almost squarely, which, assisted by the oversized steering brakes, allowed a turn around one of the rear wheels.

The increasing activities obliged an extension of the factory buildings, which could be put into use in the beginning of 1958. On the Neumarkter Straße a very modern factory with fitting offices, exhibition, customer care and storage buildings was erected. At that time, the company employed over 320 technicians, managers and pupils. Against 1958, Bungartz & Co. had been producing over 36,000 tractors of variable size and nature. Because Siemens tillers were made prior to that, the machines produced by Siemens & Halske can be added to Bungartz's experience, so that it can be stated that Bungartz & Co. at that time had the experience of building approximately 50,000 tractors and rotary tillers.

Bungartz & Co. had been paying 14.3 million Marks on wages and salaries up to 1958. During this period the proceeds of social security (employer's share) was 2.1 million Marks and another 2.1 million Marks of income-tax. So Bungartz & Co.'s activities had contributed a total amount of 18.5 million Marks to the Bavarian economy until 1958.

Left: The new factory's entrance.



Right: View into a factory building, where tillers are being produced on the assembly line.

The value of the new buildings on the Neumarkter Straße amounted to 1.85 million Marks, including costs of land. Another 1.8 million was invested on machinery and implements. The raising sales in walk behind tractor industry (as opposed to the four wheel tractor industry) and the extension of the Bungartz & Co. sales organisation resulted in a net turnover of over 8 million Marks during 1957.

Mainly Bungartz four wheel tractors were supplied to the USA, most of them being the model T5. These were distributed by the sole importers for Canada and the USA, Burton Supply Co., Inc. in Youngstown, Ohio. They had subsidiaries in Columbus (Ohio), Dunkirk (Ohio), Bedford (Pennsylvania) and Harrisburg (Pensylvania).

Also at least one weed tiller model H1 survived in the USA, supplied by the "Universal Tractor Corp., US representatives for Maschinenfabrik Bungartz, Germany", 50 Broad Street, New York. Besides, the Bungartz FRN and L5 models were even available with Wisconsin engines!

Not very succesful was Bungartz's effort to start a license manufacture of the Bungartz T5 tractor by the Agrisa company in Brasil, together with engine manufacturer Hatz of Ruhstorf, Germany.

Bungartz introduced the successor for the H3N in 1959: the Bungartz H1 was the first one wheel weed tiller from the Munich factory. Powered by a 2.5, later 4 hp Sachs petrol engine, around 5500 of these weed tillers could be sold until 1968. Against the end of production, it was also available with a 6 hp Ilo engine. By using only one, engine driven, wheel, unlike all previous models which had two wheels, Bungartz specifically enhanced the employment for weed control in row crops.

Half way down the sixties, growers demanded smaller tractors. Therefore Bungartz developed a narrower version of the T5 and de T7 tractors, named Bungartz T5E and T7E respectively, of which the maximum width was only 73 cms. These tractor were powered by 13 or 16 hp Hatz diesel, or 29 hp VW petrol engines. They could go even smaller: the Bungartz T4, based on walk behind tractor F6, was equipped with a 7 hp Hatz diesel engine and had 3 forward an 1 reverse gears. The hydraulic lift could be engaged by means of a hand powered pump. The T4 was mainly employed for tilling, spading and transportation in Dutch glasshouses.

That sales' revenue was sufficient to continue four wheel tractor production for a while. Then construction equipment manufacturer Karl Peschke from Zweibrücken (Germany) offered to form a partnership. Peschke had been experimenting with their three wheeled PEKAZETT slope tractor UF 260, in order to enter the technically interesting field of specialist forestry tractors. Still in 1965, Bungartz and Peschke agreed to form common engineering-works, which had to erase new factory buidings in Hornbach (Saarland, Germany). In the middle of 1966 things had come to such a pass that the entire known Bungartz production, existing of one wheel cultivators, walk behind tractors and special four wheel tractors with between 8 and 40 hp engine power, were marketed in enhanced versions under the new brand name "Bungartz & Peschke".

Modern insights in industrial organization and architecture defined the construction of large scale buildings for the production of Bungartz tractors on the Hornbach industrial estate. All assembly departments, technical offices and management were brought together under the same roof. The good internal lay-out as well as the winding up of material flows and the order of proceedings resulted in an efficient and clear arrangment of the various departments. These targets are visual on the Hornbach factory photographs. The factory setup and the technical engineering possibilities in Hornbach, together with the sister-company's metal foundry and sheet-iron factory in Zweibrücken formed a large production capacity, which was able to continue the Bungartz tradition.

Against the end of the sixties the four wheel driven narrow track tractor Bungartz T8DA with 30 hp Deutz diesel engine, as well as the even stronger Bungartz T9 with 52 hp Hatz or Deutz engine, aquired many friends in the German areas with intensive hop, wine and vegetable growing. The Bungartz T8DA was based on the Dexheimer Allrad 222, which was manufactured by the Maschinenfabrik Dexheimer GmbH in Wallertheim (Germany). Dexheimer developed the Allrad 222 in 1965. Because they lacked the sufficient capacity to make enough of these tractors, Dexheimer licensed Bungartz & Peschke in 1968 to produce four wheel driven tractors. The Dexheimer Allrad 222 had a 22 hp twin cylinder Farymann four stroke V-diesel engine. Maximum width was 68 cms and it was meant to work on up to 50 % slopes. Dexheimer is still in garden tractor business today. The T8 and T9 helped Bungartz & Peschke to achieve their best sales ever in 1969, with 459 new tractor sold. But after that, the sales numbers quickly sank to an unsatisfying level again.

From 1968, Bungartz & Peschke offered the Bungartz Kommutrac as THE solution for all sorts of activities that occured at municipal works. For this tractor, they did not rebuild or adapt anything existing, but they created this multifunctional system unit all the way from the bottom. The vehicle was developed to carry out all maintenance work in pleasure and sports grounds as well as all road maintenance during winter time. It was able to lift and power attachments by means of it's standardized connections at the front, middle and rear, and was equipped with ample hydraulics. Very interesting was the Duo-control with duplicate pedals, duplicate steering and it's comfortable driver's seat which could be turned 180 degrees around. The Hurth tractor gearbox had 6 forward and 6 reverse gears, reversible in both directions, the engine was the 40 hp VW-Industriemotor (industrial engine). Available extras were front hitch, front PTO, all wheel drive, cabin and Hatz diesel engine. The Kommutrac remained available until the end, with many speciale attachments. After Gutbrod aquired Bungartz & Peschke, they continued development of the tractor and it was sold as Gutbrod Kommutrac.