Rheinische Metallwaren- und Maschinenwerk AG

The company was founded in 1890 by Heinrich Ehrhardt (1840-1928). It was an arms manufacturer. Famous products were  the Mauser pistols and Oerlikon guns. Following the World War I the company started producing office machines, typewriters, calculators etc. The factory was based in Erfurt. The first typewriter was introduced in 1926. In 1930 the Stoewer portable typewriter was taken over by Rheinmetall.  In 1936 a merger took place and the name of the company became RHEINMETALL-BORSIG AG. After the World War II the company found itself in East Germany. Production continued as a state- run enterprise, using the pre-war Rheinmetall name and logo. Until 1960 nearly 600 000 typewriters had been produced.