E. Erxleben

Die Gnadenfreier Weberei von Abraham Dürninger & Co.

Abstract

This article presents a short history of the textile company E. Erxleben & Co. in Gnadenfrei, Silesia, which started as a small weaving mill in the single brethren’s choir house. From the end of the nineteenth century the company formed part of the corporate conglomerate Abraham Dürninger & Co., which invested heavily in its modernization, mechanization and expansion. However, for a long period of time no synergy was achieved with the textile company Th. Zimmermann, which was also located in Gnadenfrei and owned by the Moravian Church. This was mainly due to the different organizational structures, as Zimmermann formed a part of the business division of the German Province of the Moravian Church. Co-operation slowly began after a change of central management in Herrnhut in 1926 and accelerated during the economic crisis, when Dürninger got into financial difficulties and only survived thanks to loans from the German Province. The common goal of a thorough restructuring of both textile companies even led finally to vertical integration, as Erxleben took over the weaving completely from Zimmermann, which in turn restricted its production process to the manufacturing of finished products.