Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH was a German company that designed, manufactured and marketed marine diesel engines, diesel locomotives and tracked vehicles under the MaK brand name. The three primary operating divisions of Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH were sold to different companies in the 1990s.
Rheinmetall acquired the military vehicles division in 1990. Siemens acquired the locomotive manufacturing division in 1992. Siemens sold the locomotive division to the current owner, Vossloh, in 1998. Caterpillar Inc. acquired the marine diesel engine division in 1997.
Both Vossloh and the marine diesel engine division of Caterpillar are still based in Kiel. Caterpillar continues to use MaK brand name on their products. The companies are major employers in Kiel.
History
Origins
The companies origins can be traced back at least as far as 1918. With the Treaty of Versailles limiting arms production in Germany, the defence based industries in Kiel sought other markets. Kiel Deutsche Werke AG (DWK) was founded; producing diesel locomotives as well as shipbuilding and firearms manufacture. During the World War II Deutsche Werke AG produced U-boats, as well as locomotives for the Wehrmacht. The end of the second world war brought not only destruction of many of the facilities in Kiel, but also the end of the company.
1948–1997
thumb|Maschinenbau Kiel AG (MaK) hands over the first Marder to the Bundeswehr on 7 May 1971.
The first production Marder was handed to the West German army on 7 May 1971. Production of the vehicle continued until 1975, with 2,136 vehicles being completed.
The company Maschinenbau Kiel was founded on 25 May 1948 as a limited liability company. It included several factories of the former Deutsche Werke AG. In 1954 after a lengthy legal dispute with MAN the name was changed from MAK to MaK.
In 1959 a crisis led to the company's purchase by Bremer Atlas GmbH and its conversion into a GmbH (a type of limited liability company). The locomotive production arm of the company was sold in 1992 to Siemens.
Company divisions
Diesel engines
thumb|MaK 8M32C marine diesel engine (8 cylinder inline, 4MW)
The marine diesel engines division became Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG in 1997 and is now a 100% subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. The engines still carry the MaK logo. One example of the success of this organisation is the use of four engines of the type MaK 9 M 43 C in the cruise ship AIDAdiva.
The MaK product line as of August 2015 consists of six medium-speed four-stroke diesel and dual fuel engine models. They range in power from 1,020 to 16,800 kW.
Current models apply flexible camshaft technology (FCT) to reduce or eliminate visible smoke at partial load. FCT is also said to improve performance and load pick-up.
Locomotives
thumb|left|MaK G 321 B locomotive
In the 1950s and 1960s MaK built several designs of rod-coupled diesel locomotives with jackshaft and coupling rod drive. These were sold to numerous private companies to replace steam locomotives.
During the 1950s the plant produced locomotives for the Deutsche Bundesbahn, including the DB Class V 60, DB Class V 65, DB Class V 80
In 1965 native locomotive production began to use cardan shafts as part of the transmission system.
During the 1960s further locomotive models were produced for the Deutsche Bundesbahn including the Class V 90's, DB Class V 100, DB Class V 200 and DB Class V 160.
In the harsh economic climate of that time the company tried to expand its range - and its customer base. Using electrical components from the Swiss-German company BBC MaK started production of diesel-electric locomotives - some were successful, notably the EN 6400 of which 120 were bought by Nederlandse Spoorwegen.