Johann "Hans" Nibel
Hans Nibel (31 August 1880 – 25 November 1934) was a German mechanical engineer. He was employed for more than a quarter of a century in positions of increasing influence at Benz and Cie and, after the 1926 merger, its successor entity, Daimler-Benz AG. He is best remembered for his time as Technical Director, a position he took over from Ferdinand Porsche following an acrimonious falling out between the company and Dr. Porsche. Between 1929 and 1934 Nibel was responsible for a succession of new Mercedes-Benz models of which, in commercial terms, the Mercedes-Benz W15, introduced in October 1931, was probably the most important. During the savage backwash from the Great Depression the W15 was relatively affordable, enabling the manufacturer to retain a major presence in the German auto market in a way that the large expensive cars with which Mercedes-Benz had increasingly been associated during the 1920s never could have done. Life Provenance and early years Johann "Hans" Nibel was born into a Catholic family at Olleschau, Austria-Hungary (today Olšany in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic). He had one brother and two sisters. At that time, and until 1918, the entire region was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Nibel's father, also called Johann Nibel (1839–1914), was a factory director, probably of a paper factory. Through his father the boy was exposed to many of the finer points of the production technologies of those times from an early age. He was evidently a studious schoolboy. A surviving certificate from his school days dated 1899 classified him as "outstanding" in respect of Mathematics, Physics and Drawing, which hints at the specialisms that would best support him in his future career. He attended the Humanities Gymnasium in Šumperk, from where, having passed the necessary school final exams (Abitur), he moved on to enrol at the Technical University of Munich. Here he studied for a degree in engineering. Benz & Cie AG He graduated with a "Diplom-Ingenieur" engineering degree. He obtained his first professional work experience working at a succession of relatively small engineering and manufacturing businesses, Armed with an excellent set of exam results, on 1 March 1904, still aged just 24, Hans Nibel joined the Mannheim main design office of Benz & Cie AG, which was already established as one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. The first decade of the twentieth century was a period of rapid growth for the company, and in the design office Nibel's own career progressed even more rapidly. Through the development of a succession of successful racing and record breaking cars he became the recipient of various awards, and in 1908, only four years after joining the company, he was appointed to the position of "Chefkonstrukteur" ("Head of product development and design"). An early innovation under Nibel's management was the 1908 "head controlled motor", followed in 1910 by the four-valve engine. In 1911, under his leadership, the company produced a block-based engine and a dual ignition system. Although such features were