KROTZ

Krotz Manufacturing Co.

Springfield, Ohio (1903-1904)

Poss. Evansville, Indiana (1906-1908)

Krotz-Defiance Auto Buggy Co. (1908-1911) 

Defiance, Ohio

This is a reproduction Krotz Motor Buggy nameplate (c1907)   ms
Size: Unknown

Alvaro S. Krotz was an inventor, designer, engineer and auto builder who took out over a hundred automotive patents from 1897 onward, including the first threaded or "mutilated" tread tire. He built a couple of electric cars in 1898-1899 and a gasoline powered car in 1900.

The Krotz Electric motor car was produced in small numbers by the Krotz Manufacturing Company from 1903 but was unsuccessful and it was over in 1904. 

Alvaro Krotz continued to experiment with his motor car designs including a gasoline powered motor buggy. By 1906, Krotz was satisfied that he had a successful design. He completed and road tested his first motor buggy in September 1907. During this period, it appears that Krontz was approached by Robert E. Wood, president of the Sears-Roebuck company to design and produce a simple gasoline powered buggy for sale by mail order. Krotz continued to develop his motor buggy and built and sold twelve more buggies in 1908 before he received a contract with Sears-Roebuck in the fall of 1908 (see Sears). Krotz oversaw the production of the early Sears motor buggies, first in the Hercules Buggy plant in Evansville, Indiana. By late 1909, Sears had set up a production plant in Chicago and the Sears Motor Buggy was built there.

In the meantime, Krotz continued his experimentation work and designed a gas-electric buggy, which he took to Defiance, Ohio. The Krotz-Defiance Auto Buggy Company was established in early 1908 and the Krotz Gas-Electric was produced in small numbers until 1911.

Emblems

The Krotz Electric car built in 1903 and 1904 would not have carried an emblem but may have displayed the Krotz name on a small makers plate or serial plate attached to the body of the vehicle or under the driver's seat.

The gasoline motor buggies produced by Krotz in 1907 and 1908 before producing motor buggies for Sears-Roebuck may have carried a Krotz nameplate but there is no evidence to confirm this, The Krotz nameplate shown above at the top of this post was specially made during the restoration of a very early Krotz motor buggy, believed to be the second prototype motor buggy built by Krotz, and is not original. An original Krotz nameplate, if one could be found, would be ultra rare.

I do not know if there was a nameplate used for the Krotz Gas-Electric Buggy built in Defiance, Ohio. If you have any details about such a nameplate, please let me know, in order to update this post.