REITHOFFER, Johann Nepomuk
* 13. 4. 1781, Valtice, Czech Republic
† 6. 5. 1872, Vienna, Austria
Industrialist and inventor
R. was taught tailoring by his father and after that travelled various parts of Europe until 1805. For two years he held an assistant job in Mikulov but soon attained his independence and began with the attempts to produce waterproof materials. He became enthusiastic about this idea, while attending chemistry lectures in Paris. In 1824 he was granted a privilege for the wool processing, result of which was waterproof wool. The same year he sold his tailor workshop and moved to Vienna. Here he performed rubber experiments and was granted a second privilege for the production of impermeable shoes and boots in 1827. In 1828 R, obtained a patent for the invention of elastic spring ropes. Further patents were obtained for the production of rubber corset in 1830 and for the production of rubber fabric in 1833. In 1831 he founded the first factory for the production of rubberised material on the Continent and relocated it from Vienna to Wimpassing (Lower Austria) in 1852. The following year, R. handed over the company to his son. Around 1870 the factory for rubber products and gutta-percha products employed around 800 people who weekly produced 15,000 pairs of impermeable shoes, 120 000 combs and 500 impermeable coats and wings. In 1923 Wilhelm R. († 1923), the son of Johann Nepomuk, managed to join all eleven rubber products factories in Austria (Semperit). His brother Josef R. (1796-1858) founded a rubber factory in Vienna in 1832 called “Josef Reithoffers and sons”. His sons Robert († 1898), Gustav († 1918) and Moriz († 1915) relocated it to Steyr in 1865. The factory was shut down in 1931.
