In place of a factory making machines for the ceramic industry, an extensive centre dedicated to vintage car enthusiasts: this is what has happened at Riedhammer in Nuremburg.
Peter Riedhammer, President of this German company, gives us the story behind this unusual transformation: “Two years ago we stopped production and were left with this enormous building, which, given its historical importance, could not be demolished. So I started thinking about what could be done with all this empty space, how to reconvert it . and the idea of a vintage car centre immediately felt like a good one”. An idea that is, perhaps, not too surprising if you bear in mind that motor vehicles are one of Peter Riedhammer’s passions. Hence the establishment of “Ofenwerk”, the motor car centre inaugurated last March.
The complex where Riedhammer once produced plants for the ceramic industry, still home to the design and logistics offices, is a fine old industrial building constructed back in the 1920s: now, almost all the areas that had remained empty have been rented out to dealers of cars and motorcycles - both vintage and modern - and motor clubs, repairers, restorers and shops. Individuals have also rented space to store their vehicles when not in use. And that’s not all; at “Ofenwerk” shows, events and auctions are also organised. “We are the only centre for vintage cars in Southern Germany”, says Peter Riedhammer, “and by the end of 2006 I hope to have rented all spaces”.