Disch, Hubert Anton

Shipowner, manufacturer, merchant

Born: 25.10.1821 in Rees near Düsseldorf

died: 06.12.1891 in Mainz

Trained as a river boatman, Disch worked as a captain for the Düsseldorf passenger boat company from 1847-55.

In 1855, he set up his own business and ran a coal trading company on the present-day site of the cellulose factory in Kostheim. He had his own ships transport coal from the Ruhr area to Kostheim, where he had the cargo reloaded onto smaller ships on the Main.

From the end of the 1860s, contrary to the opinion of the experts, he focused on the construction and operation of iron, steam-powered ships, a pioneering idea for the time, which contributed significantly to the rise of the entire Rhine shipping industry. Later, three screw tugboats were added to his fleet. Until the opening of today's Theodor Heuss Bridge in 1885, his ships took over the ferry service between Mainz and Kastel. His expertise in shipbuilding and port construction was widely recognized; he founded company branches in Mannheim and Duisburg. In 1886, the Grand Duke of Hesse appointed him Kommerzienrat.

On June 1, 1885, Disch opened the Kostheimer Cellulosefabrik AG ("die Cellulose") in Kostheim. He also acquired his own mine for his coal trade and in 1887 incorporated all his companies into "AG für Handel und Schifffahrt A.H.D.". In 1891, Disch had the cellulose port dredged for iron ships and was thus able to transport the increased quantities of wood and coal as well as the finished products, paper and cellulose by water.