Join me on an excursion into the history of the Much company. From the founding of the company in 1886 to the present day.
Michael Much (the great-grandfather of the current company owner) founds the first contract carriage company in Bad Tölz in Lenggrieser Straße. In the same year, his son Michael Jr. is born.
The company headquarters is moved to Jungmayrplatz 28.
The growing demand requires the purchase of a second carriage.
Birth of the second son Hans.
Hans Much obtains his motor vehicle license at the age of 16 and founds the Auto Much company. The first automobile, a Gladiator with 40 hp, comes into use a short time later.c
The second automobile in Bad Tölz is also a Much: Hans' brother Michael transports passengers through the streets of the town in a Horch 10 with 24 horsepower.
The brothers Hans and Michael Much organize day trips to the Passion Play in Oberammergau.
The "chain-driven gasoline carriages" had to be oiled every 50 kilometers, and inclines could only be negotiated in reverse or with horses leading the way.
In the first world war all vehicles are lost. Also the Protos 10 with 45HP shown here. The company is destroyed.
Hans Much returns from war captivity and starts rebuilding the company - except for the bridge - the later Königsdorfer Straße
The first new acquisition after the war: an Audi 6-seater "open touring car" with folding top.
The fleet will be expanded with additional open touring vehicles.
Then as now: Much values well-maintained vehicles. The search for a new location with garages begins in order to better accommodate the cars.
According to a newspaper report, there are just 3 vehicles in Bad Tölz in 1923, when the first employee Sepp Brömauer is hired. He will work for Hans Much for an incredible 53 years.
The new home for the Muchs is found: a former residential building with stables and carriage house dating from 1790 on Königsdorfer Strasse, which was still called "Außer der Brücke" at the time, is occupied.
This is to be the Muchs' home for the next almost 80 years.
Expansion and new construction at the Königsdorfer Strasse site: the "Much Garages" that still exist today are built.
The company receives one of the first telephone connections in Bad Tölz with the two-digit number 53.c
Winter sports in Tölz - transfer to the Blomberg in the first buses. Hans Much thus enters the bus business and also becomes operator of the Tölz city bus.
The "Alpenexpress" excursion omnibus is put into service after joint development with Kässbohrer-Werke. At the time, Much and Kässbohrer had more in common than just business. The owners are close friends.c
At the beginning of World War II, the company transported passengers with 12 motor vehicles (including 6 buses) through the Bavarian Oberland, to Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
Hans Much is once again faced with the shards of his war-ravaged company.
The company buildings are taken over by the American occupation forces.
Difficulties with fuel and material supplies make reconstruction difficult.
While rebuilding his company, Hans Much becomes a father. His son Hans Jr. is born.
The company has completely restored its fleet of vehicles and with it the old capacity to transport passengers.
The expanding telephone network requires the extension of the telephone number by one digit from 153 to 653.
Despite two wars that forced Hans Much to start from scratch each time, the Hans Much transport company celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Bad Tölz's first ARAL service station opens at Much Garagen in Königsdorfer Straße.
After the death of his father, Hans Much, Jr., acquires the first radio cab. Together with his wife Katharina, he thus turns the transport company into the first cab business with its own headquarters in Bad Tölz.
Funk-Taxi Much - the first cab call number! Passengers no longer had to wait at the cab rank for a cab to arrive - they could simply call and the next cab was ordered to the customer via radio. A brand new Mercedes /8 completed the fleet. The very first cab signs in the county are mounted on the vehicles.
The rental car companies of the time were standing on their heads!
The number of telephone connections in Bad Tölz continues to rise, making it necessary to change the telephone number once again: 653 becomes 9653.
More cabs with radios are purchased. The cabs now also have illuminated cab roof signs!
At the beginning of the 70s, the service is expanded to include night service. From now on, Funk-Taxi Much is available around the clock. Michael Much, today's owner of the Much group of companies, sees the light of day in August 1971. Already at the age of 3 he operates the cab radio, takes the calls and passes them on via radio.
Five cabs and the Tölz city bus are on the roads across the spa town. The first cab vehicles are replaced by modern Mercedes-Benz W123. This photo shows the siblings Gabi and Michael Much in front of one of the W123 cabs.
The new, catchy cab number 1212 is introduced. Everyone can remember it!
Further concessions and vehicles are added. Bad Tölz experiences its heyday as a spa town. The spa guests are taken from the train station by buses and minibuses to the clinics and spa buildings in the bathing area.
The last private Tölz city bus is still operated by the Much company until the late 1980s. Today, the Tölzer ÖPNV is operated by the RVO with high subsidies from the city of Bad Tölz.
The D-network for cell phones now also works in rural areas. Temporary forwarding of calls to the cab.
Hans and Katharina Much sell the cab business with 7 cabs and a 27-seater bus to their son Michael.
The great-grandson of the company founder thus takes over the management of the traditional company in the fourth generation.
In April of the same year, Michael Much founds a second company pillar: Auto Much Taxi Purchase and Sale. A success story begins.c
The office and sales of the vehicle dealership are located in the former omnibus hall at Much Garagen on Königsdorfer Straße, now the Tölzer Kasladen.
Space is gradually becoming scarce. With over 200 used cabs sold in Germany and other European countries, Auto Much is the largest supplier in this market.
The trade in used cab vehicles is bursting at the seams. A solution is needed: planning for the first cab car dealership and purchase of a commercial site at the former Flint barracks.
Lenggries calls for a reliable day and night cab! Despite an appeal from the innkeepers and clubs, no entrepreneur was willing to provide night service for little money and without a journey from Tölz.
Cab Much was. In August the concession is granted and Taxi Much opens its branch with telephone number 1212 for Lenggries.
The new building at Flinthöhe is completed. The first car dealership for cab vehicles is opened.
Relocation with cab company and vehicle dealership to Gewerbering 18 at the former Flint barracks.
In Lenggries, Taxi Much puts its second vehicle into service.
Auto Much launches the Taxitreff and welcomes customers from the cab industry from all over Germany. More than 200 visitors make the event a success.
Sales of now over 600 cab vehicles to more than 40 countries. Most of the vehicles come back into use in Germany. Auto Much, as the first specialist dealership for used cab vehicles, is the undisputed market leader.
The 2nd Taxitreff again attracts many visitors and customers.
Expansion of the cab company to 10 vehicles at the Bad Tölz headquarters.
The third Taxitreff welcomes almost all car manufacturers and supplier companies as exhibitors. The event has thus become a must-attend event for the cab industry. Several hundred visitors take part.
Cab Much introduces the first satellite-based cab switching system in southern Bavaria: Allocation of orders via GPS. Optimum capacity utilization - short journeys and minimum waiting time.
On the 100th anniversary of the first automobile in Bad Tölz, Taxi Much is the largest cab center in the Oberland with 12 of its own vehicles in Bad Tölz and Lenggries.
Over 120 years of company history and experience make solid. In the middle of probably the biggest economic crisis of the post-war period, new ideas and plans for the future and further development of the Much group of companies are born.
The name MUCH is registered on 23.10.2009 as a protected trademark in the fields of: Movement, transport and conveyance by land, sea and air. (Ref.: 30 2009 030 329)
Restructuring and realignment of the group of companies. The business areas are transformed into independent companies:
MUCH® Motion – www.muchmotion.com
MUCH® Autohaus GmbH – www.taxifahrzeuge.de
MUCH® Taxiunternehmen GmbH – www.taxi-much.de
MUCH® Immobilien - www.muchimmo.de
A new, uniform corporate identity is created. The "MUCH" brand is established. The contemporary appearance with professional external presentation will accompany the way into the future.
