Michael Kunz, manager global indirect material at Liebherr-Hausgeräte Ochsenhausen GmbH (Germany)
Mr Kunz, you – and a number of other Liebherr employees – have dreamt for many years that you would one day see the L 319 back on the road. How did this come about and what does the replica mean to you personally?
Michael Kunz: The story of the L 319 has always fascinated me to no end. I have a passion for collecting historical appliances and objects from the Liebherr refrigerator and freezer range, so I would occasionally entertain the notion of buying one of the old vehicles that Liebherr used as mobile shop windows back in the day – but that was beyond my financial means. This year, a unique opportunity presented itself. The IFA trade show in Berlin is the most important event for our product segment and 2024 marks three different anniversaries: 100 years of IFA, 75 years of Liebherr and 70 years of Liebherr refrigerators and freezers. To mark the occasion, we devoted a large section of the stand to a historical display. It was the perfect time to create a replica of the historical shop window on wheels. As the trade show services are organised by the strategic purchasing department, I was able to get directly involved. It was a real labour of love for me, and I am delighted that we were able to make it happen.
A project such as this certainly requires a great deal of planning and organisation. Did you encounter any particular challenges?
Michael Kunz: Initially, we took the approach of implementing the project within the overall context of the IFA trade show construction. For the purposes of the trade show, we planned to just refurbish the exterior of a less than ideal vehicle. But we soon realised that implementing the project in the classic car restoration sector would be more expedient. This was within a comparable cost framework and even led to us having a fully functional and registered vehicle, which can continue to be exhibited or go on tour even after the IFA. One challenge we set ourselves was to keep the replica as close as possible to the original. This was particularly difficult at the beginning, as we had very few photos of the L 319. It was only thanks to the intensive and extensive support of Hansjörg Steinhorst from the Liebherr Group archive that we were able to put the individual pieces of the puzzle together one by one to achieve a faithful restoration – including, for example, the exact colour from back then. Incidentally, Mr Steinhorst came across something interesting during his research: back then, the lettering on vehicles was still applied by hand. On a photo showing the logo on the passenger side, you could make out a small mistake: instead of ‘Ochsenhausen’ it said ‘Ochsennausen’, with an 'n’ rather than an 'h'. Whether anyone noticed or fixed this error at the time, we’ll probably never know. Nevertheless, we preserved this little snapshot of history by having Werner Dreyer Kfz GmbH create a magnetic board with this spelling mistake – it can be easily attached and removed at the spot in question.
Given that everyone involved was so passionate about this project, selecting a suitable partner to achieve this must have been a decisive factor. Why did you choose Werner Dreyer Kfz GmbH?
Michael Kunz: During our search for a suitable vehicle for the replica, we inevitably came across Werner Dreyer Kfz GmbH, a Mercedes-Benz Classic workshop. With their huge stock of spare parts and a vast number of beautifully restored vintage trucks, we quickly realised that we had found the ideal candidate for our project. Thanks to their excellent connections on the market for vehicles from the 319 series, Mr Dreyer and his team were able to quickly track down a suitable model in Finland – a former radio car from an airfield, built in 1963, with little rust, low mileage and a 68 hp petrol engine. When we visited Mr Dreyer and his team on site, we found ourselves literally inside the L 319 less than three minutes after they shook our hands. We studied the pictures together and discussed the most appropriate design; their passion for and expertise in vintage Mercedes trucks was clear right from the start. When Mr Dreyer opened his ‘treasure trove’ to us at the end of the day – a massive 6,000 square metre building that houses a wealth of classic car bodies and over 50,000 spare parts – we knew once and for all that we were in the very best hands with this project.
On board the replica are several historical refrigerators and freezers, which the L 319 exhibited on its tours back in the day. Which models are they, and where did you find the vintage pieces?
Michael Kunz: Every now and then, a historical appliance finds its way back to our production site in Ochsenhausen. Some colleagues with a love of nostalgia manage a small storage facility there with historical models. As there were not enough suitable appliances in stock, I was delighted to be able to contribute two appliances from my private collection to this wonderful project. The historical models in the L 319 include the types KT (refrigerator with table top) and KS (refrigerator) from the 1962/63 refrigerator programme. At the back of the shop window is a KS 200, the top-of-the-range model at the time. Thanks to its large freezer compartment, this tall appliance offers plenty of usable space. Design was also of great importance at that time and the products impressed with glass floors or shelves with decorative mouldings and various design elements, for example. So Liebherr was at home in the premium segment from day one; and it lived up to its slogan at the time – ‘One of the best!’ (‘Einer der Besten!’). Werner Dreyer Kfz GmbH has also completely overhauled all the refrigerators and freezers on display. These were completely dismantled, thoroughly cleaned, repainted and given fresh lettering, logos and nameplates. The biggest challenge during the refurbishment was the door seals, which had become porous over the decades and couldn’t be salvaged.
Our final question is to ask what the response has been to the replica of the mobile shop window, and what goes through your mind when you see the ‘new old’ L 319?
Michael Kunz: I am thrilled with the result – looking at the ‘new old’ L 319 takes you straight back to the 1960s. It was very important to us that we retained its authenticity; we only made changes where we absolutely had to for it to be road legal. Werner Dreyer Kfz GmbH did an excellent job with the restoration, and my colleagues were just as enthusiastic as the visitors to the IFA, where the L 319 was a real crowd-puller. Since we presented the replica to the public for the first time, we have received numerous requests for further appearances at trade shows, press conferences and other events. This vehicle is a wonderful way of bringing the successful history of Liebherr refrigerators and freezers to life and I am certain that the L 319 will make many more appearances in the future.