Today, AE Partner manufactures modern electrical control panels in a place shaped by more than 150 years of industrial history. Liepāja’s Trade Canal and Old Harbour have been home to manufacturing, technology and innovation for generations.
In the 19th century, timber traders and sawmills operated in the Old Harbour area. Logs were transported from the Bārta River through Lake Liepāja, processed in the city and exported to markets including France.
The arrival of the railway in Liepāja in 1871 accelerated the growth of industry and trade. In 1879, a railway bridge across the canal connected the port with the industrial area around what is now the AE Partner site.
In the 19th century, shipyards operated in the Old Harbour area, including the shipyard of Dimitrijs Dargevičs. Its sailing ships set out on long voyages, contributing to Liepāja’s development as an international port and industrial centre.
In 1883, production of perforated sheet metal and grain-cleaning machines began on Ganību Street. The small workshop, equipped with high-precision machinery, became one of the early examples of advanced manufacturing in the area.
In 1887, Engelbert Schulte transformed the workshop into a modern factory equipped with advanced metalworking machinery. Its trieurs gained international recognition, and around 3,000 were produced by 1909 for markets across Europe and the Russian Empire.
Engelbert Schulte’s factory was one of the most technologically advanced enterprises in Liepāja at the time. Already in the 1890s, it introduced acetylene gas lighting – an example of how innovation became an integral part of the company’s everyday operations.
