Heinrich Ludwig Friederichs founded his carriage manufacturing company in Frankfurt am Main in 1840. Carl Friederichs, the founder's son, took over the business in 1876. From 1900, his sons Heinrich and Rudolf Friederichs managed the company. Heinrich Friederichs received the first patent in Germany for a convertible body and also became purveyor to the court of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Until 1939, they built individual automobile bodies to order on chassis from Adler, Austro-Daimler-Benz, Daimler, Horch (Horch 600), LaSalle, Maybach, Mercedes, Packard, Peugeot and Steyr. The oldest Maybach still in running order is the 1926 Maybach W5, built by Friederichs! Friederichs still exists today and continues to operate under the name Carl Friederichs GmbH. They build new vehicles and are active in the accident repair of cars, trucks, buses and special vehicles. They produce cash transporters, police and ambulance vehicles, armored limousines, laboratory vehicles, fire engines, municipal vehicles and airfield vehicles.