Friedrich Kleeman, who owned a glassware company, the Rex Tin Glass Co of Bad Homburg, Germany, purchased a local engine company Columbus-Motorenbau AG of Oberursel (Flugmotorenwerke Oberursel until 1918) and became the majority shareholder.
1920. Early success: Friedrich's son, Fritz Kleemann, installed the „Gnom“ auxiliary motor with 63 cc and one horsepower on prefabricated bicycle frames.
![[img]](/file/horex_columbia/img_1.jpg)
1923. Sports-minded manager: Using the letters HO, an abbreviation for Bad Homburg, and REX, the name of his father's glass jar company, 24-year-old founder Fritz Kleemann created a name for his enterprise: HOREX Fahrzeugbau AG. The first sport models were introduced at the end of 1923. Kleemann placed his trust in the 248 cc Columbus engine developed by the ingenious aircraft engine designer Edward Freise. The motorcycle chassis was built by the machine factory Stein. Victories in a number of racing events demonstrated the potential of the first HOREX model and the company soon started manufacturing its own motorcycle frames.
1925. Consolidation: Columbus and HOREX merged. The motorcycles were sold under the HOREX name. With a break during WW2, Horex motorcycles ran until 1957 when the company was taken over by Daimler-Benz.