History
The company was founded in 1920 in Dresden, Germany as ROTAX-WERK AG. In 1930 it was taken over by Fichtel & Sachs and transferred its operations to Schweinfurt, Germany. Operations were moved to Wels, Austria in 1943 and finally to Gunskirchen, Austria in 1947. In 1959, the majority of Rotax shares were taken over by the Vienna-based Lohner-Werke, a manufacturer of car and railway wagon bodies. In 1970 Lohner-Rotax was bought by Bombardier Inc. The former Bombardier branch, Bombardier Recreational Products, now an independent company, uses Rotax engines in its motorcycles, personal water craft, and snowmobiles.
The company constructed only two-stroke engines until 1982, when it started building four-stroke engines and aircraft engines. Other important dates include 1962, when a Rotax engine was first installed in a snowmobile and 1989, when Rotax received FAA Type Certification for its Model 912 A aircraft engine.
In 2008, Rotax started manufacturing the 1,125 cc Helicon liquid-cooled, four-stroke, fuel-injected 72° V-twin for the Buell Motorcycle Company.
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