ECKERT & ZIEGLER GmbH developed the very first injection molding machine that could work on large scale in 1926. They were located in Cologne, Germany and they produced many different kind of products using the injection molding technique. ECKERT & ZIEGLER cooperated in the early 1940's with BASF who wanted to experiment with a newly developed plastic component. The result was the E&Z Split Window Beetle. For ECKERT & ZIEGLER it was a promotional item to show what could be made with the ECKERT & ZIEGLER machines.
The very first plastic VW Beetle with solid windows and details of front and rear hoods, taillights, headlights, air louvers and bumpers. Oversized black plastic wheels with company lettering and plastic chassis, also with company lettering (sometimes also seen without company lettering), glued to the body. PRÄMETA used this form for their diecast VW released in the late 1940s. ECKERT & ZIEGLER and PRÄMETA used to be neighboring companies in Cologne, Germany. That might explain why PRÄMETA could use the ECKERT & ZIEGLER molds.
