was roughly equal to that of the previous series. Only 84 examples of the Type 235 were built. Delahaye's main competitor, Hotchkiss, negotiated a licensing agreement with Kaiser-Willys Motors, and obtained sanction to manufacture its Willys MB 'Jeep' in France. The French army began to appreciate the simpler machine, available at a much lower price, and cancelled the contract for the more sophisticated Delahaye VLR. In August 1953, the company laid off more than 200 employees. A merger was discussed with Hotchkiss, which was facing similar problems. On 19 March 1954, an agreement was signed by Delahaye president Pierre Peigney and Hotchkiss president Paul Richard. Less than three months later, on 9 June, Delahaye shareholders accepted a takeover of Delahaye by Hotchkiss, after which Hotchkiss shut down Delahaye car production. By the end of 1954, after a brief period selling trucks with the Hotchkiss-Delahaye nameplate, the combined firm was itself taken over by Brandt. By 1956, the brands Delahaye, Delage, and Hotchkiss were no longer in use. Ownership and administration Emile Delahaye, a successful Tours foundry and machine works owner, built his first car in 1894. By 1898, the demand required that he expand facilities and obtain investment capital. Emile Delahaye agreed to partner equally with coppersmith business owners and brothers-in-law, Leon Desmarais and George Morane. The arrangement was duly incorporated in 1898, and car assembly was moved to the vacant Paris factory owned by the incoming partners. When Delahaye retired in 1901, from failing health, he sold his shares to his partners, with Desmarais purchasing more, thus gaining a majority. As the Desmarais and Morane families were connected by marriage, Delahaye was a family-owned business, from 1901 until its takeover by Hotchkiss in 1954. The board of directors was composed of the shareholders, plus their appointed manager of operations, Charles Weiffenbach, as chief executive officer. Emile Delahaye had been the company's president, its sole engineer, and the administrator, until his retirement. In 1898, Delahaye hired Weiffenbach as his managerial assistant; and, Amédée Varlet as the company's design engineer. Both men were qualified mechanical engineers, with differing talents, and both stayed with the company for their entire career. Weiffenbach became the operations manager in 1906, while Varlet focused on technical engineering advancements and technical manufacturing advances. In 1932, 42-year-old Jean Francois was hired as chief design-engineer. Amadee Varlet was promoted to head up the new drawing office, and set up