Lotz steam engine. 19th-century illustration of the steam engine-powered vehicle developed in Nantes by French engineer Alphonse Lotz-Brissonneau (1840-1921). Born Alphonse Lotz, he first worked for his father in the company Renaud and Lotz, before joining the company of his future father-in-law Mathurin Brissonneau in 1863. The company became Brissonneau and Lotz in 1878. The Lotz family had made steam engines and steam-powered agricultural machines and locomotives since 1849. Artwork published in 1867.