Tungsram

Tungsram
Industry Lighting
Founded 1896
Headquarters Budapest, Hungary
Key people
 Jörg Bauer
Revenue Approximately 300 million (Fiscal Year 2017)
Number of employees
 Approximately 40,000 (end of February 2018)
Website www.tungsram.com

Tungsram is one of Hungary's largest, oldest, and internationally most prestigious firms, known for light bulbs and electronics. Established in Újpest (today part of Budapest, Hungary) in 1896, it initially produced telephones, wires and switchboards. The name "Tungsram" is a portmanteau of "tungsten" /ˈtʌŋstən/ and "wolfram" /ˈwʊlfrəm/ (the two common names of the metal used for making light bulb filaments).

History

On 13 December 1904, Hungarian Sándor Just and Croatian Franjo Hanaman were granted Hungarian patent no. 34541 for the world's first tungsten filament bulb that lasted longer and produced brighter light than a carbon filament. The co-inventors licensed their patent to the company, which came to be named Tungsram after the eponymous tungsten incandescent bulbs, which are still called Tungsram bulbs in many European countries. In 1934, Tungsram incorporated a patent by Imre Bródy for bulbs filled with krypton gas, providing for longer bulb lifetime. During World War I mass production of radio tubes began and became the most profitable division of the company.[1]

British Tungsram Radio Works was a subsidiary of Hungarian Tungsram in pre-war days.

In 1990, General Electric acquired a majority stake in Tungsram and over six years invested $600 million in the venture, thoroughly restructuring every aspect of its operations. To date, this has been the largest manufacturing investment by a U.S. firm in Central and Eastern Europe.[2] Tungsram is today a subsidiary of General Electric and the name is merely retained as a brand.

As of February 2018, the CEO of GE Hungary, Jörg Bauer agreed to buy GEʼs lighting business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, as well as its global automotive lighting business. The business continues to operate again under the name Tungsram Group.[3]

Famous engineers and inventors

Zoltán Bay
(1900-1992)		Imre Bródy
(1891-1944)		Ernő Winter
(1897-1971)		György Szigeti
(1905-1978)		Tivadar Millner
(1899-1988)		Egon Orowan
(1902 – 1989)		Michael Polanyi
(1891 – 1976)		Dennis Gabor
(1900 – 1979)		Pál Selényi
(1884 - 1954)		Franjo Hanaman
(1878-1941)		Sándor Just
(1874-1937)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Károly Jeney; Ferenc Gáspár; English translator:Erwin Dunay (1990). The History of Tungsram 1896-1945 (PDF). Tungsram Rt. p. 11. ISBN 978-3-939197-29-4.
  2. ↑ http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/janfeb97/art9.htm
  3. ↑ Company of former GE Hungary head to buy GE Lighting EMEA - Budapest Business Journal - February 15, 2018
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