Tungsram

Before 1920: One of the pioneers of the electrotechnical industry in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

The mother company of Tungsram’s predecessor, Mechanische Werkstätte und Telegraphen-Bauanstalt B. Egger, was founded by Béla Bernáth Egger, a mechanic from Óbuda (now part of Budapest) in Vienna in 1865. In 1882, the Egger brothers and Johann Kremenezky restructured the Viennese company and its Hungarian subsidiary - set up in 1872 -, into the Erste Österreichisch-Ungarische Fabrik für elektrische Beleuchtung und Kraftübertragung Egger, K. & Co.[1]

On August 1, 1896, aided by the Hungarian Commercial Bank of Pest and the Niederösterreichische Escompte Gesellschaft (NEG), Erste Österreichisch-ungarische was turned into a joint stock company under the name United Electrical Ltd. Tungsram considers this year its date of founding. The company’s name was changed to United Incandescent and Electrical Ltd. in 1906. In 1899, the Viennese factory was converted into a separate company under the name Vereinigte Elektrizitäts A.G. (VEAG). From the end of 1902, VEAG focused on heavy current technology, while the Hungarian company, today’s Tungsram, concentrated on low current technology and light bulb production.

Tungsram has been instrumental in the evolution of lighting technology starting with the development of tungsten filament incandescent lamps, which replaced the Edison-type carbon filament lamps. Tungsten filament incandescent lamps were based on a technology developed by Alexander Just and Franjo Hanaman, assistants at the Chemical Institute of the University of Vienna, from 1904. The brand name TUNGSRAM, a word play using the swedish word TUNGSten and the german word WolfRAM (which is also a name for tungsten), was registered in 1909, and was soon used interchangeably with United Incandescent and Electrical Ltd.

During World War I mass production of radio tubes began and became the most profitable division of the company.[2]

Interwar era: The Golden Years of Tungsram

From 1921 to 1944, under CEO Lipót Aschner, Tungsram became a vertically integrated producer of vacuum-technology mass products and grew into the third largest producer of light bulbs and radio valves in Europe (after Osram and Philips). Tungsram was a member of the well-known international lamp cartel Phoebus. Beyond Europe, Tungsram had a strong presence in Argentina, Uruguay, Egypt, South-Africa and the British Indies.

In 1928, Tungsram’s mechanical department was turned into Standard Electrical Ltd., owned by IT&T and Tungsram. Standard Electrical Ltd. built the equipment for the 120 kW radio station in Lakitelek, which broadcast high-quality radio transmission in Hungary from July 1, 1933. Tungsram sold its equity in the Hungarian Standard Electrical Ltd. in 1934. In 1931, Tungsram acquired the Kremenezky company in Vienna, including its daughter company, the Hungarian Tungsten Lamp Factory Johann Kremenezky Ltd., thereby eliminating its oldest competitor in Austria and Hungary. The acquisition complemented Tungsram’s radio valve production with radio set manufacturing (Orion trademark) and a substantial international sales network.

Hungarian physicist Zoltán Bay together with György Szigeti pre-empted LED lighting in Hungary in 1939 by patented a light emitting diode based on SiC, with an option on boron carbide, that emitted white, yellowish white, or greenish white depending on impurities present.[3]

Tungsram’s significant supply chain and commercial presence around the world were both necessities in a period of increased protectionism, as well as a facilitator of further growth. By the outbreak of WWII, Tungsram factories operated in nine countries (Austria, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, England and France).

Innovation was the key driving force behind Tungsram’s success, a creativity made possible by its laboratory set up in 1922. The lab was initially led by Ignác Pfeifer, professor of chemical technology at the Royal Joseph University (today: Budapest University of Technology and Economics) between 1912 and 1921. The institution’s leadership passed to Zoltán Bay, professor of theoretical physics at the University of Szeged between 1930 and 1936 and professor of nuclear physics between 1938 and 1948 at the Royal Joseph University of Technology and Economics (today: Budapest University of Technology and Economics). The great crystal tungsten wire (patented by Tivadar Millner and Pál Túry), incandescent lamps filled with krypton gas and the technology for extracting this rare inert gas from the air (invented by Imre Bródy and Michael Polányi), as well as various developments related to radio valves (Ernő Winter, György Dallos, Károly Czukor) are but a few of the most important innovations by the Tungsram Research Laboratory, along with such commercially unexploited ones as electrostatic picture recording and transmission (Pál Selényi).

During WWII, the development of air defense radars represented the most important technological advancement. The Soviet Red Army dismantled most of Tungsram’s production assets in 1945. On February 6, 1946 the Tungsram Research Laboratory team led by Zoltán Bay detected echoes of radar waves sent to the moon. Due to its expert signal integration technique, this achievement stands out even when compared to the similar, successful American experiment on January 10, 1946, as this technique represented pioneering research in radar astronomy.[4]

1945-1989: Tungsram in Socialist Hungary

In the late 1940s, Tungsram was cut off from its Western partners and lost many of its investments abroad. The company eventually found a way to re-establish its competitive position in the lighting industry. In the 1980s, it had a 5-7% market share in the Western European lamp market with a strong foothold in car lamp production. Tungsram rebuilt a part of its global sales and production network, supplied vacuum-technology production equipment and turn-key factories mostly for socialist and developing countries. Its product portfolio encompassed light sources and components, radio and TV-valves, X-ray and monitor tubes, electronics, microelectronics (semiconductors, transistors, floppy discs etc.) and, from 1983, in a joint venture with the Belgian Schréder, fixtures and lighting systems. In 1984, United Incandescent was renamed Tungsram Ltd.

1989-2018: Tungsram as Part of General Electric

In 1989, the already privatized Tungsram was sold by a consortium of banks to GE Lighting with the full acquisition taking place over a number of years. Given GE Lighting’s focus on North America and Tungsram’s strong foothold in Europe, Middle East and Africa, it was a complementary match. With considerable investments, GE modernized Tungsram and turned it into its sole producer in Europe. The Hungarian company’s experts worked closely with the US team on the development of a range of (compact fluorescent lamps, high-pressure sodium lamps, long-life energy efficient lamps etc.).[5]

Operations Since 2018: Tungsram on New Paths

Following the management buyout on April 3, 2018 from GE Lighting, Tungsram has ventured into new business areas.

The company continues to develop and produce a comprehensive range of light sources (using traditional and state-of-the-art technologies) such as HID, LFL, CFL, halogen and specialty lamps for indoor and outdoor installation. It is an established supplier of the global automotive industry and the spare parts market (aftermarket).

Tunsgram’s Solutions department delivers indoor and outdoor lighting projects from design to installation, including facility and asset management. As a technology solutions integrator, Tungsram provides Smart City Operating Systems with GIS. It uses lighting as an IoT infrastructure for indoor and outdoor positioning and navigation, parking systems or public transport information systems.

The Components and Advanced Materials department offers contract manufacturing of glass, ceramics, and special metal components; the services portfolio encompasses among others aviation-engine part repair (GE Aviation) and power repairs (GE Power).

Agritech delivers LED lighting systems for precision indoor farming, that is for greenhouses and vertical farms.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted innovation in using UV light for purification.

Tungsram initiated and participates in programs furthering the culture of innovation among young people (Tungsram Future Talent Program, Student Olympiad in Informatics) and supports innovative Hungarian startups and small and medium-sized companies (Reload Hungary Incubation Program, Innovation Marketplace).[6]