Sugar factory ltd Veliki-Beckerek
Nagybecskerek Cukorgyár Részvénytársaság (between 1910 and 1920 Délmagyarországi Cukoripar Részvénytársaság, from 1920 Veliki Bečkerek Cukorgyár Részvénytársaság) was a sugar factory that existed since 1910, and after 1920, under the Treaty of Trianon, it was abroad, but always under the ownership of the Hungarian Calculation and Exchange Bank. The company was founded by Count Sándor Csekonics, who was its chairman from the very beginning. The main activity of the factory was the production of raw and refined sugar, which was highly successful among other sugar factories in Yugoslavia.
To ensure the production of beet, the Austrian Länderbank, which initiated the establishment of the factory, reserved 450 acres of land from the town of Nagybecskerek and a further 51 acres for the factory to be built. The company has also asked the city of Nagybecskerek to grant it a tax concession for 15 years. The mayor granted most of the latter requests (additional municipal tax, etc.) and purchased the land for 100,000 crowns and borrowed the necessary funds from the Hungarian Settlement and Exchange Bank in order to set up the factory. In this context, the Hungarian Settlement and Exchange Bank, which later became the majority shareholder in the South Hungarian Sugar Industry Joint Stock Company, also participated in the establishment of the sugar factory joint stock company, which had a total share capital of 3 million crowns. Construction of the factory started in early September 1910.
Although railway traffic had already started in Nagybecskerek in 1898, after the construction and commissioning of the factory, the locomotive and wagon fleet had to be expanded in the first half of the 1910s due to increased industrial and passenger traffic. The railway through the estate of Count Sándor Csekonics made it possible to transport sugar beet directly from other railway stations or from the harbour.
The sugar factory was already successful in its early years, with profits varying in the 1910s as follows:
- 1912: 253 497 K
- 1913: 358 454 K
- 1914: no data
- 1915: 699 297 K
- 1916: 292 757 K
- 1917: no data
- 1918: 812 697 K
- 1919: 1 168 404 K
- 1920: 2 040 821 K
- 1921: 2 330 072 K
The Hungarian Counting and Exchange Bank acquired the majority of the shares in 1917. However, the First World War and the Treaty of Trianon had a negative impact on the profits of the joint-stock company: if we convert the profits to gold equivalents taking into account the inflation of the koruna (20 francs or the equivalent of 8 forints), the profits of the Veliki-Bečkerek Sugar Factory Joint-Stock Company, which was a foreign company from 1920, decrease. However, the fact that in 1922 the eight Yugoslav sugar factories were able to process at least 80,000 wagons of sugar beet a year, of which the Veliki-Bečkerek Sugar Factory Joint Stock Company accounted for some 12,000 wagons, is an indication of the efficiency of production in this period.
The change in the profit of the joint-stock company in crowns and gold forints, which is the real value.
The plant enjoyed a relatively favourable situation in the 1930s, despite the economic crisis, and by the second half of the decade, in the early 1940s, it had fully recovered from its difficulties. Because of the 'disposal difficulties' caused by the Great Depression, the sugar factory achieved a lower turnover than in 1929, when it produced no sugar for export. The crisis on the world market also contributed to the cautious attitude of the bank's management. Moreover, there was a fall not only in production but also in the price of sugar sold. In the year 1932-1933, the lower sugar content of sugar beet compared with the previous year and the fall in sugar consumption led to a reduction in profits compared with the previous year. In 1935, the Economic Newspaper reported in detail on the changes in the factory's shares, stating that "in addition to the securities whose prices show major upward or downward fluctuations, it is worth looking at a share whose most characteristic feature is its price stability."
The paper attributed the stable share price performance mainly to the supervision of the company's patron banking institution and its major shareholder, the Hungarian Clearing and Settlement Bank. The majority-owned bank, however, justified this activity by the fact that it had transferred part of the shares to the Swiss Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, which it wanted to impress with the favourable performance of the shares, and, it is important to point out, that foreigners had very limited opportunities to participate in the Budapest stock exchange at that time, and Hungarians were less keen on shares in companies in the successor states, seeking to exchange them for domestic shares. Lastly, the outstanding care for stability can also be explained by the weaker position of the Yugoslav sugar industry compared to the Hungarian one. Although accumulated stocks there were also successfully eliminated or reduced by limiting production, they could not be used as effectively as in Hungary to protect themselves against the catastrophic price falls on the world market. Whereas in Hungary, price-fixing and cartelisation were not the only possibilities, in Yugoslavia the anti-cartel laws prohibited sugar factories from selling their production through a joint agency.
The joint stock company tried to make up for the losses by "rationalising" the plant accordingly, by introducing austerity measures and thus reducing production costs. As a result, the company managed to overcome the economic crisis: in the year 1937-1938, the joint-stock sugar factory processed 11 460 wagons of sugar beet, achieving the highest production among Yugoslav sugar factories. After the Second World War, the factory was reintegrated into Yugoslavia and was nationalised, and remained in production until 2006, when it closed for good.
Sources
Ferenc Felek: The history of the Nagybecskerek-Zsombolya railway in a nutshell. Zsyssobolskiy Szsyssobolyzska: the history of the Szsyssobolska Sombysky Railway Lines in Nagyskoysskoye, 2018.
Economic, financial and stock market compass 1925-1944.
Great Hungarian Compass 1890-1922.
Press material 1872-1944.
Journal of Towns 1910.
Founded in 1910
Termination time not set
Founders: Hungarian Clearing and Settlement Bank
Securities issued:
| Sugar factory ltd Veliki-Beckerek |
Decisive leaders:
1912-1944 | Count Sándor Csekonics |
Principal activity: production of raw sugar and finished sugar products
Main products are not set
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: Róbert Szabó
Founded in 1910
Founders: Hungarian Clearing and Settlement Bank
Decisive leaders:
1912-1944 | Count Sándor Csekonics |
Principal activity: production of raw sugar and finished sugar products
Main products are not set
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: Róbert Szabó
Sugar factory ltd Veliki-Beckerek
Nagybecskerek Cukorgyár Részvénytársaság (between 1910 and 1920 Délmagyarországi Cukoripar Részvénytársaság, from 1920 Veliki Bečkerek Cukorgyár Részvénytársaság) was a sugar factory that existed since 1910, and after 1920, under the Treaty of Trianon, it was abroad, but always under the ownership of the Hungarian Calculation and Exchange Bank. The company was founded by Count Sándor Csekonics, who was its chairman from the very beginning. The main activity of the factory was the production of raw and refined sugar, which was highly successful among other sugar factories in Yugoslavia.
To ensure the production of beet, the Austrian Länderbank, which initiated the establishment of the factory, reserved 450 acres of land from the town of Nagybecskerek and a further 51 acres for the factory to be built. The company has also asked the city of Nagybecskerek to grant it a tax concession for 15 years. The mayor granted most of the latter requests (additional municipal tax, etc.) and purchased the land for 100,000 crowns and borrowed the necessary funds from the Hungarian Settlement and Exchange Bank in order to set up the factory. In this context, the Hungarian Settlement and Exchange Bank, which later became the majority shareholder in the South Hungarian Sugar Industry Joint Stock Company, also participated in the establishment of the sugar factory joint stock company, which had a total share capital of 3 million crowns. Construction of the factory started in early September 1910.
Although railway traffic had already started in Nagybecskerek in 1898, after the construction and commissioning of the factory, the locomotive and wagon fleet had to be expanded in the first half of the 1910s due to increased industrial and passenger traffic. The railway through the estate of Count Sándor Csekonics made it possible to transport sugar beet directly from other railway stations or from the harbour.
The sugar factory was already successful in its early years, with profits varying in the 1910s as follows:
- 1912: 253 497 K
- 1913: 358 454 K
- 1914: no data
- 1915: 699 297 K
- 1916: 292 757 K
- 1917: no data
- 1918: 812 697 K
- 1919: 1 168 404 K
- 1920: 2 040 821 K
- 1921: 2 330 072 K
The Hungarian Counting and Exchange Bank acquired the majority of the shares in 1917. However, the First World War and the Treaty of Trianon had a negative impact on the profits of the joint-stock company: if we convert the profits to gold equivalents taking into account the inflation of the koruna (20 francs or the equivalent of 8 forints), the profits of the Veliki-Bečkerek Sugar Factory Joint-Stock Company, which was a foreign company from 1920, decrease. However, the fact that in 1922 the eight Yugoslav sugar factories were able to process at least 80,000 wagons of sugar beet a year, of which the Veliki-Bečkerek Sugar Factory Joint Stock Company accounted for some 12,000 wagons, is an indication of the efficiency of production in this period.
The change in the profit of the joint-stock company in crowns and gold forints, which is the real value.
The plant enjoyed a relatively favourable situation in the 1930s, despite the economic crisis, and by the second half of the decade, in the early 1940s, it had fully recovered from its difficulties. Because of the 'disposal difficulties' caused by the Great Depression, the sugar factory achieved a lower turnover than in 1929, when it produced no sugar for export. The crisis on the world market also contributed to the cautious attitude of the bank's management. Moreover, there was a fall not only in production but also in the price of sugar sold. In the year 1932-1933, the lower sugar content of sugar beet compared with the previous year and the fall in sugar consumption led to a reduction in profits compared with the previous year. In 1935, the Economic Newspaper reported in detail on the changes in the factory's shares, stating that "in addition to the securities whose prices show major upward or downward fluctuations, it is worth looking at a share whose most characteristic feature is its price stability."
The paper attributed the stable share price performance mainly to the supervision of the company's patron banking institution and its major shareholder, the Hungarian Clearing and Settlement Bank. The majority-owned bank, however, justified this activity by the fact that it had transferred part of the shares to the Swiss Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, which it wanted to impress with the favourable performance of the shares, and, it is important to point out, that foreigners had very limited opportunities to participate in the Budapest stock exchange at that time, and Hungarians were less keen on shares in companies in the successor states, seeking to exchange them for domestic shares. Lastly, the outstanding care for stability can also be explained by the weaker position of the Yugoslav sugar industry compared to the Hungarian one. Although accumulated stocks there were also successfully eliminated or reduced by limiting production, they could not be used as effectively as in Hungary to protect themselves against the catastrophic price falls on the world market. Whereas in Hungary, price-fixing and cartelisation were not the only possibilities, in Yugoslavia the anti-cartel laws prohibited sugar factories from selling their production through a joint agency.
The joint stock company tried to make up for the losses by "rationalising" the plant accordingly, by introducing austerity measures and thus reducing production costs. As a result, the company managed to overcome the economic crisis: in the year 1937-1938, the joint-stock sugar factory processed 11 460 wagons of sugar beet, achieving the highest production among Yugoslav sugar factories. After the Second World War, the factory was reintegrated into Yugoslavia and was nationalised, and remained in production until 2006, when it closed for good.
Sources
Ferenc Felek: The history of the Nagybecskerek-Zsombolya railway in a nutshell. Zsyssobolskiy Szsyssobolyzska: the history of the Szsyssobolska Sombysky Railway Lines in Nagyskoysskoye, 2018.
Economic, financial and stock market compass 1925-1944.
Great Hungarian Compass 1890-1922.
Press material 1872-1944.
Journal of Towns 1910.