Hungarian Asphalte Company Limited
After the reunification of Budapest, as Budapest united and began to become a world city, the roads were paved with the latest technology, asphalt. This was done in the 1870s by foreign monopoly companies at higher prices. Then, by the end of the decade, suitable raw materials for asphalt production were discovered in Hungary, and a group of Hungarian landlords formed the Magyar Asphalt Rt. in 1878. So basically, naturally occurring asphalt was still used for paving roads at that time, and later the technology reached the stage, with the advent of petroleum refineries, of using the artificial by-products of petroleum refining in asphalt production.
The initial capital of the company was 110 000 HUF at the time of its foundation, according to other sources it was 101 000 HUF. László Kovách from Visonta was the president of the company, and Dr. Géza Kemény, Miksa Hannover and István Popper were members of the board of directors. The company's registered office became Budapest.
The first period was particularly difficult for the company, because although they won several orders, in the international competition the more capital-strong foreign companies were able to compete better than the newly established Hungarian company. The situation was aggravated by the fact that in 1879 the company's factory in Felső-Derna, Bihor County, burnt down. Otherwise, the asphalt material found there was extremely rich. According to measurements taken at the time, the mined ore from the plants in Hanover, Switzerland and Italy contained only 6-12% of asphalt, while the asphalt in Felső-Derna contained 18-20%. It produced bitumen (pure asphalt), which was sold in drums; asphalt mastic, which was in fact a paving material for pavements and roads; and mineral asphalt resin, which was used as the purest asphalt to make black varnish (iron varnish) to replace Syrian asphalt; asphalt varnish, which was used to paint the hulls of ships and railway wagons, making them waterproof; and asphalt oil, which was sold as lubricating oil and wagon oil.
So in the 1880s the burnt-out factory had to be rebuilt, and although pavements and other paving works were delivered in the capitals of Budapest and Vienna, as well as in the cities of Eger, Arad, Győr, Zombor, Szeged, Bratislava, Debrecen, Kolozsvár, Marosvásárhely, the company was running at a loss. Between 1880 and 1887 the accumulated deficit exceeded 380 000 forints. The loss was also caused by the fact that the cities paid for the paving work over a period of 10-15 years, and the company had to cover its liquidity by issuing shares and loans. Thus, in 1888, the company was profitable for the first time with a share capital of 300 000 Frt, and the market seems to have favoured the company, as profits soon exceeded accumulated losses.
The emergence of new domestic asphalt plants also signalled the expansion of the market. asphalt roofing for factories, factories, factories, farms, farm buildings, etc.); real asphalt roofing (for preserving roofing slab roofs); red roofing; asphalt insulating sheets (for insulating foundation walls against moisture); bitumen (for paving sidewalks, driveways, yards, etc.); asphalt mastic, asphalt adhesive (for roofing slab edges), asphalt varnish (for painting machinery and metal). Miscellaneous greases, e.g.: hemp grease, twine rope grease, paracetamol (yellow and black), petroleum jelly, tool grease, gang saw grease, tooth tool grease, railway wagon grease, mine wagon grease. (c) Machine and lubricating oils: machine oil for large and small machines, cylinder oil, volcanic oil, compressed machine oil á wood torette, lion's grease (leather grease).
By this time, Magyar Aszfalt was more competitive, and by 1896, with a share capital of Frt 1 450 000, they had made a profit of Frt 261 073. By this time they owned the mine and factory in Upper Verde, a mastic factory in Mezőtelegd and another factory in Versec. The company was so confident of its competitiveness that in 1905 it bought out its biggest rival, Hazai Asphaltipar Rt. And in 1908, it increased its share capital to 5 800 000 crowns and established a factory in Arad and the Bihar Coal Mining and Electricity Ltd.
However, 1910 became a time when the company again ran into liquidity problems and by 1911 the losses had reached 2 950 000 crowns, and with the outbreak of war the deficit increased further, and by 1918 almost all the capital had been used up. Then came the inflation of the Crown and Trianon, which further aggravated the situation.
Finally, in 1924, the company was put on a new footing with a capital of P1 200 000. The increasing use of cars in the Horthy era increased the demand for asphalt roads and the company was again in a growth phase, raising the capital to P1 800 000 in 1927 and from then on generating a minimum annual profit of P550 000, which even during the Great Depression fell to only P300 000. The 1930s also brought satisfactory business to the company, which became loss-making again during the war.
After the war, like companies in general, Hungarian Asphalt could not avoid nationalization.On 4 February 1949, Palatinus Rt., Hungarian General Road Construction Rt., Hazai High- and Deep Construction Rt., Hungarian Asphalt Rt., Hirsch Mihály Rt, the OSZH Earthworkers' Department, Sándor Gimes, the widow of Lászlóné Hirsch, the Hungarian Economic and Small Railway Company and István Besnyői, formed the National Road and Railway Construction Company, which was split into the Asphalt Road Construction Company and the Concrete Road Construction Company on 1 January 1950.
Sources:
Hungarian Compass 1874-1944 | Arcanum Digital Library
https://adt.arcanum.com/hu/view/MagyarSzalon_11_06-2__1888-1889/
https://adt.arcanum.com/hu/view/AzAszfalt_1995
Film:
Film News Online / The new asphalting of the Hungarian Asphalt Ltd. (filmhiradokonline.hu)
Founded in 1878
Date of cessation: 1949
Founders are not set
Securities issued:
| Hungarian Asphalte Company Limited |
Decisive leaders:
1878-1895 | László Kovách from Visonta |
1896-1902 | Dr. Sándor Országh from Budavár |
1903-1927 | Dr. Sándor Matlekovits |
1928-1938 | Baron József Szterényi |
1939 | Dr. Géza Tormay |
1940 | Károly Ereky |
1941-1943 | Dr. Rudolf Andorka |
Main activity not set
Main products are not set
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: by Dr. Márton Pelles
Founded in 1878
Founders are not set
Decisive leaders:
1878-1895 | László Kovách from Visonta |
1896-1902 | Dr. Sándor Országh from Budavár |
1903-1927 | Dr. Sándor Matlekovits |
1928-1938 | Baron József Szterényi |
1939 | Dr. Géza Tormay |
1940 | Károly Ereky |
1941-1943 | Dr. Rudolf Andorka |
Main activity not set
Main products are not set
Seats are not configured
Locations are not set
Main milestones are not set
Author: by Dr. Márton Pelles
Hungarian Asphalte Company Limited
After the reunification of Budapest, as Budapest united and began to become a world city, the roads were paved with the latest technology, asphalt. This was done in the 1870s by foreign monopoly companies at higher prices. Then, by the end of the decade, suitable raw materials for asphalt production were discovered in Hungary, and a group of Hungarian landlords formed the Magyar Asphalt Rt. in 1878. So basically, naturally occurring asphalt was still used for paving roads at that time, and later the technology reached the stage, with the advent of petroleum refineries, of using the artificial by-products of petroleum refining in asphalt production.
The initial capital of the company was 110 000 HUF at the time of its foundation, according to other sources it was 101 000 HUF. László Kovách from Visonta was the president of the company, and Dr. Géza Kemény, Miksa Hannover and István Popper were members of the board of directors. The company's registered office became Budapest.
The first period was particularly difficult for the company, because although they won several orders, in the international competition the more capital-strong foreign companies were able to compete better than the newly established Hungarian company. The situation was aggravated by the fact that in 1879 the company's factory in Felső-Derna, Bihor County, burnt down. Otherwise, the asphalt material found there was extremely rich. According to measurements taken at the time, the mined ore from the plants in Hanover, Switzerland and Italy contained only 6-12% of asphalt, while the asphalt in Felső-Derna contained 18-20%. It produced bitumen (pure asphalt), which was sold in drums; asphalt mastic, which was in fact a paving material for pavements and roads; and mineral asphalt resin, which was used as the purest asphalt to make black varnish (iron varnish) to replace Syrian asphalt; asphalt varnish, which was used to paint the hulls of ships and railway wagons, making them waterproof; and asphalt oil, which was sold as lubricating oil and wagon oil.
So in the 1880s the burnt-out factory had to be rebuilt, and although pavements and other paving works were delivered in the capitals of Budapest and Vienna, as well as in the cities of Eger, Arad, Győr, Zombor, Szeged, Bratislava, Debrecen, Kolozsvár, Marosvásárhely, the company was running at a loss. Between 1880 and 1887 the accumulated deficit exceeded 380 000 forints. The loss was also caused by the fact that the cities paid for the paving work over a period of 10-15 years, and the company had to cover its liquidity by issuing shares and loans. Thus, in 1888, the company was profitable for the first time with a share capital of 300 000 Frt, and the market seems to have favoured the company, as profits soon exceeded accumulated losses.
The emergence of new domestic asphalt plants also signalled the expansion of the market. asphalt roofing for factories, factories, factories, farms, farm buildings, etc.); real asphalt roofing (for preserving roofing slab roofs); red roofing; asphalt insulating sheets (for insulating foundation walls against moisture); bitumen (for paving sidewalks, driveways, yards, etc.); asphalt mastic, asphalt adhesive (for roofing slab edges), asphalt varnish (for painting machinery and metal). Miscellaneous greases, e.g.: hemp grease, twine rope grease, paracetamol (yellow and black), petroleum jelly, tool grease, gang saw grease, tooth tool grease, railway wagon grease, mine wagon grease. (c) Machine and lubricating oils: machine oil for large and small machines, cylinder oil, volcanic oil, compressed machine oil á wood torette, lion's grease (leather grease).
By this time, Magyar Aszfalt was more competitive, and by 1896, with a share capital of Frt 1 450 000, they had made a profit of Frt 261 073. By this time they owned the mine and factory in Upper Verde, a mastic factory in Mezőtelegd and another factory in Versec. The company was so confident of its competitiveness that in 1905 it bought out its biggest rival, Hazai Asphaltipar Rt. And in 1908, it increased its share capital to 5 800 000 crowns and established a factory in Arad and the Bihar Coal Mining and Electricity Ltd.
However, 1910 became a time when the company again ran into liquidity problems and by 1911 the losses had reached 2 950 000 crowns, and with the outbreak of war the deficit increased further, and by 1918 almost all the capital had been used up. Then came the inflation of the Crown and Trianon, which further aggravated the situation.
Finally, in 1924, the company was put on a new footing with a capital of P1 200 000. The increasing use of cars in the Horthy era increased the demand for asphalt roads and the company was again in a growth phase, raising the capital to P1 800 000 in 1927 and from then on generating a minimum annual profit of P550 000, which even during the Great Depression fell to only P300 000. The 1930s also brought satisfactory business to the company, which became loss-making again during the war.
After the war, like companies in general, Hungarian Asphalt could not avoid nationalization.On 4 February 1949, Palatinus Rt., Hungarian General Road Construction Rt., Hazai High- and Deep Construction Rt., Hungarian Asphalt Rt., Hirsch Mihály Rt, the OSZH Earthworkers' Department, Sándor Gimes, the widow of Lászlóné Hirsch, the Hungarian Economic and Small Railway Company and István Besnyői, formed the National Road and Railway Construction Company, which was split into the Asphalt Road Construction Company and the Concrete Road Construction Company on 1 January 1950.
Sources:
Hungarian Compass 1874-1944 | Arcanum Digital Library
https://adt.arcanum.com/hu/view/MagyarSzalon_11_06-2__1888-1889/
https://adt.arcanum.com/hu/view/AzAszfalt_1995
Film:
Film News Online / The new asphalting of the Hungarian Asphalt Ltd. (filmhiradokonline.hu)