Hungarian cotton industry ltd
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, several foreign capitalists considered setting up a textile and cotton business in Hungary, but at the end of the planning phase, when they became aware of the skills of the Hungarian skilled workers, the market conditions and the lack of state support, they all backed out. This situation was eventually helped by the pro-industry economic policy of the 1880s, which led to the establishment of three textile factories in Hungary in 1882: the First Austrian Jute Weaving Factory, the carpet factory of Philip Haas and Sons and the First Hungarian Cotton Spinning Company of Újpest, under the leadership of British entrepreneur Roger Tatham.
The factory was inaugurated on 27 May 1883 with a capital of 600 000 forints. However, 1885 was a very difficult year for the cotton industry, and the newly established company could only produce for stock and not really sell. Therefore, the main shareholders got rid of their papers and essentially abandoned the company, which was eventually bought by the Magyar Országos Bank for HUF 170 000 and then sold on to the South German Cotton Industry Ltd. of Württemberg for HUF 150 000. Thus, on 14 January 1887, the Hungarian Cotton Industry Ltd. was founded with a share capital of 1,000,000 Frt, of which 990,000 Frt was in the hands of the German company, and the rest was held by Sándor Lederer, Péter Herzog of Bohemia and Count István Szapáry, President of the MOB. Emil Waibel, Tivadar Büchler and Frigyes Richter were all shareholders of the German company.
The initial years, however, did not bring the expected success, and even the establishment of the German company in Nógrád failed, so the factory in Újpest was finally sold in 1893 to the Spitzer Gerzson and Partners company, which was then no longer run by the founder, but by his nephews, members of the Weisz family, who were not identical with the Weisses of Csepel. In other words, from 1893 the company's board of directors consisted of Adolf Weisz, Leó Weisz (the former's son), Nándor Weisz, Géza Weisz, Dr. Ferenc Chorin. In the year 1894 they were forced to modernise the factory, which had deteriorated by then, and made a profit of nearly 100 000 Frt. For the reconstruction, the Hazai Bank Rt. was involved with a capital of 700 000 Frt, which belonged to the sphere of interest of Chorin and Hatvany Deutsch.
The plant became a successful company in this decade, employing 400-500 workers and with 500 horsepower of steam engine capacity. The average annual value of their production was 2-3 million forints, which represented 160-200 000 ends of fabric exported to Serbia, Bulgaria, Belgium, America and South Africa.
In the first decade of the 20th century, the company was taken over by Róbert Weisz, later Róbert Weisz of Szurda, and later Róbert Szurday. Since his parents died early, he was raised by his brothers, who inherited the family business and raised him from an early age to become a textile manufacturer, so he completed his higher education at the Mülhausen Textile School, and gained practical experience in European and American textile mills, but also visited the industry's ancestral homeland, China, Korea and Japan. But what made an important difference to the life of the factory later on was that he not only got to know the production, but also the workers, so that he could become a leader who was remembered with appreciation by the factory workers even during the communist era.
However, by the early 1900s, competition in the domestic textile market was so fierce that the factory in Újpest felt the need for change. Thus the company brought in the Laibach Baumwollspinnerei und Weberei company and its shareholders, as well as the Hungarian General Credit Bank, which increased the share capital to 3,250,000 crowns, and the board of directors to include Dr. Ágost Cavallor, Henrik Kuffler, Adolf Ullmann, Péter Galatti Knight, Vilmos Kratuseneck, Hugó Moller, Géza Weisz and Lipót Brunner.
This was followed by a reconstruction due to the plant burning down, and then an expansion in 1911, which meant that the company was now a factory with 30,000 spindles, 600 looms and 1,600 horsepower machines. Unfortunately, by the time the factory was up to full capacity, the cotton crisis arrived. The crisis was caused by two factors: the rise in the price of raw cotton on the world market and the collapse of the Balkan markets, which had shifted the domestic overproduction back to the Monarchy's market, as opposed to the export markets. As a result, the factory suffered heavy losses of millions of euros in the 1910s. And during the war, the entire industry was merged into one large company, partly to optimise war orders and partly to cope with the crisis, the National United Textile Works Ltd.
After Trianon, the company became the property of the Hungarian General Credit Bank, although still under the management of Szurday. Thus, in 1927, the company underwent another forced reconstruction, which resulted in a share capital of 6 360 000 pengo. The company made a high profit in the 1920s, averaging P 500-600 000 a year, and even after the 1929 crisis it made a profit of around P 300 000. The 1930s were uneventful for the plant, which through the Credit Bank absorbed a succession of smaller plants throughout the country. Thus came the Second World War and the subsequent nationalisations, which meant that the factory continued to operate as the Hungarian Cotton Industry National Company.
In 1989, the Hungarian Cotton Industry became a joint-stock company under the name Budaprint Újpesti Textilművek Rt., but with the loss of the KGST markets it eventually went bankrupt and was liquidated in 1994.
Sources:
Péter Hanák - Katalin Hanák (1964):History of the Hungarian Cotton Industry 1887-1962.
Founded in 1883
Date of cessation: 1994
Founders are not set
Securities issued:
| Hungarian cotton industry ltd |
Decisive leaders:
1922-1932 | Géza Kovács |
1932-1943 | Dr Tibor Scitovszky from Nagykéri |
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 1883
Founders are not set
Decisive leaders:
1922-1932 | Géza Kovács |
1932-1943 | Dr Tibor Scitovszky from Nagykéri |
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 cotton industry ltd
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, several foreign capitalists considered setting up a textile and cotton business in Hungary, but at the end of the planning phase, when they became aware of the skills of the Hungarian skilled workers, the market conditions and the lack of state support, they all backed out. This situation was eventually helped by the pro-industry economic policy of the 1880s, which led to the establishment of three textile factories in Hungary in 1882: the First Austrian Jute Weaving Factory, the carpet factory of Philip Haas and Sons and the First Hungarian Cotton Spinning Company of Újpest, under the leadership of British entrepreneur Roger Tatham.
The factory was inaugurated on 27 May 1883 with a capital of 600 000 forints. However, 1885 was a very difficult year for the cotton industry, and the newly established company could only produce for stock and not really sell. Therefore, the main shareholders got rid of their papers and essentially abandoned the company, which was eventually bought by the Magyar Országos Bank for HUF 170 000 and then sold on to the South German Cotton Industry Ltd. of Württemberg for HUF 150 000. Thus, on 14 January 1887, the Hungarian Cotton Industry Ltd. was founded with a share capital of 1,000,000 Frt, of which 990,000 Frt was in the hands of the German company, and the rest was held by Sándor Lederer, Péter Herzog of Bohemia and Count István Szapáry, President of the MOB. Emil Waibel, Tivadar Büchler and Frigyes Richter were all shareholders of the German company.
The initial years, however, did not bring the expected success, and even the establishment of the German company in Nógrád failed, so the factory in Újpest was finally sold in 1893 to the Spitzer Gerzson and Partners company, which was then no longer run by the founder, but by his nephews, members of the Weisz family, who were not identical with the Weisses of Csepel. In other words, from 1893 the company's board of directors consisted of Adolf Weisz, Leó Weisz (the former's son), Nándor Weisz, Géza Weisz, Dr. Ferenc Chorin. In the year 1894 they were forced to modernise the factory, which had deteriorated by then, and made a profit of nearly 100 000 Frt. For the reconstruction, the Hazai Bank Rt. was involved with a capital of 700 000 Frt, which belonged to the sphere of interest of Chorin and Hatvany Deutsch.
The plant became a successful company in this decade, employing 400-500 workers and with 500 horsepower of steam engine capacity. The average annual value of their production was 2-3 million forints, which represented 160-200 000 ends of fabric exported to Serbia, Bulgaria, Belgium, America and South Africa.
In the first decade of the 20th century, the company was taken over by Róbert Weisz, later Róbert Weisz of Szurda, and later Róbert Szurday. Since his parents died early, he was raised by his brothers, who inherited the family business and raised him from an early age to become a textile manufacturer, so he completed his higher education at the Mülhausen Textile School, and gained practical experience in European and American textile mills, but also visited the industry's ancestral homeland, China, Korea and Japan. But what made an important difference to the life of the factory later on was that he not only got to know the production, but also the workers, so that he could become a leader who was remembered with appreciation by the factory workers even during the communist era.
However, by the early 1900s, competition in the domestic textile market was so fierce that the factory in Újpest felt the need for change. Thus the company brought in the Laibach Baumwollspinnerei und Weberei company and its shareholders, as well as the Hungarian General Credit Bank, which increased the share capital to 3,250,000 crowns, and the board of directors to include Dr. Ágost Cavallor, Henrik Kuffler, Adolf Ullmann, Péter Galatti Knight, Vilmos Kratuseneck, Hugó Moller, Géza Weisz and Lipót Brunner.
This was followed by a reconstruction due to the plant burning down, and then an expansion in 1911, which meant that the company was now a factory with 30,000 spindles, 600 looms and 1,600 horsepower machines. Unfortunately, by the time the factory was up to full capacity, the cotton crisis arrived. The crisis was caused by two factors: the rise in the price of raw cotton on the world market and the collapse of the Balkan markets, which had shifted the domestic overproduction back to the Monarchy's market, as opposed to the export markets. As a result, the factory suffered heavy losses of millions of euros in the 1910s. And during the war, the entire industry was merged into one large company, partly to optimise war orders and partly to cope with the crisis, the National United Textile Works Ltd.
After Trianon, the company became the property of the Hungarian General Credit Bank, although still under the management of Szurday. Thus, in 1927, the company underwent another forced reconstruction, which resulted in a share capital of 6 360 000 pengo. The company made a high profit in the 1920s, averaging P 500-600 000 a year, and even after the 1929 crisis it made a profit of around P 300 000. The 1930s were uneventful for the plant, which through the Credit Bank absorbed a succession of smaller plants throughout the country. Thus came the Second World War and the subsequent nationalisations, which meant that the factory continued to operate as the Hungarian Cotton Industry National Company.
In 1989, the Hungarian Cotton Industry became a joint-stock company under the name Budaprint Újpesti Textilművek Rt., but with the loss of the KGST markets it eventually went bankrupt and was liquidated in 1994.
Sources:
Péter Hanák - Katalin Hanák (1964):History of the Hungarian Cotton Industry 1887-1962.