Rimamurány-salgótarján ironworks ltd

The Rimamurány-Salgótarján Ironworks Ltd. was one of the most influential ironworks in Hungary between 1881 and 1948. In the 1800s, good-quality brown coal was found in several places around Salgótarján, which, combined with the potential of iron ore from Gömöri, proved to be an excellent investment to meet the rapidly growing demand for steel in the 19th century. The landowners of Gömör, including the Andrássy family, established the Murányi Uni as early as 1808, followed by the Rimai Coalitio in 1810. They possessed rich steel mines and extensive forests, the latter being essential for the production of large quantities of coal, which was mainly used to make pig iron.

On 15 May 1845, Unio and Coalitio founded the Gömöri Ironworkers' Association in Ózd, which was the first attempt to build up a complete vertical from purely domestic capital, but the company was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1851. The solution was therefore the merger of the three large companies, which in 1852 created the Rimamurány Ironworks Association, which by 1865 was producing one million cubic metres of pig iron. However, the refinery in Ózd was not able to process all the pig iron in Gömöri, so the producers of the latter set their sights on founding a new refinery. The idea was later taken up by Count Emánuel Andrássy (commonly known as Manó), who in 1868 united the iron producers in the Salgótarján Iron Refinery Association with a capital of 1.2 million forints. The factory was set up in Salgótarján, already known for its brown coal production, if only because the railway development plans had wanted to establish a rail link to Pest by this time. In the midst of initial difficulties, Manó Andrássy raised the capital stock to 4 000 000 forints, which was sufficient to start production with 250 workers.

The crisis of 1873 had an impact on the company, but it still ended the year with a profit, which it used to repay its previous loans. In 1876, the company's share capital was reduced to 1.6 million forints to repay its remaining loans, while in the following years production began to recover, not least thanks to the domestic laws to support industry. The two large companies, the Rimamurány Ironworks and the Salgótarján Iron Refinery, decided to merge in 1881, and on 4 July the Rimamurány-Salgótarján Ironworks Ltd. was established. Adolf Schenk, Dr. Károly Szellényi, Dr. József Knight Miltscha and Sámuel Knight Hahn. Lajos Borbély became the technical director of the company and Ármin Brüll became the commercial director. The share capital amounted to HUF 7 350 000. The foundation was financed by the two local companies, the Länderbank and the Wiener Bankverein.

The financial results of the company were very satisfactory. The second half of the 19th century was a period of steadily expanding market thanks to railway construction, industrialisation and machinery production, which explains how the profit of 826 963 forints in 1881 rose to 1 039 229 forints in 1887 and 2 004 969 forints in 1898. In 1901 the profit reached SEK 5 024 483 (then with a capital of K 32 000 000).

In 1900, the company took over 10 775 shares in Unio Iron and Tin Works from the Hazai Bank, with which they acquired a significant stake in the Dernő Iron Works and the Andrássy Iron Works. And in 1906, when profits exceeded six million crowns, they acquired Kalán Mining and Metallurgical Works Ltd. The company continued to produce extremely positive results, with net profits exceeding seven million crowns in 1907, eight million in 1911, 10 million in 1912 (with a share capital increased to 40 million) and 11 million in 1913. According to its balance sheet of 30 June 1914, its profit for the year was K9,242,107, which rose to K17 million by 1917 as a result of war orders, but in 1920 it exceeded K21 million; in the meantime, in 1912, it had also acquired Hernádvölgyi magyar vasipar Rt.

The Treaty of Trianon divided the company's interests between the two countries, which led to an agreement between the Hungarian and Czechoslovak governments in September 1922, stating that the economic and operational unity of the company would be ensured in the territories of both countries, so that the raw materials needed for the plant could be freely transported across the borders by the shortest routes, and the workers could also freely go to work even if they had to cross the border.

In addition to this, in 1921 the Rimamurány-Salgótarján Ironworks Ltd. founded a community of interests with the Salgótarján Coal Mine Ltd., under which the former transferred 120 000 shares of its own stock to the latter, and the latter 75 000 shares. After the hyperinflation, the company's profit amounted to 1 765 817 pence in 1926 and 3 007 668 pence in 1928. However, the Great Depression of 1929 had an impact on the domestic economy from 1931 onwards and profits fell to 100 205 pence, only to exceed one million pence in 1935, two million pence in 1936 and three million pence in 1942, thanks to repeated war orders.

During the war, the Soviet occupation dismantled the company, which, having lost its machines and workers, was home to the Soviet army headquarters from 24 December 1944 until June 1946, when it was allowed to start reparation production, but was nationalised in December 1946 and continued to operate as a National Enterprise from 1 January 1949.

Sources:

• Compassok 1881-1943
• Hungary in the 20th century. Volume IV. Science 1. Engineering and natural sciences. Iron metallurgy chapter: http://mek.oszk.hu/02100/02185/html/690.html#694
• Szabolcs Berencsik: The role of the Rimamurány-Salgótarján Ironworks Joint Stock Company in the 19th century Hungarian industrial history. https://9dok.org/document/q052x6rl-a-magyar-ipari-%C3%A9s-technol%C3%B3giai-forradalom-i.html

Founded in 1881

Date of cessation: 1948

Founders are not set

Securities issued:

Decisive leaders:

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