The chronicle of Eger Tobacco Factory

The chosen company

Between 1970-71 things began moving. With the change of director came the disbanding of the Tobacco Industry Consortium, and the Eger Tobacco Factory became one of the independent companies under the banner of the Ministry of Food Tobacco Industry Companies Trust. The trust comprised seven independent companies and the Tobacco Research Institute. The seven companies were the South Transdanubian Fermentation Works, the Nyíregyháza Fermentation Works, the Eger, Debrecen, Pécs and Sátoraljaújhely tobacco factories, and the Joint Tobacco Sales Company. Management of the trust took the form of a council of directors made up of the leaders of the individual companies. With this change the tobacco industry began to enjoy more autonomy and the separate companies found that their operational scope widened. The trust was responsible for deciding questions relating to production and investments, but each company had a free hand in issues relating to salaries and financial management. The hectic months of 1971 were lightened up by the preparations getting underway for the factory’s 75th anniversary.

In 1971 the fourth five-year plan began, and within the parameters of this the factory management drew up and drafted their goals for the future. As part of the planned improvements they intended to introduce light, blended tobacco cigarettes onto the market, as well as extend the length of cigarettes from the traditional 67 mm length to 80 and 85 mms, modernise the packaging and bring in new bulk packaging machinery. A priority task was to make a start on the production of acetate filters, too. The five- year plan concentrated on the development of social projects. The supply of central funds was cut off in 1971; it was the turn of other factories to benefit, and thus the long process of reform and improvements in Eger came to an equally lengthy standstill. In order to continue to achieve better results they now had to rely on exploring and opening up their own internal resources and reserves, and exploit those. It was the director’s belief that by raising the standard of the management’s performance as well as introducing a new work ethic, the DH (Dolgozz Hibátlanul or “Work With Precision”) system that embraced the whole collective,