The chronicle of Eger Tobacco Factory

On the great ship

“Top Management” in spring 1996

Géza Szalóczi, Guy Schröcker, Frank Vorlicek, Gábor Garamszegi, Árpád Könye, Francisco Lopes, Marco Terribilini, Péter Lendvay

At that time many of us dreamed along the lines of the old, end of the 1940s, placards which proclaimed “The factory is ours”, even though totally contrary processes actually started up. This wasn't nationalization but more a “stateless” position, and privatization meant in the majority of cases that one had to pay for ownership. It soon became obvious that the money necessary for the full purchase and development of the company by the workers just wasn't there, not even through the then fashionable Employee Share Ownership Programme or utilizing privatization credit constructions. The management of the Eger Tobacco Factory took into full account the various options. Among the day- to-day changes evident in the political-economic situation one issue seemed to be preferable and realistic: the involvement of foreign capital. A Company Council resolution passed on 27 March 1990 outlined future management policy.