A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve 2014., Új folyam 1. (Szeged, 2014)
TÖRTÉNETTUDOMÁNY - Felletár Zsolt: Válságról a válságban
Zsolt Felletár About Crisis in Crisis About Crisis in Crisis Zsolt Felletár Present study outlines the economic situation of steam sawing industry as the primary conversion of timber, and its changes from the beginning of the economic crisis in 1929 until 1933, when it came to an end. Present study concludes that the main loser of the crisis on both macro and local level was wood industry. By the last year of the crisis, the common gross production of wood and bone industry had decreased to 38,6% of the value in 1929. Due to the effects of the Trianon Peace Treaty and the high inflation rate, wood companies in Szeged produced divergent business activities and results in the 1920s. Except the Sylvánia Timber Trade Company, taking advantage of the form of being a corporation, steam sawing mills were all owned by families living in Szeged. These family owned companies were unable to replace the financial loss they suffered with the help of external investors or a silent partner. Consequently, their ability to tolerate the negative effects of the crisis was different. The actors of wood industry became affected by the crisis a year later, in 1930. The dumping of wood products coming from Russia to the Hungarian market caused a serious decrease in the price of wood products. Besides, low prices, the lack of sound local demand and the closing down of wood traders also worsened their situation. Due to the lack of appropriate connections to banks or transporters, companies could not find outer financial sources either, leading in most of the cases to liquidation. Only companies being able to cut in costs radically could survive the crisis. Besides, they also had sufficient reserves and mobilizable property to be sold if needed. A reliable and continuous bank connection was crucial. The closure of the two onetime market leading companies, the Winkler Brothers General Partnership and the Vilmos Mikó and Sons Steam Sawmill Limited, rearranged the hierarchy of the market participants in the local trade in timber and sawing industry. In lack of real challengers the still existing companies - the National Food- producing and Sylvánia Timber Trade Company, Adolf Löwy and Co., Imre Lippai’s Steam Saw Mill Company - succeeded in enlarging their market-share, thus the number of participants in the Szeged wood industry with narrowing potentials was decreasing further. Two winners of the changes were the Sylvánia Timber Trade Company and Imre Lippai. While the former managed to triple its workforce capacity by buying the bankrupt Winkler Steam Mill's estates, the latter after its opening managed to extend significantly its wood processing machine capacity both in Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely - including the number of wide band sawmills from two to seven. In spite of the fact that some companies of solid financial means could survive the crises also by buying up others who went bankrupt, sawing industry in Szeged was unable to recover from the negative effects of the crisis by the end of the 1930s. However, from 1933 on some of them were among the companies paying the highest amount of taxes in Szeged. Sawing mills competing with each other were forced by the economic crisis towards a more intensive common lobby activity. 361
