A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 47. (2008)

Marozsán Zsolt: A „drótgyár" története alapításától állami tulajdonba kerüléséig (1911-1954)

HISTORY OF THE "WIRE MILL" FROM ITS FOUNDATION TO ITS NATIONALISATION The industrial company known affectionately as the "wire mill" was renamed several times after its foundation in 1913. Its predecessor was founded in 1911 by Adolf Deichsel, a German industrialist, who owned several similar factories in the neighbouring countries. Although Miskolc was one of the cradles of the iron industry in Hungary and had achieved fame as a machinery production centre by the early 20th century, the municipal leadership looked to Temesvár-Gyárváros as a model for boosting local industry. Dr. István Szentpáli, the town's mayor, bought an area known as Martin with the express intention of making it an incentive to would-be investors by providing the area for free. In Summer 1911, Deichsel visited Miskolc and signed a contract according to which he would build the steel wire and cable factory in the Martin area beside the River Sajó with his own engineering staff. The factory was inaugurated on October 16, 1912, and production began with a labour force of 40. Test production, followed by real production, however, was only begun in 1913 with a hundred workers, whose number late rose. No sooner had the factory begun its production it found itself in a difficult situation owing to the outbreak of World War 1 because the procurement of raw material and the marketing of the finished products became virtually impossible. The factory began to recover from 1920. although the recovery was blighted, even if briefly, by the Treaty of Trianon. The economic decline hindered the factory's development, and its situation turned from bad to worse during the Great Depression. The company was transformed into a shareholding company in 1930 to mitigate its losses. The company prospered again by 1934 and its production became profitable by the end of the year. Its growth was continuous from then on. Following the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, the factory geared its entire production to the war effort. When news of the approaching front reached the town in early September 1944, the factory's director ordered the machinery to be disassembled, especially the most up-to-date production lines. The plan was to transfer the machinery to Vágsellye, where production was to be continued. The employees refused to carry out the relocation and blew up the buildings on the orders of the owner. Only barren, sooty walls remained, the machinery and their remains were buried under the rubble. One phase of the factory's history came to end: after 32 years, the Deichsel Adolf Hungarian Wire and Cable Factory Ltd. ceased to exist. The war ended on December 4, 1944 in Miskolc. During the next days, the factory's workers and employees began clearing the rubble and repairing the damaged machinery. As a result of their tireless efforts, a furnace, a few twisters, wire drawers and other machines were in working order by the end of the month. The start up of production was no easy task because being a German asset, the factory automatically passed into Soviet ownership and was not included in the list of factories, mines, shops and workshops "given back for use". The factory was operated as a co-operative, maintained and directed by the Office for the Hungarian Companies and Assets of the Soviet Union. Large-scale development was begun in 1946. Between 1945 and 1952, László Menner worked as the designer of the rebuilt factory's Russian director. Most buildings were designed by him. The galvanizing workshop, the baths, the canteen and other buildings intended to improve the workers' work conditions, as well as housing units were designed by him, as were the plans for enlarging the wire drawing workshop. He also designed recreational sports fields and culture halls. On the recommendation of the Soviet Union, the factory passed into the ownership of the Hungarian state on October 1, 1952, similarly to the other former German assets. The factory was now supervised by the Directorate for Mass Production of the Ministry of Metallurgy and Machine Industry. The former Deichsel factory's name was changed to December 4 Wire and Cable Works in 1954, and it became known in Hungary and abroad by this name. Its new name was chosen by the workers, who wished to commemorate the day of the liberation of their town and factory. Zsolt Marozsán

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