Cseh Valentin szerk.: „70 éve alakult a MAORT” – tanulmányok egy bányavállalat történetéből (2009)

Tibor Laklia: MAORT through the Eyes of a Former Employee

International events also helped the company. When a part of Transylvania was reattached to Hungarv, a number of highly experienced Hungarian engineers joined MAORT. (As we know, major western and overseas firms had been operating in Romania since 1905!) Among them László Bencze, Andor Czupor, Ödön Nagy, Pál Zonda, as well as Sándor Réthy to the pipeline builders

—bringing professional methods and forms of conduct that were well known in their former jobs, but just evolving over here. The impact of political events were felt all the way to the plants, of course. Plant managers were managers of single plants, in the strictest sense of the term. This situation changed in 1948, in the course of just a few weeks. The engineers were relieved. Instead of appreciating work as it was done before, i.e. assisting one another, they were labelled the "MAORT faction" at the plants. The top management of the company was much less biased than the new managers at the plants. This is how e.g. Zoltán Gvulav, Pál Szilas A., and László Bencze were appointed to high positions. I have heard this question asked many times: was there really such a thing as a ALAORT atmosphere? I can but replv ves if by this we mean cutting edge professional know-how, the willingness to apply such, working hours that were not eight hours, creativity and talent, and the readiness to cooperate and even help, then ves, there was. This atmosphere must have been strong, because many people still talk about belonging to MAORT in a nostalgic way, while others still in condemnation. The veterans were simplv good engineers and geologists for the most part. This is the reason why they could not be shunned at plant, nor even at conglomerate level. Esteemed Guests! I must confess that my perspective of sixty years still does not exempt me from claims of being biased. In this issue, one needs to take into account the circumstance whereby the attributes "MAORT man", "driller", and "oil man" were usually forms of praise during the MAORT era. Then the atmosphere changed suddenly. It was primarily the technological managers who were made to feel the many negatives of a past record at MAORT. Colleagues - from engineers to tool pushers, and charge hands - transferred from Transdanubia to the Great Plains were not at all welcome as has been proven. Even after sixty years, 1 consider it praise if this attribute is mentioned in connection with me. I was proud - and still am today - to have spent my formative years at MAORT. Thank you for your gracious attention!