Tabiczky Zoltánné: A Magyar Vagon- és Gépgyár története 2. 1946-1972 (Győr, 1977)
Harmadik fejezet. Új utakon az újraegyesítés után (1964-1972)
only could reconstruction be finished successfully and the production level of 1938 be reached, but also a rise of production could be observed in the whole of the Hungarian industry, as compared to 1938. Owing to a fast development unparalleled in Europe, the industrial production of 1949 rose above that of the last pre-war year by 40 per cent. The period of the First Five-Year Plan (1950—1954) was one of major changes in the life of the Waggon Works. In the course of certain reorganizations of the machine industry in the country, the plant producing lorries, buses, etc. with a production rate of 5,000 vehicles during its activity from 1904 to 1950, was detached from the Works in 1951. The same applied to the plants engaged in manufacturing screws and machine tools, resp., as well as to the foundry. The equipment and production of the plants detached amounted to 50 per cent of the capacity of that the company earlier had. The factory was, at the same time, granted significant sums for investment to promote production of primary products, and, with several hundred thousand forints being invested in them, the above mentioned plants were not neglected either. During the span of five years, several important new technical processes contributed to the production of 4,788 railway carriages and waggons; not even to mention the bridges built over the rivers Danube and Tisza, including bridges of aluminium, airplane sheds, storage tanks for the chemical industry, towers, building structures and the spherical tank of 20,000 m3 for the Győr Gas Works, which — just like the aluminium bridges — was built here for the first time in our country. As a result of its fast development the production value of the factory all but reached that of the biggest machine factory, the MÁVAG, in this country and surpassed that of the Ganz Waggon Works, thus rising to the second place within this branch of industry. Exports rose, too: railway carriages, steam-cranes, lift trucks, bridges and other steel structures were manufactured mainly to meet the needs of foreign customers, especially those of the Soviet Union. By the end of the plan period annual production rose to 500 million forints in value. In this growth of production the socialist competition of workers and other employees played a great part. More than 9,000 employees — including over 6,000 workers — could perform their work under ever improving working conditions as a result of social development. Real income and consumption grew, and the housing problem was slowly but constantly relieved. Relying on its own resources, the factory laid great stress on the constant improvement of the welfare of its workers as well. Blocks of flats were built, workers’ hostels were renovated, canteen meals were made to match the level in town restaurants and possibilities of recreation were extended. Also large sums were invested into nursery and day-time kindergarten facilities. Cultural societies and sports clubs promoted by the factory achieved outstanding results. In the period of transition beginning in 1955, the Waggon Works had to face great tasks: besides updating the manufacturing processes of waggons, motor trains, Diesel locomotives and engines had also to be included in its range of production. Owing to various difficulties in material acquisition, the aims targeted could, however, not be realized. But the ambition to work and the productivity of the factory grew rapidly. The movement of innovation and technical development was also renewed. All this was reflected in a series of new products (e.g. railway testing cars and arc furnaces of 1.5 tons capacity) and new manufacturing processes (e.g. those used in building Diesel engines for which the factory was rewarded with Kossuth prize). The firm was also granted the right to have independent export-import trade with other countries, in consequence of which there was a further increase in the quantity of exports. In 1957, the factory was rewarded for the reorganization of production, growth of export (especially the one to Egypt) and inner stabilization of work with the Joint Production Drive Red Challenge Flag of the Hungarian Trade Union Council and the Council of Ministers. In the period of the Second Three-Year Plan (1958—1960), the production and export of the leading products (railway carriages and waggons, Diesel engines and locomotives, cranes and steel structures) were significantly extended through a higher labour productivity in spite of the somewhat smaller number of workers (8,600 people). The outstanding results are indicated also by the fact that the foundry won the title „Champion" in 1959 for the eleventh time. In the years of the Second Five-Year Plan (1961—1965), traditional production was still further extended, and the raise of the technical level, improvement of the structure of industry and quicker industrialization of the province were also greatly emphasized. The 1962 Party decision relating to the machine industry, called attention to the unsatisfactory growth of productivity, lag in technical development and insufficient utilization of the means of production. In the wake of the party decrees, the leadership of the machine industry was gradually reorganized, the available resources were centralized, new machines were bought and new industrial mammoth enterprises were founded. In the course of 126
