THE HISTORY OF TUNGSRAM 1896-1945 - MEK

TUNGSRAM 60pressure mercury vapour discharge lamps in 1936.In the field of radio valves, beside the earlier mentioneddevelopments, the research and developmentlaboratories of the leading companies were all intenselyworking on television receiving tubes.In defining its business policy, TUNGSRAM relied onthe experience of the previous years. This showed that— irrespective of the cartel agreement regulating thesale of incandescent lamps — if the price and thequality was right, a great deal more lamps could besold than specified in the quotas.In every ten years the world's electric energy consumptionroughly doubled and the demand for incandescentlamps increased at a similar rate. Large areasawaited electrification all over the world. The consumptionof incandescent lamps per capita — aspublished by PHOEBUS — could well indicate theprogress. In 1936 this number was equal to 1.0 (annuallyand per capita) in the advanced industrializedcountries and 0.5 in Hungary.VExperience showed that the discharge lamps andtubes, in spite of their improved luminous efficiency,were no substitutes for incandescent lamps; rather,they conquered new areas for electric lighting orchallenged the larger traditional light sources. Theoperation of discharge light sources required considerablygreater initial investment than their incandescentcounter-parts of equal luminous power;moreover, the better luminous efficiency was partlywasted, since for a discharge lamp to give out thesame amount of light resembling the frequency spectrumof day-light, more luminous power was neededthan in the case of incandescent lamps which had afrequency spectrum shifted more towards the red.Discharge light fixtures generally had larger dimensionsthan did the incandescent light fixtures, and theirinstallation also required more skill. They were lesssuitable to achieve spot light or intimate effects and,therefore, they were of little use in people's homes.When subjected to it for a longer period, many peopleget a headache from the light of discharge sources anddevelop headache.Considering the above problems, as well as otheraspects, TUNGSRAM formulated its business strategyof the period. (This strategy was never summed up inwritting, nor vocally.)1. Normal incandescent lamps provide the daily breadand butter. The quality of these normal lamps must beimproved, keeping abreast of the other leading companies.Productivity and production capacity must beincreased by the further automation of production. Atthe same time, the development of discharge lightsources, as well as their advertisement, is recommended,but not at the expense of incandescentlamps. The production of miniature, vehicle and largesizespecial-service lamps must be facilitated with theintroduction of modern machinery.2. The production of radio valves must be perfectedand increased by employing new, modern machinery.At the same time, the management must bear in mindthat the leading companies of the industry will constantlymarket new versions and following the newdevelopments would tie up a lot of financial andintellectual resources. Powerful vacuum pumps —both the rotary and the mercury diffusion types —must be designed and produced, primarily in theinterest of raising the standard of radio receiving andtransmitting tube production. Research and developmentteams must be set up in preparation for atelevision project.3. The production of parts must be modernized, increasedin capacity and iproved in quality, because itdetermines the standard of production, as well as ofquality, of all the products. For the above reason, thecapacity of the design and production of machines andtools must be continuously improved and modernized.4. The subsidiaries' demands for investment must bemet in order to be able to sell machinery and parts forincandescent lamps and radio receiving tubes, thisway substituting for markets previously supplied withfinished goods but now lost in consequence of thesecountries' efforts to achieve a self-sufficient and independentindustry.5. The utility service units, i.e. the plants providing ordistributing gas, steam, hydrogen, electric energy.^\'"••7* • • - i- '.