Ganz Works

Last updated
Ganz Holdings Co. Ltd.
Formerly
Company type
Industry Transport
Metallurgy
Founded1844 in Buda, Kingdom of Hungary
Founders Ábrahám Ganz
Defunct1989;37 years ago (1989)
FateSold in 1989 to diverse companies that used the name 'Ganz'for their own enterprises
Headquarters Buda, Hungary
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
List
Products Trams
Trains
Ships
Electric generators
Owner Ábrahám Ganz and his family (1845–1947)
State of Hungary (1947–1949)
Subsidiaries
Website ganz-holding.hu

The Ganz Machinery Works Holding is a Hungarian holding company. Its products are related to rail transport, power generation, and water supply, among other industries. [2]

Contents

The original Ganz Works or Ganz (Hungarian : Ganz vállalatok or Ganz Művek, Ganz companies, formerly Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory) operated between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and manager of the company. Ganz is probably best known for the manufacture of tramcars, but was also a pioneer in the application of three-phase alternating current to electric railways.

Ganz also made ships (through its Ganz Danubius division), bridge steel structures (Ganz Acélszerkezet) and high-voltage equipment (Ganz Transelektro). In the early 20th century the company experienced its heyday and became the third-largest industrial enterprise in the Kingdom of Hungary after the Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works and the MÁVAG company.

Since 1989, various parts of Ganz have been taken over by other companies.

History

Abraham Ganz, founder Abraham Ganz.jpg
Abraham Ganz, founder

The company was founded by Ábrahám Ganz in 1844. He was invited to Pest, Hungary, by Count István Széchenyi and became the casting master at the Roller Mill Plant (referred to as Hengermalom in Hungarian). In 1854 he began manufacturing hard cast railroad wheels in his own plant founded in 1844. The management of the steam mill paid a share of the profit to Ganz. This enabled him to buy, in 1844, land and a house for 4500 Forints in Víziváros, Buda castle district. Abraham Ganz built his own foundry on this site and started to work there with seven assistants. They made mostly casting products for the needs of the people of the city.[3] In 1845, he bought the neighbouring site and expanded his foundry with a cupola furnace. He gave his brother, Henrik a job as a clerk, because of the growing administration work. He made a profit in the first year, and his factory grew, even though he had not yet engaged in mass production. In 1846, at the third Hungarian Industrywork Exhibition (Magyar Iparmű Kiállítás), he introduced his stoves to the public. He won the silver medal of the exhibition committee and the bronze medaille from Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary.

During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 the foundry made ten cannons and many cannonballs for the Hungarian army. Because of this, the Military Court of Austria impeached him. He got seven weeks in prison as penalty, but because of his Swiss citizenship he was acquitted of the charge.[3]

Ganz steam tractor with rotary plow, (produced since the 1870s) Ganz steam tractor 1882.jpg
Ganz steam tractor with rotary plow, (produced since the 1870s)

Ganz recognized that, to develop his factory, he had to make products that were mass-produced. In 1846 the Pest-Vác railway line was built. At that time, European foundries made wrought iron rims for spoked wagon wheels by pouring the casts in shapes in sand, and leaving them to cool down. He successfully developed a railway wheel casting technology; it was the new method of "crust-casting" to produce cheap yet sturdy iron railway wheels, which greatly contributed to the rapid railway development in Central Europe. 86,074 pieces of hard cast wheels had been sold to 59 European railway companies until 1866. Consequently, this factory played an important role in building the infrastructure of the Hungarian Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[ citation needed ] At this time the agricultural machines, steam locomotives, pumps and the railway carriages were the main products. At the beginning of the 20th century, 60 to 80% of the factory's products were sold for export.


After the death of Abraham Ganz, the heirs entrusted the management of the factory to his direct colleagues at Ganz Művek: Antal Eichleter, Ulrik Keller and Andreas Mechwart, which then took the name Ganz & Co. The Ganz family sold the company, which consisted of five departments, and in April 1869 it was transformed into a joint-stock company, and continued its operations under the name of "Ganz és Társa vasontöde és Gépgyár Rt." (Ganz & Partners Iron Foundry and Machine Factory Co.) The technical director was András Mechwart, under whose direction Ganz became one of the most important groups of machine building companies in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy after 1869.

At the end of the 19th century, the products of the Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory (hereinafter referred to as Ganz Works) promoted the expansion of alternating-current power transmissions.

Prominent engineers

The Ganz wagon factory (aerial view) Jozsefvarosi madartavlat.jpg
The Ganz wagon factory (aerial view)
Ganz Shipyard hall building (The Shipyard was demolished in the early 2000s. This old, fachwerk-style hall was originally intended to be preserved, but it was also destroyed in 2015.) -- Budapest, Meder utca Hajogyari favazas ipari csarnokepulet (1186. szamu muemlek) 2.jpg
Ganz Shipyard hall building (The Shipyard was demolished in the early 2000s. This old, fachwerk-style hall was originally intended to be preserved, but it was also destroyed in 2015.) — Budapest, Meder utca
Ganz Trunk Factory Bark Foundry (now: Foundry Museum) -- Budapest, Bem Jozsef u. 20. Foundry Museum, Budapest-2.jpg
Ganz Trunk Factory Bark Foundry (now: Foundry Museum) — Budapest, Bem József u. 20.
Ganz Electric Works (now: Millennium Park) -- Budapest, Lovohaz utca 39. Budapest - Millipop Mosolygyar.jpg
Ganz Electric Works (now: Millennium Park) — Budapest, Lövőház utca 39.
Ganz Switches and Devices Factory (it works) -- Budapest, Kobanyai ut 41/c. Ganz Kapcsolo- es Keszulekgyarto Kft.4.jpg
Ganz Switches and Devices Factory (it works) — Budapest, Kőbányai út 41/c.

Prominent engineers at Ganz works included András Mechwart, Károly Zipernowsky, Miksa Déri, Ottó Titusz Bláthy, Kálmán Kandó, György Jendrassik and Ernő Wilczek.

Revolution in the milling industry

The invention of the modern industrial mill (the roller mill) – by András Mechwart in 1874 – guaranteed a solid technological superiority and revolutionized the world's milling industry. Budapest's milling industry grow the second largest in the world, behind the American Minneapolis. The Hungarian grain export increased by 66% within some years. [3]

Power plants, generators turbines and transformers

The Hungarian "ZBD" Team: Miksa Deri, Otto Blathy, Karoly Zipernowsky ZBD team.jpg
The Hungarian "ZBD" Team: Miksa Déri, Ottó Bláthy, Károly Zipernowsky

In 1878, the company's general manager András Mechwart founded the Department of Electrical Engineering headed by Károly Zipernowsky. Engineers Miksa Déri and Ottó Bláthy also worked at the department producing direct-current machines and arc lamps.

In 1878, the company began producing equipment for electric lighting and, by 1883, had installed over fifty systems in Austria-Hungary. Their AC systems used arc and incandescent lamps, generators, and other equipment. [4] [5]

Generators

The first turbo generators were water turbines which drove electric generators. The first Hungarian water turbine was designed by engineers of the Ganz Works in 1866. Mass production of dynamo generators started in 1883. [6]

The missing link of a full Voltage Sensitive/Voltage Intensive (VSVI) system was the reliable alternating current constant voltage generator. Therefore, the invention of the constant voltage generator by the Ganz Works in 1883 [7] had a crucial role in the beginnings of industrial scale AC power generation, because only these types of generators can produce a stable output voltage, regardless of the actual load. [8]

Transformers

first high efficiency transformer prototypes (1885; Szechenyi Istvan Memorial Exhibition, Nagycenk, Hungary) DBZ trafo.jpg
first high efficiency transformer prototypes (1885; Széchenyi István Memorial Exhibition, Nagycenk, Hungary)

In cooperation, Zipernovsky, Bláthy and Déri (known as the ZBD team) constructed and patented the transformer. The "transformer" was named by Ottó Titusz Bláthy. The three invented the first high efficiency, closed core shunt connection transformer. They also invented the modern power distribution system: Instead of a series of connections they connected supply transformers in parallel to the main line. [9]

The transformer patents described two basic principles. Loads were to be connected in parallel, not in series as had been the general practice until 1885. Additionally, the inventors described the closed armature as an essential part of the transformer. Both factors assisted the stabilisation of voltage under varying load, and allowed definition of standard voltages for distribution and loads. The parallel connection and efficient closed core made construction of electrical distribution systems technically and economically feasible.

The Ganz Works built the first transformers using iron plating of enamelled mild iron wire, and started to use laminated cores to eliminate eddy currents [10]

In May 1885, at the Hungarian National Exhibition in Budapest, Deri, Blathy, and Zipernowski held a large-scale demonstration of what is widely regarded as the prototype of modern AC lighting systems. Their system used 75 transformers in parallel connection, supplying 1,067 incandescent Edison lamps from an AC generator that provided 1,350 V. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

AC Power stations

In 1886, the ZBD engineers designed, and the company supplied, electrical equipment for the world's first power station to use AC generators to power a parallel connected common electrical network. This was the Italian steam-powered Rome-Cerchi power plant. [17]

Following the introduction of the transformer, the Ganz Works changed over to production of alternating-current equipment. For instance, Rome's electricity was supplied by hydroelectric plant and long-distance energy transfer. [18]


Between 1885 and 1930, the Ganz Works established a significant presence in the British power industry, primarily through the export of high-capacity alternating current (AC) machinery. Following the 1885 ZBD transformer patent, Ganz provided the electrical infrastructure for some of the earliest AC installations in London, most notably for the Metropolitan Electric Supply Company in 1889. In the early 20th century, the export focus shifted to large-scale power generation, including the delivery of massive alternators to municipal power stations in Hastings (1894) and Brighton. By the 1920s, Ganz supplied advanced turbogenerators based on Ottó Bláthy's cross-slot rotor design to major industrial sites, including the Stepney Power Station in London (1925) and various plants in the Midlands. These exports were characterized by their high efficiency, often outcompeting local manufacturers in technical specifications for large-scale urban electrification. [19]

[20] [21] [22] [23] [24]


The Ganz Works maintained a competitive presence in the German electrical market, often outperforming domestic giants like Siemens and AEG in the specialized field of alternating current (AC) distribution. Between 1885 and 1945, the Ganz Works played a pivotal role in the electrification of Germany by supplying cutting-edge alternating current (AC) technology that often served as the primary alternative to the direct current systems of domestic firms. The company's expansion began in Cologne in 1886, where Ganz constructed one of Germany's first major municipal AC central stations, providing large-scale alternators and the newly patented ZBD transformers for city-wide lighting. This success led to further contracts in Bremen (1890) and Crefeld (1892), where Ganz installed complete transformer distribution networks and high-capacity generators. Following the landmark 1891 Frankfurt International Electrotechnical Exhibition, Ganz secured massive orders for the municipal power systems of Mainz (1895) and Strassburg (1895), delivering 400 kW alternators and high-voltage substations that were considered technological benchmarks at the time. In the early 20th century, Ganz equipment was integrated into the tramway and industrial grids of Munich and Nuremberg. During the interwar period, the export focus transitioned to high-performance turbogenerators and switchgear; notably, between 1922 and 1930, Ganz supplied advanced 20-40 MVA turbogenerators based on Ottó Bláthy's designs to major industrial power plants in Essen, Dortmund, and Düsseldorf, supporting the heavy industrial electrification of the Ruhr region until the late 1930s. [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]


In Italy, Ganz secured its most prestigious international success with the electrification of Rome, starting in 1886 with the installation of ZBD transformers for municipal lighting, followed by the landmark Tivoli-Rome long-distance transmission project in 1892, which utilized Ganz alternators to transmit power over 28 kilometers. This was followed by the supply of heavy-duty generators to Milan and the comprehensive "Sistema Ganz" three-phase traction electrification of the Valtellina line in 1902, a project that influenced urban tramway and railway standards throughout the Italian peninsula. In France, the company operated through a dedicated subsidiary and local partnerships, notably providing the complete electrical equipment and generators for the city of Nice in 1891 and supplying advanced traction motors for the municipal tramways of Lyon and Marseille during the early 1900s. The French market also integrated Ganz-designed alternators into the power stations of Paris following the company's technical demonstrations at the 1900 World's Fair. Within the Benelux region, Ganz technology was instrumental in early urban modernization; in Brussels, Belgium, the company installed some of the city's first high-capacity AC alternators in the late 1880s, while in the Netherlands, the city of Amsterdam became a major recipient of Ganz traction motors and bogies for its expanding tramway network during the 1920s. Throughout the interwar period, Ganz continued to export high-voltage switchgear and specialized transformers to industrial centers in Antwerp and Liege, maintaining a dominant role in the electrification of Western European heavy industry until the onset of World War II. [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]


Electricity meters

The first mass-produced kilowatt-hour meter (electricity meter), based on Hungarian Ottó Bláthy's patent and named after him, was presented by the Ganz Works at the Frankfurt Fair in the autumn of 1889, and the company was marketing the first induction kilowatt-hour meter by the end of the year. These were the first alternating-current wattmeters, known by the name of Bláthy-meters. [39]

Beyond the production of heavy machinery, the Ganz Works became a global pioneer in the field of electrical measurement, primarily through the inventions of Ottó Bláthy. In 1889, Bláthy patented the world's first induction watt-hour meter (fogyasztásmérő), which was the first device capable of accurately measuring energy consumption in alternating current (AC) systems. This invention was crucial for the commercial viability of electric utilities, as it allowed for precise billing of consumers for the first time. Following the initial success of the 1889 model, Ganz introduced significantly improved, smaller-sized meters in 1910 (the "N" type) and the 1920s, which became the industrial standard across Europe. The company's product range also included high-precision voltmeters, ammeters, and phase meters utilized in both industrial laboratories and power stations.


Ganz had significant exports to Great Britain. The records explicitly state that by 1900, the company had established a dominant presence in the British market, supplying specialized meters to the municipal grids of London and Manchester. [40]


The export of Ganz measuring instruments was extensive, reaching markets far beyond the reach of their heavy electrical equipment. In Germany, Ganz meters were adopted on a massive scale starting in the 1890s, with major municipal utilities in Frankfurt and Cologne utilizing Hungarian-made induction meters as their primary billing units. By 1900, the company had established a dominant presence in the British market, supplying specialized meters to the London and Manchester municipal grids. In 1912, Ganz secured a significant contract for the supply of thousands of electricity meters to Saint Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, marking the beginning of a long-standing dominance in the Eastern European measurement market. During the interwar period, Ganz's export of measuring instruments expanded globally; between 1924 and 1935, millions of units were exported to Argentina and Brazil, while in the Far East, the company provided the primary electrical measurement infrastructure for the modernization of Shanghai (1928) and several several Japanese industrial centers. This global network of measurement technology remained a core revenue stream for the company, with Ganz-licensed meter production established in several Western European countries to meet the high demand for Bláthy's patented designs. [41] [42] [43] [44] [45]

According to historical data and the records of the company, two major German cities stood out where Hungarian-made measuring instruments became the standard units for billing:

Frankfurt: The municipal utilities in this city were among the first to implement Ganz meters on a large-scale industrial level. [46]

Cologne: In this city, Hungarian-manufactured induction meters were also utilized as the primary billing units for electricity consumption. [47]

Industrial refrigerators and air conditioners

In 1894, Hungarian inventor and industrialist István Röck started to manufacture a large industrial ammonia refrigerator (together with the Esslingen Machine Works) which was powered by Ganz electric compressors. At the 1896 Millennium Exhibition, Röck and the Esslingen Machine Works presented a 6-tonne capacity artificial ice producing plant. In 1906, the first large Hungarian cold store (with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes, the largest in Europe) opened in Tóth Kálmán Street, Budapest, the machine was manufactured by the Ganz Works. Until nationalisation after the Second World War, large-scale industrial refrigerator production in Hungary was in the hands of Röck and Ganz Works. [48]

The contract between Ganz and Egypt in the 1930s played a key role in the development of cooling equipment: railcars delivered to Egypt were equipped with air-conditioning cooling systems. The collective of the Ganz factory (machine designers: Gábor Hollerung, Rezső Oláh, István Pfeifer, Prónai) designed and built the 3-cylinder, 20 kW compressors with freon refrigerant, air condenser and evaporator. The machine could also be converted to heat pump operation. [49]

ICE engines and vehicles

The beginning of gas engine manufacturing in Hungary is linked to Donát Bánki and János Csonka but it is not clear that they ever worked for Ganz.

Ganz produced engines whose designs were licensed to Western European partners, notably in the United Kingdom and Italy.

Csonka automobile of 1905 Csonka Janos auto.jpg
Csonka automobile of 1905
Ganz bus (1914; published in Vasarnapi Ujsag in 1916) Ganz autobus from 1914.jpg
Ganz bus (1914; published in Vasárnapi Újság in 1916)
Timeline

Railways

Steam motors

Cutaway Drawing of Millennium Underground in Budapest (1894-1896) which was the first underground in Continental Europe Foldalatti Andrassy.png
Cutaway Drawing of Millennium Underground in Budapest (1894–1896) which was the first underground in Continental Europe

The Ganz Company started to construct steam locomotives and steam railcars from the 1860s. Between 1901 and 1908, Ganz Works of Budapest and de Dion-Bouton of Paris collaborated to build a number of railcars for the Hungarian State Railways together with units with de Dion-Bouton boilers, Ganz steam motors and equipments, and Raba carriages built by the Raba Hungarian Wagon and Machine Factory in Győr. In 1908, the Borzsavölgyi Gazdasági Vasút (BGV), a narrow-gauge railway in Carpathian Ruthenia (today's Ukraine), purchased five railcars from Ganz and four railcars from the Hungarian Royal State Railway Machine Factory with de Dion-Bouton boilers. The Ganz company started to export steam motor railcars to the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Japan, Russia and Bulgaria. [50] [51] [52]

The World's first electrified main railway line in Italy

The Ganz Works, having identified the significance of induction motors and synchronous motors, commissioned Kálmán Kandó to develop them. In 1894, Hungarian engineer Kálmán Kandó developed high-voltage three-phase AC motors and generators for electric locomotives. The first-ever electric rail vehicle manufactured by Ganz Works was a 6 HP pit locomotive with direct current traction system. The first Ganz made asynchronous rail vehicles (altogether 2 pieces) were supplied in 1898 to Évian-les-Bains (France) with a 37 HP asynchronous traction system. The Ganz Works won the tender for electrification of the Valtellina Railway in Italy in 1897. Under the management, and on the basis of plans from Kálmán Kandó, three phase electric power at 3 kV and 15 Hz was fed through two upper wires and the rails.

Former logo of the Ganz Works Ganz Works Text Logo.svg
Former logo of the Ganz Works

The electricity was produced in a dedicated power station and the system operated for thirty years from 1902. Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a main line rather than just a short stretch. The 106 km Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from the Ganz works. [53] [54] The voltage was significantly higher than used earlier and it required new designs for electric motors and switching devices. [55] [56] The three-phase two-wire system was used on several railways in Northern Italy and became known as "the Italian system". Kandó was invited in 1905 to undertake the management of Società Italiana Westinghouse and led the development of several Italian electric locomotives. [55]

Invention of the Phase Converter

In 1918, [57] Kandó invented and developed the rotary phase converter, enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high-voltage national networks. [54] After World War I, at the Ganz Works, Kálmán Kandó constructed a single-phase electric railway system using 16 kV at 50 Hz. A similar system, but using 15 kV at 16.7 Hz, later became widely used in Europe. The main attribute of Kandó's 50 Hz system was that it was fed by the normal power network, so dedicated railway power stations became unnecessary. Because of the early death of Kálmán Kandó, László Verebélÿ continued the work for the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV). [58]

Ganz-MÁVAG rail rolling stock

Logo of Ganz-Mavag, formed in 1959 Ganz mavag logo.png
Logo of Ganz-Mávag, formed in 1959

In 1959 Ganz merged with the MÁVAG company and was renamed Ganz-MÁVAG. In 1976 Ganz-Mávag supplied ten standard gauge 3-car diesel trainset to the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), designated as Class AA-91 and four metre gauge 4-car trainsets, designated as Class A-6451. In 1981/82 Ganz-Mávag supplied to OSE 11 B-B diesel-hydraulic DHM7-9 locomotives, designated as class A-251. Finally, in 1983, OSE bought eleven 3-car metre gauge trainsets, designated as Class A-6461. All these locomotives and trainsets have been withdrawn with the exception of one standard and one metre gauge trainset.[ citation needed ]

In 1982/83 Ganz-Mávag supplied an order for electric multiple units to New Zealand Railways Corporation for Wellington suburban services. The order was made in 1979, and was for 44 powered units and 44 trailer units, see New Zealand EM class electric multiple unit. [ citation needed ]

Ganz-Trams

Ganz City Tramway Manufacturing (1890–1945)

The period between 1890 and 1945 represents the most influential era of the Ganz Works' electrical department in urban transit. Following the development of the transformer and the invention of reliable direct current (DC) traction motors, Ganz became a global powerhouse, transitioning from the wooden-bodied cars of the Belle Époque to the advanced, steel-framed, remote-controlled trains of the interwar period. [59] The company's engineering philosophy emphasized extreme durability, which allowed many of these vehicles to remain in service for over 60–70 years.

A major technological leap occurred in the late 1920s with the development of the automatic contactor gear, allowing multiple-unit operation. By the 1930s, Ganz was at the forefront of streamlining and weight reduction, employing all-steel construction and modern, high-speed motors that defined the aesthetics of mid-century Budapest. [60]

Domestic Distribution (Kingdom of Hungary)


Until 1920, the cities within the historical Kingdom of Hungary were considered the company's primary domestic market. During the interwar period, Ganz focused on the modernization of the Budapest network under the unified municipal operator, BSZKRT. [61]

  • Bratislava (Pozsony): 1895 – Full system electrification and 9 initial motor cars. [62]
  • Rijeka (Fiume): 1899 – Electrical infrastructure and 8 motor cars.
  • Timișoara (Temesvár): 1899 – Turnkey system including 17 motor cars for the city's first electric line. [63]
  • Sibiu (Nagyszeben): 1905 – Supply of early trackless cars and urban trams.
  • Budapest (BKVT/BVVV): 1904–1912 – Mass production of the "V", "F", and "1000" series.
  • Debrecen: 1911 – 24 twin-axle motor cars for the city's newly electrified network. [64]
  • Košice (Kassa): 1913 – Full electrical equipment and motor cars for the first electric fleet.
  • Budapest (BSZKRT): 1927–1930 – Modernization of older types with new Ganz motors (e.g., 2900 series).
  • Budapest (TM "Stuka"): 1940–1943 – The debut of the iconic, streamlined, all-steel 3600 series, featuring advanced noise-reduction and rapid acceleration. [65]

International Exports


Ganz's export strategy was highly successful in winning "turnkey" projects and supplying specialized electrical components to major European capitals. [66]

  • Cairo (Egypt): 1896 – 40 motor cars and the city's first complete electrical transit infrastructure. [67]
  • Sofia (Bulgaria): 1901 – The first 6 motor cars for the city's inaugural tram lines.
  • Buenos Aires (Argentina): 1903–1905 – Large-scale export of bogies and electrical sets for the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company. [68]
  • Rome (Italy): 1905–1920s – Extensive supply of motors and controllers for the SRTO fleet. [69]
  • Amsterdam (Netherlands): 1920s – Supply of electrical components and motor parts for the GVB Amsterdam.
  • Vienna (Austria): 1910–1930s – Continued supply of specialized heavy-duty motors for the Vienna Tramway (Wiener Linien). [70]
  • Zagreb (Yugoslavia): 1922–1924 – Significant electrical upgrades and motor deliveries for the ZET Zagreb fleet.

Technological Evolution and War Impact The interwar period (1920–1939) saw Ganz shifting towards "multiple-unit control," enabling two or more motor cars to be operated by a single driver. The 1940-series TM (popularly known as "Stuka") was the pinnacle of this era, featuring a lightweight design and high-performance motors that rivaled the contemporary American PCC cars. [71]

However, World War II severely disrupted production. From 1942, the factory was increasingly forced to shift toward military production. The Siege of Budapest in 1944–1945 resulted in significant damage to the Ganz factories and the destruction of much of the domestic tramway infrastructure, bringing the company's most successful private era to a close before the post-1945 nationalization. [72]


Ganz-MÁVAG delivered 29 trams (2 car sets) to Alexandria, Egypt from 1985 to 1986. [73]

Shipbuilding, Ganz - Danubius

In 1911, the Ganz Company merged with the Danubius shipbuilding company, which was the largest shipbuilding company in Hungary. From 1911, the unified company adopted the "Ganz–Danubius" brand name. In the beginning of the 20th century the company had 19 shipyards on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea in the city of Fiume and Pola. [74] As Ganz-Danubius, the company became involved in shipbuilding before, and during, World War I. Ganz was responsible for building the dreadnought SMS Szent István, all of the Novara-class cruisers, all of the Tátra-class destroyers, and built diesel-electric U-boats at its shipyard in Budapest, for final assembly at Fiume. Several U-boats of the U-XXIX class, U-XXX class, U-XXXI class and U-XXXII class were completed. [75] A number of other types were laid down, but remained incomplete at the war's end. [76] Ganz-Danubius was contracted to build 2 of the 4 Ersatz Monarch-class superdreadnought battleships, the most ambitious and powerful warships Austria-Hungary attempted to build, but due to the outbreak of the war, construction of this class was postponed and eventually cancelled. By the end of the First World War, 116 naval vessels had been built by the Ganz-Danubius company. The company also produces transatlantic ocean liners for passenger lines Trieste - New York, Trieste - Montevideo, as a reflection of already formed wave of mass migration from Central Europe to America.

Aircraft

The first Hungarian "aeroplane factory" (UFAG) was founded by the Ganz Company and Weiss-Manfréd Works in 1912. During World War I, the company made many types of Albatros and Fokker fighter planes.

Before 1919, the company built ocean liners, dreadnought type battleships and submarines, power plants, automobiles [77] [78] and many types of fighter aircraft. [79]

The world's first turboprop engine was the Jendrassik Cs-1 designed by the Hungarian mechanical engineer György Jendrassik. It was built and tested in the Ganz factory in Budapest between 1939 and 1942. It was planned to be fitted to the Varga RMI-1 X/H twin-engined reconnaissance bomber designed by László Varga in 1940, but the program was cancelled. Jendrassik had also designed a small-scale 75 kW turboprop in 1937.[ citation needed ]

After World War II

In 1947, the Ganz Works was nationalised and in 1949 it became independent and six big companies came into existence, including the Ganz Transformer Factory. In 1959, Ganz Wagon and Machine Factory merged with the MÁVAG Locomotive and Machine Factory under the name of Ganz-MÁVAG Locomotive, Wagon and Machine Works. Of the products of the Works, outstanding results were shown in the field of the manufacture of diesel railcars and multiple units. Traditional products included tramcars as well, and customers included the tramway network of Budapest. In the meantime the Foundry workshop was closed down.

In 1974, the locomotive and wagon Works were merged under the name of Railway Vehicle Factory and then the machine construction branch went through significant development. The production of industrial and apartment house lifts became a new branch. Ganz-MÁVAG took over a lot of smaller plants in the 1960s and 1970s and their product range was extended. Among other things, they increased their bridge-building capacity. They made iron structures for several Tisza bridges, for the Erzsébet Bridge in Budapest, for public road bridges in Yugoslavia and for several industrial halls.

The Ganz Shipyard experienced its most productive times during the four decades following nationalisation. In the course of this period 1100 ship units were produced, the number of completed seagoing ships was 240 and that of floating cranes was 663. As a result of the great economic and social crises of the 1980s, Ganz-MÁVAG had to be reorganised. The company was transformed into seven independent Works and three joint ventures.

Ganz since 1989

In 1989, the British company Telfos Holdings gained a majority of the shares in Ganz Railway Vehicle Factory Co. Ltd. and the name of the company was changed to Ganz-Hunslet Co. Ltd. In the course of 1991 and 1992, the Austrian company Jenbacher Werke obtained 100% of the company's shares and consequently the railway vehicle factory is now a member of the international railway vehicle manufacturing group, Jenbacher Transport Systeme. At present, the Ganz Electric Works, under the name of Ganz-Ansaldo is a member of the Italian industrial giant, AnsaldoBreda. The Ganz Works were transformed into holdings. Ganz-Danubius was wound up in 1994. The Ganz Electric Meter Factory in Gödöllő became the member of the international Schlumberger group.

In 2006, the power transmission and distribution sectors of Ganz Transelektro were acquired by Crompton Greaves, [80] but still doing business under the Ganz brand name, while the unit dealing with electric traction (propulsion and control systems for electric vehicles) was acquired by Škoda Transportation and is now a part of Škoda Electric. [81]

Now the plant is operated by a new investor as a tenant, Ganz Transformer Motor and Manufacturing Ltd., after the previous owner was unable to finance the production. [82]

Timeline [83]

1991: Joint Venture with Italian Ansaldo named Ganz Ansaldo Ltd.

1994: Air-cooled turbogenerator from 20 up to 70MVA

1998: Development of double-cage induction motor for twin-drives first on the world

2000: Acquisition by Tranelektro Group under name of Ganz-Transelektro

2001: Developed 1MW ExN Non-sparking gasturbine starter motors for GE

2002: First transformer in the world for 123 kV with ester liquid

2006: Became a Part of Crompton Greaves Ltd as CG Electric Systems Hungary

2010: Start of manufacturing Safety Class 3&4 motors for Nuclear Power Plants

2018: Developing VFD-driven Increased Safety LVAC motors for driving OEM pumps used in Oil&gas fields

2020: Establishment of Ganz Transformer Motor and Generator Ltd., Ganz brand back in Hungarian ownership

Divisions

Source: [84]

Transformer division [85]

The Transformer division specializes in the design, manufacture and testing of substation transformers, generation transformers, auxiliary transformers, mobile transformers and traction transformers from 20 to 600 MVA (1000 MVA for autotransformers) from 52 to 800 kV.

Rotating machines division [86]

The production of three-phase, alternating current induction motors began in the factory in 1894. Through the 90's Ganz has developed more advanced motors with decreased total weight, increased efficiency and low noise levels in order to satisfy the actual needs of the market and all conditions of the industrial application and to conform to IEC, NEMA, ATEX and EAC standards.

GIS Service Division [87]

GIS Service division performs onsite works like maintenance, inspection, modification, overhaul, extensions on former GANZ and other brands of switchgears. The activity is mainly focused on the existing substations and equipment.

References

  1. ↑ About us at Ganz Holding (19 Mar 2023)
  2. ↑ About us, Ganz-holding.hu
  3. ↑ Mikulas Teich; Roy Porter; Bo Gustafsson (1996). The Industrial Revolution in National Context: Europe and the USA. Cambridge University Press. p. 280. ISBN   9780521409407.
  4. ↑ Guarnieri, M. (2013). "Who Invented the Transformer?". IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine. 7 (4): 56–59. Bibcode:2013IIEM....7d..56G. doi:10.1109/MIE.2013.2283834. S2CID   27936000.
  5. ↑ Hughes, Thomas P. (1993). Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 95–96. ISBN   978-0-8018-2873-7 . Retrieved Sep 9, 2009.
  6. ↑ http://www.sze.hu/~mgergo/EnergiatudatosEpulettervezes/2013_1_feladat/ErosErika/V%EDzenergia%20hasznos%EDt%E1s%20szigetk%F6zi%20szemmel%20EL%D5AD%C1SANYAG.pdf%5B%5D
  7. ↑ American Society for Engineering Education (1995). Proceedings, Part 2. p. 1848.
  8. ↑ Robert L. Libbey (1991). A Handbook of Circuit Math for Technical Engineers. CRC Press. p. 22. ISBN   9780849374005.
  9. ↑ "Bláthy, Ottó Titusz" . Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Electrical Society of Cornell University (1896). Proceedings of the Electrical Society of Cornell University. Andrus & Church. p. 39.
  11. ↑ Coltman, John W. (1988). "The Transformer". Scientific American. 258 (1): 86–95. Bibcode:1988SciAm.258a..86C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0188-86.
  12. ↑ Smil, Vaclav (2005). Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867–1914 and Their Lasting Impact. Oxford University Press. p. 71. ISBN   9780195168747.
  13. ↑ Hughes, Thomas Parke (1993). Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880–1930. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 95. ISBN   9780801846144.
  14. ↑ Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 1962. p. 136.
  15. ↑ Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 1961. p. 126.
  16. ↑ Sagafi-Nejad, Tagi; Moxon, Richard W.; Perlmutter, Howard V. (2013). Controlling International Technology Transfer: Issues, Perspectives, and Implications. Pergamon Press. p. 45.
  17. ↑ "Ottó Bláthy, Miksa Déri, Károly Zipernowsky". IEC Techline. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved Apr 16, 2010.
  18. ↑ Hungarian Inventors and their Inventions Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Parsons, Robert Hodson (1939). The Early Days of the Power Station Industry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 242–245. ISBN   978-1-107-67446-2. OCLC   2163102.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  20. ↑ Bláthy, Otto Titusz (August 31, 1894). "The Development of the Alternator". The Electrical Engineer. 14. Biggs & Company: 241–243.
  21. ↑ Szécsey, István (1994). Ganz vasúti járművek 1868–1918[Ganz Railway Vehicles 1868–1918] (in Hungarian). Budapest: MÁV Dokumentációs Központ. ISBN   978-963-552-285-9.
  22. ↑ Heller, László (1957). "The Centenary of the Ganz Works". Periodica Polytechnica Mechanical Engineering. 1 (1): 5–12.
  23. ↑ Garcke, Emile (1906). Manual of Electrical Undertakings and Directory of Officials. Vol. 10. London: Electrical Press. pp. 144–146. OCLC   220682052.
  24. ↑ Jeszenői, Sándor (1995). The first Ganz system central stations in Great Britain. Budapest: Museum of Electrotechnics. OCLC   1014761405.
  25. ↑ Hughes, Thomas P. (1983). Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880–1930. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 131–137. ISBN   978-0-8018-2873-7. OCLC   44955740.
  26. ↑ Zipernowsky, Károly (May 14, 1887). "The Cologne Electric Light Station". The Electrical World. 9. W. J. Johnston Co.: 235–237.
  27. ↑ Jeszenői, Sándor (1995). The first Ganz system central stations in Germany. Budapest: Museum of Electrotechnics. OCLC   1014761405.
  28. ↑ "The Electric Lighting of Strassburg". The Electrician. 35. James Gray: 851–853. October 25, 1895. OCLC   5643444.
  29. ↑ Szécsey, István (1994). Ganz vasúti járművek 1868–1918[Ganz Railway Vehicles 1868–1918] (in Hungarian). Budapest: MÁV Dokumentációs Központ. ISBN   978-963-552-285-9.
  30. ↑ Heller, László (1957). "The Centenary of the Ganz Works". Periodica Polytechnica Mechanical Engineering. 1 (1): 5–12.
  31. ↑ Parsons, Robert Hodson (1939). The Early Days of the Power Station Industry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 210–215. ISBN   978-1-107-67446-2.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  32. ↑ Mori, Giorgio (1992). Storia dell'industria elettrica in Italia: Le origini, 1882-1914 (in Italian). Rome: Laterza. ISBN   978-88-420-4039-2.
  33. ↑ Jeszenői, Sándor (1995). The first Ganz system central stations in Italy and France. Budapest: Museum of Electrotechnics. OCLC   1014761405.
  34. ↑ "The Electric Lighting of Nice". The Electrical Engineer. 8. Biggs & Company: 486–488. November 20, 1891.
  35. ↑ Szécsey, István (1994). Ganz vasúti járművek 1868–1918[Ganz Railway Vehicles 1868–1918] (in Hungarian). Budapest: MÁV Dokumentációs Központ. ISBN   978-963-552-285-9.
  36. ↑ Hughes, Thomas P. (1983). Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880–1930. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 138–142. ISBN   978-0-8018-2873-7.
  37. ↑ Heller, László (1957). "The Centenary of the Ganz Works". Periodica Polytechnica Mechanical Engineering. 1 (1): 5–12.
  38. ↑ Garcke, Emile (1908). Manual of Electrical Undertakings. Vol. 12. London: Electrical Press. pp. 112–115. OCLC   220682052.
  39. ↑ Eugenii Katz. "Blathy". Clarkson University. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  40. ↑ Garcke, Emile (1911). Manual of Electrical Undertakings and Directory of Officials. Vol. 15. London: Electrical Press. pp. 182–185. OCLC   220682052.
  41. ↑ Jeszenői, Sándor (1995). Ottó Bláthy: The Inventor of the Induction Meter. Budapest: Museum of Electrotechnics. OCLC   1014761405.
  42. ↑ Bláthy, Otto Titusz (May 11, 1889). "The Measurement of Alternating Current Energy". The Electrical World. 13. W. J. Johnston Co.: 278–280.
  43. ↑ Szécsey, István (1994). Ganz vasúti járművek 1868–1918[Ganz Railway Vehicles 1868–1918] (in Hungarian). Budapest: MÁV Dokumentációs Központ. ISBN   978-963-552-285-9.
  44. ↑ Heller, László (1957). "The Centenary of the Ganz Works". Periodica Polytechnica Mechanical Engineering. 1 (1): 5–12.
  45. ↑ Garcke, Emile (1911). Manual of Electrical Undertakings and Directory of Officials. Vol. 15. London: Electrical Press. pp. 182–185. OCLC   220682052.
  46. ↑ Heller, László (1957). "The Centenary of the Ganz Works". Periodica Polytechnica Mechanical Engineering. 1 (1): 5–12.
  47. ↑ Bláthy, Otto Titusz (May 11, 1889). "The Measurement of Alternating Current Energy". The Electrical World. 13. W. J. Johnston Co.: 278–280.
  48. ↑ The development and heyday of mechanical science (Hungarian) Link
  49. ↑ The development and heyday of mechanical science (Hungarian) Link
  50. ↑ Railroad Gazette – Volume 37 – Page 296 (printed in 1904)
  51. ↑ Modern Machinery – Volumes 19–20 – Page 206 (Printed in 1906)
  52. ↑ John Robertson Dunlap, Arthur Van Vlissingen, John Michael Carmody: Factory and Industrial Management – Volume 33 – Page 1003 (printed in 1907
  53. ↑ Duffy (2003), p. 120-121.
  54. 1 2 Hungarian Patent Office. "Kálmán Kandó (1869–1931)". www.mszh.hu. Archived from the original on 2010-10-08. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
  55. 1 2 "Kalman Kando" . Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  56. ↑ "Kalman Kando" . Retrieved 2009-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  57. ↑ Duffy, Michael C. (2003). Electric Railways 1880–1990. IET. p. 137. ISBN   9780852968055.
  58. ↑ "Ganz and Tungsram – the 20th century". Electric History. EnergoSolar.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  59. ↑ Szécsey István: Ganz vasúti járművek 1868–1918. MÁV Dokumentációs Központ, Budapest, 1994. ISBN 9635522858
  60. ↑ Ganz-Holding: The History of the Ganz Works. Official Corporate Archive, 2010.
  61. ↑ Bodrogi Bence Péter: A magyarországi villamosvasutak története. Budapest, 2004.
  62. ↑ L. Juvancz: A magyar elektrotechnika és a Ganz-gyár. Elektrotechnika folyóirat, 1934/12.
  63. ↑ Villamosok.hu: A temesvári villamos története.
  64. ↑ Gulyás György: Debrecen villamosközlekedése. Debreceni Közlekedési Vállalat, 1971.
  65. ↑ Szécsey István: A Ganz „Stuka” villamosok története. Közlekedéstudományi Szemle, 2001.
  66. ↑ Frisnyák Zsuzsa: A magyar vasút és gépgyártás története. MTA Történettudományi Intézet, 2001.
  67. ↑ Ganz-Danubius: Electrical Tramways in Cairo – Technical Report. Budapest, 1898.
  68. ↑ Z. J. Simon: The Hungarian Industry and South American Markets. Journal of Economic History, 1988.
  69. ↑ Archivio Storico Capitolino: Lo sviluppo del tram a Roma. Roma, 1996.
  70. ↑ H. Lehnhart: Die Wiener Straßenbahn – Technik und Geschichte. Slezak, 1980.
  71. ↑ László J.: A magyar villamosgyártás aranykora. Műszaki Szemle, 1941.
  72. ↑ Romsics Ignác: Magyarország története a XX. században. Osiris, 1999.
  73. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2015-01-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  74. ↑ History of Ganz Danubius
  75. ↑ R.H. Gibson, Maurice Prendergast (2002). The German Submarine War 1914–1918. Periscope Publishing Ltd. p. 386. ISBN   9781904381082.
  76. ↑ http://www.gwpda.org/naval/ahsubs.htm Sieche article on KuK U-Boats
  77. ↑ Iván Boldizsár: NHQ; the New Hungarian Quarterly, Volume 16, Issue 2; Volume 16, Issues 59–60, p. 128
  78. ↑ Hungarian Technical Abstracts: Magyar Műszaki Lapszemle, Volumes 10–13, p. 41
  79. ↑ Iván T. Berend: Case Studies on Modern European Economy: Entrepreneurship, Inventions, and Institutions, p. 151
  80. ↑ Ganz is now CG Archived 2011-03-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2009-11-28.
  81. ↑ info@lundegaard.cz, Lundegaard – e-business solutions provider, www.lundegaard.cz. "Česká verze – ŠKODA TRANSPORTATION a.s." Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2016.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  82. ↑ "Production resumes at the Ganz factory – Ganz Group". 8 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  83. ↑ "About us – Ganz Group" . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  84. ↑ "Ganz Group" . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  85. ↑ "Transformer Division – Ganz Group" . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  86. ↑ "Rotating Machines Division – Ganz Group" . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  87. ↑ "GIS Service Division – Ganz Group". Ganz Transzformátor- és Villamos Forgógépgyártó Kft. Retrieved 2021-03-23.

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