 Logo since 1919 | |
| Industry | Electrical industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1903; 123 years ago (1903) |
| Defunct | 1967; 59 years ago (1967) merger with parent companyAEG toAEG-Telefunken (1996 merger withDaimler-Benz and sale/dissolution various company parts), 2005 rename of the last former Telefunken division |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany |
| Parent | Gordon Brothers |
| Website | telefunken |
Telefunken was a German radio andtelevision producer, founded inBerlin in 1903 as a joint venture betweenSiemens & Halske and theAllgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) ("General electricity company").Prior toWorld War I, the company set up the first world-wide network of communications[1] and was the first in the world to sell electronic televisions withcathode-ray tubes, in Germany in 1934.[2][3]
The brand had several incarnations:
The company also had several subsidiaries andspin-offs of its own:
The companyTelefunken USA was incorporated in early 2001 to provide restoration services and build reproductions of vintage Telefunken microphones.[4]
In 2023, the Telefunken brand was acquired by the advisory and investment firm Gordon Brothers.[5]
Around the start of the 20th century, two groups of German researchers worked on the development of techniques for wireless communication. The one group at AEG, led byAdolf Slaby andGeorg Graf von Arco, developed systems for theKaiserliche Marine; the other one, underKarl Ferdinand Braun, at Siemens, for the German Army. Their main competitor was the BritishMarconi Company.
When a dispute concerningpatents arose between the two companies,Kaiser Wilhelm II urged both parties to join efforts, creatingGesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie System Telefunken ("The Company for Wireless Telegraphy Ltd.") joint venture on 27 May 1903, with the disputed patents and techniques invested in it. On 17 April 1923, it was renamedTelefunken, The Company for Wireless Telegraphy. Telefunken was the company'stelegraphic address. The first technical director of Telefunken was CountGeorg von Arco.
Telefunken rapidly became a major player in the radio and electronics fields, both civilian and military. Prior to World War I the company set up the first world wide network of communications[1] and during the war they supplied radio sets and telegraphy equipment for the military, as well as building one of the firstradio navigation systems for theZeppelin force. TheTelefunken Kompass Sender operated from 1908 to 1918, allowing the Zeppelins to navigate throughout theNorth Sea area in any weather.
In 1911, Telefunken built a wireless station inWest Sayville just north of theLong Island Rail Road tracks. A 500-foot tower that could be raised and lowered rose from a ball and socket joint atop a concrete foundation. It was completed in 1912 and wireless messages could then be transmitted to a similar tower inNauen 3,500 miles away. From August 1, 1914, until April 6, 1917, the United States monitored messages sent over the Telefunken wireless and theUnited States Marine Corps guarded the station. After the U.S. declared war the station was sealed off, the wire fence surrounding it was charged with electricity, and floodlights were placed throughout. AfterWorld War I it was taken over by Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company and later theFederal Aviation Administration. It was demolished in 1938.[6]
Starting in 1923, Telefunken built broadcast transmitters and radio sets. In 1928, Telefunken made history by designing the V-41 amplifier for the German Radio Network. This was the very first two-stage, "Hi-Fi" amplifier. Over time, Telefunken perfected their designs and in 1950 the V-72 amplifier was developed. The TAB (a manufacturing subcontractor to Telefunken) V-72 soon became popular with other radio stations and recording facilities. The V-72S was the only type of amplifier found in the REDD.37 console used bythe Beatles atAbbey Road Studios on many of their early recordings.
In 1932, record players were added to the product line.
In 1941, Siemens transferred its Telefunken shares to AEG as part of the agreements known as the "Telefunken settlement", and AEG thus became the sole owner and continued to lead Telefunken as a subsidiary (starting in 1955 as "Telefunken GmbH" and from 1963 as "Telefunken AG").
During the Second World War, Telefunken was a supplier ofvacuum tubes, transmitters and radio relay systems, and developed Funkmess facilities (later referred to as radar devices by the US Navy) and directional finders, as part of the German air defence against aerial bombing. During the war, manufacturing plants were shifted to and developed in west of Germany or relocated. Thus, Telefunken, under AEG, turned into the smaller subsidiary, with the three divisions realigning and data processing technology, elements as well as broadcast, television and phono. Telefunken was also the originator of the FM radio broadcast system. Telefunken, through the subsidiary companyTeldec (a joint venture withDecca Records), was for many decades one of the largest German record companies, until Teldec was sold toWEA in 1988.
In 1959, Telefunken established a modern semiconductor works inHeilbronn, where in April 1960 production began. The works was expanded several times, and in 1970 a new 6-storey building was built at the northern edge of the area. At the beginning of the 1970s it housed approximately 2,500 employees.
In 1967, Telefunken was merged with AEG, which was then renamed to AEG-Telefunken. In the beginning of the 1960s,Walter Bruch developed thePAL-colour television system for the company, in use by most countries of thewestern Hemisphere (except the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the western part of South America). PAL is established i.e. in theUnited Kingdom (PAL-I) and, except France, many other European countries -–also in Brazil (PAL-M), Argentina (PAL-N), South Africa, India and Australia.
Themainframe computer TR 4[7] was developed at Telefunken inBacknang, and theTR 440 [de] model was developed at Telefunken inKonstanz, including the firstball-based mouse namedRollkugel in 1968.[8] The computers were in use at many German university computing centres from the 1970s to around 1985. The development and manufacture of large computers was separated in 1974 to the Konstanz Computer Company (CGK). The production of mini- and process computers was integrated into the automatic control engineering division of AEG. When AEG was bought byDaimler in 1985, "Telefunken" was dropped from the company name.
In 1995, Telefunken was sold to Tech Sym Corporation (owners of Continental Electronics Corporation of Dallas) for $9 million. However, Telefunken remained a German company.[9]
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Telefunken was also instrumental in the development of high quality audio noise reduction systems, includingtelcom c4 [de] (marketed since 1975),High Com (marketed since 1978),High Com II,High Com III,High Com FM, andCX (1982).
In 2005, Telefunken Sender Systeme Berlin changed its name toTransradio SenderSysteme Berlin AG. The name "Transradio" dates back to 1918, when Transradio was founded as a subsidiary of Telefunken. A year later, in 1919, Transradio made history by introducing duplex transmission. Transradio has specialized in research, development and design of modernAM,VHF/FM andDRM broadcasting systems.
In August 2006, it was acquired by the Turkish companyProfilo Telra, one of the largest European manufacturers of TV-devices, with brand-ownerTelefunken Licenses GmbH granting a license for theTelefunken trademark rights and producing televisions under that name.
The old Telefunken company had produced an extensive product spectrum of devices and systems from 1903 to 1996. Common characteristics are the authority for high frequency and communications technology and the construction unit and infrastructure technology necessary for it. Among other things:
Into the 1930s years, production was made after a distributor in the workshops of the two parent companies. The company headquarters was located inBerlin Kreuzberg, Hallesches Ufer 30 (1918–1937).
The first commercially made electronictelevision sets withcathode-ray tubes were manufactured by Telefunken in Berlin in 1932.[2]
Starting from 1938, manufacturing and developing plants were concentrated at the new headquarters (until 1945) inBerlin Zehlendorf, Goerzallee.
During the Second World War, there were further manufacturing plants in the Berlin area, inThuringia,Saxony,Moravia,Silesia, onRügen. In addition, in Baltic countries atTallinn andRiga, and in occupied areas of Poland atKraków andŁódź, floats and works were established. Thevacuum tube factory Łódź was shifted with the staff in August 1944 toUlm (Fortress Wilhelmsburg).
After the Second World War, new firm locations for development and production were established. The company headquarters was located first inBerlin-Schöneberg (1945–1948), then inBerlin-Kreuzberg (1948–1952),Berlin-Moabit (1952–1960) andBerlin Charlottenburg (1960–1967).
Production plants were located in:
