 Eltra logo | |
 Eltra tower, Bydgoszcz, 1971 | |
| Company type | Firm |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electrical engineering |
| Founded | 1923 inBydgoszcz,Poland |
| Founder | Stefan Ciszewski |
| Headquarters | 146 Glinki streetBydgoszcz ,Poland |
| Products | Electrical engineering |
| Parent | Schneider Electric |
| Website | www |
Eltra is a company founded in 1923 inBydgoszcz. It is one of the oldest electrotechnical brands in Poland. In 1959, Eltra produced the first Polish transistor radio (Eltra "MOT-59"). In 1997, part of the plant became in turn the property of "Tyco International" and Lexel A/S (1998). In 2003, it was set up as a joint-stock company, "Elda-Eltra Elektrotechnika", belonging to the international group Schneider Electric. It operates today asSchneider Electric Elda S.A.
The ancestor of the company "Eltra" was established on 1 March 1923[1] by Warsaw-born engineer Stefan Ciszewski (1886-1938).
Ciszewski graduated in 1905 from arealschule in Warsaw. Having studied inMittweida, Germany, he completed his apprenticeship at the Berlin branch ofAEG, from where he graduated in 1912 with a diploma in electrical engineering.[2] After a stint inRussia, he returned to the capital of the newly independent Poland in 1919 and participated in setting up an electrotechnical company with engineer Kazimierz Szpotański.[3] In 1923, he withdrew from the firm and moved to Bydgoszcz.
The first seat was located at the back of 3Świętej Trójcy street.[4]The plant occupied only 25 square metres (270 sq ft) with a few elements (alathe, a press shop, a cleaning drum, hand presses...). Ciszewski soon employed 13 employees and the management was composed of engineers (Ciszewski, his father-in-law and Władysław Gwiazdowski).[5]
In the beginning, production was limited tofuses, insulating elements, lamp hangers andporcelainplugs and sockets.[6] The factory benefited from the boom associated with the fast pace ofelectrification of the country.[7]
In 1925, the company significantly increased its share capital thanks to the funds brought by industrialist Mieczysław Kutnicki:[2] on 20 September 1925, the venture was registered under the name "Fabryka Artykułów Elektrotechnicznych inż. Stefan Ciszewski i S-ka, Sp. z o. o.". A new factory was built at 1Jana III Sobieskiego street[4] and in 1933, began the production ofthermosetting plastic mass.[5] This year, the company sponsored the creation of a sports club, theCiszewski Bydgoszcz (1933-1939).[8] The latter achieved certain success in football ("Spartan Club"-Pomeranian vice-champion) and in basketball (Pomeranian champion), hence publicizing the firm.[4]
In 1937, the enterprise was transformed into aJoint-stock company, controlled by the Ciszewski family:[9] between 1928 and 1939, the workforce increased from 139 to 526 people.
The production was based on the designs made by Stefan Ciszewski, who in parallel applied for manypatents.[1] The firm catalogue comprised 1,220 electrotechnical devices for low andhigh voltage.[9] To meet the growing demand, the "Fabryka Artykułów Elektrotechnicznych" worked three shifts[10] and had opened offices in seven major Polish cities.[2] In 1939, the establishment of a new branch inZamość, in theCentral Industrial Region, had even began.
The company generatedprofits throughout the entire interwar period, even during theGreat Depression when extensive investments were realized in expanding and modernizing the factory.[11] Furthermore, the enterprise had a remarkable social policy, caring for employees, sanitary and working conditions.[1]
At the death of Stefan Ciszewski, on 15 November 1938, in his villa at 9Markwarta Street,[7] the management of the "Fabryka Artykułów Elektrotechnicznych" was successively taken over by Władysław Gwiazdowski (until 31 March 1939) and Janusz Zambrzuski.[1]
Ciszewski's plant demonstrated itsknow-how at thePoznań International Fair andLeipzig Trade Fair.[4] It received gold medals of recognition for its products during the following exhibitions:[5]
The company was famous for its high-quality production and its lavish illustrated catalogs.[1] Domestically, "Fabryka Artykułów Elektrotechnicznych" controlled 80% of the installation equipment market. Abroad, its main customers were large groups, such asSiemens,AEG orBrown Boveri.[1] In the interwar period, the factory was one of the largest enterprises in the electrotechnical industry in Poland, together with the "Bracia Borkowscy Zakłady Elektrotechniczne S.A." plant in Warsaw and the "Spółka Akcyjna Przemysłu Elektrotechnicznego" inCzechowice-Dziedzice.[1]
In autumn 1939, the company was taken over by Germany forces.[12]
At that time, the daughter and the son-in-law of factory founder Stefan Ciszewski were both shot during the "Tryszczyn Crimes",[11] a series of mass executions carried out by the Germans at the turn of September and October 1939.
In spring 1940, Erhardt Schmidt, an industrialist from Gdańsk, was appointed as the companytrustee and bought it in 1941.[12] In addition to the regular production of electrotechnical items, specific articles were manufactured for the benefit of theWehrmacht (e.g.fuzes,shrapnels) and theLuftwaffe (radio stations)[2] in the local workshop ofMAKRUM. The increase of activity due to the war production resulted in additional machinery and a growing workforce, from 200 (1939) to 767 employees (1944).[12]In the final months of the conflict, the factory employed up to 1200 people, as it was augmented by prisoners from jails inKoronowo (1941) andSztum (1943);[6] most of them werePoles, while managerial positions were occupied by Germans.[12]
On 20 January 1945 Edmund Biechowski, a plant worker, removed theexplosives aimed at blowing up the facility as Nazis forces were retreating.[13]
On 8 April 1945 the personnel of the factory was ordered by Soviet military authorities to leave the plant. TheRed Army began dismantling and transporting the factory equipment to theUSSR.[14] By 16 April, 140 boxes with machines and 13 with other equipment were transported to an electrical factory inLeningrad.[8] This move was compensated in spring 1946, by the delivering of devices from the company Schortmann inLeipzig.[9]
The ex-"Fabryka" was then nationalized[4] and subordinated to the "Central Management of Electrical Machines and Apparatus Industry" (Polish:Centralny Zarząd Przemysłu Maszyn i Aparatów Elektrycznych) and from 1952 to the "Central Management of Precision Products" (Polish:Centralny Zarząd Wyrobów Precyzyjnych).[5] Until 1950, the factory grew with branches opening inNakło nad Notecią,Toruń andPoniatowa: these new plants took over part of the production in Bydgoszcz. Eventually, Nakło's facility, employing about 300 people, became independent in 1956, receiving the naming "Zakłady Wytwarzanie Sprzętu Instalacyjny w Nakło" (English:Production Plant of Installation Equipment in Nakło).[5] Likewise, in 1970, the "Zakłady Podzespołów Radiowych-Porad" established in 1957 inGniew, took over the manufacture of some contact components from the Bydgoszcz site.
In 1948, a standardization body was established at the factory so as to normalize the products and distribute their manufacturing rationally between the different plants.[5] Additionally, another office was set up in Bydgoszcz in 1949, "Zakłady Wytwarzanie Sprzętu Instalacyjny", which role was to oversee all sites in the country producing electrotechnical equipment.
Under the guidance of theSix-Year Plan (1950-1956), the Bydgoszcz site was expanded (1952) and staffing increased to 1,240 employees.[15]
In 1956, by the decision of the Council of Ministers, the factory was subordinated to theUnitra (Union of Electronic and Teletechnical Industry), which triggered the production of contact components for the electronics industry. This change led the Bydgoszcz plant to be renamedEltra.[5]
Eltra pioneered in 1959 the development and production of the first Polish miniaturetransistor receiver, theEltra MOT-59 (MOT stands for "Miniaturowy Odbiornik Tranzystorowy" or "Miniature Transistor Receiver"),[11] thanks to a team of engineers led by Roman Paluchowski.[16]Considering the absence of cooperation with the Western countries, the success of this project in a plant without any tradition in the domain can be considered as a great achievement for the time.[17]
After this breakthrough, manufacturing portable receivers took a growing importance in the total output of Eltra, but it never replaced the production of basic electronic components.[18]Furthermore, the lack of qualified operators able to master the production of components forradio receivers forced the direction to diversify its capacities by launching new processing lines (plastics, phototechnical scale items...).[19]
The second model of a transistor radio produced was theKoliber MOT-601, in 1961.[6]Soon (1965-1968), new and upgraded portable radios were designed (e.g.Tramp,Minor,Sylwia,Ara,Kamila).[19] In 1969, three-band receiver models were available (Dominika andIzabella), as previous radios could only receive two bands,low frequency andmedium wave, and a year later theLaura 4-band receiver came into production.[6]
In 1960, Eltra started to assemble TV sets (Szmaragd 902) from parts delivered by the "Warszawskie Zakłady Telewizyjne" (English:Warsaw Television Works).[16] In the 1960s, the production halls were enlarged[18] and in 1964, an 11-storey office building was opened at 81Dworcowa Street,[19] in downtown Bydgoszcz. The production technology was gradually enriched with new design solutions, such asprinted circuit boards,[18] even though the inefficiency of thecentrally planned economy undermined the implementation of any new process.[18]
In 1968, the millionth radio model was produced[6] and licenses were purchased from the French company "Isostat" for two-wayswitches andkeyboards, which later became Eltra's main exports. In the early 1970s, 400,000 radios receivers were produced every year: it represented 60% of the entire production of the plant.[6] Transistors were imported from abroad, first provided byTelefunken and later byPhilips.[16]
Eltra practically monopolized the production of contact elements on the Polish market. In 1971, a plant inBiałogard, previously subordinated to the Warsaw firm "Rawar", was incorporated into the company.[11] In 1973, Eltra took control of the "Bydgoszcz Department of Musical Instruments" which had also a branch inChojnice.
In 1971-1976, in addition to the 12 new types of radio receivers into production, electroniccalculators entered also serial manufacturing.[18] At that time, Eltra was one of the few Polish companies that used a design artist to create radio models, giving to the Eltra products a unique and individual style.[18] In 1980, after many years experiments, the firststereoradio cassette player ("Klaudia RMS-801") andelectric organ were manufactured.[18]
In 1975, Eltra employed about 1,500 people in Bydgoszcz and 5,000 people in total,[19] most of whom were female.[18] The company had a strong social policy for the personnel, with its own dentist office and a clinic covering various areas (gynecology,rheumatology,gastroenterology).[20] Moreover, Eltra's workers could use the services of a nursery and a kindergarten and enjoy several holiday resorts in the country (Mielno,Sosnówka,Sianożęty,Więcbork andOrzechowo).[21]
In 1978, the split ofUnitra into two distinct bodies made Eltra part of the "Unitra-Dom" (Union of the Electronic Industry). In the re-structuring, it lost its plants in Gniew and Białogard, which joined the enterprise "Unitech" (Union of Electronic Components and Materials Industry). From 1979 to 1983, Eltra also disengaged from its site inRzeszów, producing popular portable radios.
While the products were easily sold in the Polishshortage economy-plagued market,export was only carried out in the second half of the 1970s.[18] The "Unitra-Eltra" export best sellers Radio in the 1980s were:[22]
Eltra models were exported toAustria,Yugoslavia,France,Italy,West Germany,Netherlands,Spain,Sweden, but electrical components only to theSoviet Union andEast Germany.[22]In 1988, in the framework of the nationwide program of digitalization of the Polish economy, Eltra saw its Bydgoszcz site at Glinka street expanded.[9]
As a consequence of its monopoly on the domestic market, Eltra and its products were treated as a norm in Poland: as an example, its connectors and sockets were used in the "Elwro 800 Junior", the first mass-distributed school computer in the country.[23]
In 1991, Eltra state-owned status was transformed into firm proprietorship.[18] Since 1995, due to the hyper competition on imported electronic equipment, Eltra had focused its production on electrical installation equipment (which made up more than 50% of its total output in 1998) and telecommunications.[24]
Simultaneously, connectors and tools manufacturing was transferred to "El-Con" and "El-Form", two subsidiaries which in 1997 were purchased byAMP Inc., later (1999) part ofTyco International (re-branded in 2007 Tyco Electronics).
In Bydgoszcz, unused production halls in Glinki district were sold to "Bydgoskie Fabryki Mebli". In 1997, Eltra company obtained anISO 9001 quality management system certificate and in 2000, anISO 14001 environmental management system certificate.
In 1998, the company was acquired by the Scandinavian capital group "Lexel A/S" belonging toSchneider Electric.[18] In 2003, Eltra merged with another Polish unit belonging to Schneider Electric, "Zakłady Elda", inSzczecinek. Since 2022, Eltra operates under the nameSchneider Electric Elda S.A. and has a significant position on the domestic market of electrical installation equipment. The plant in Bydgoszcz produces electrical installation equipment and accessories for buildings, as well as building control and communication systems.[25]
The building dates back to 1910,[26] it has been built for Agnes Wiechert, the wife of a veterinary surgeon, living in the same street.[27] On 1 March 1923 Stefan Ciszewski set up there its first workshop.[28] In 1992, acommemorative plaque was unveiled near the porch, recalling a World War II clandestine cell codenamed "3x3", led by Lieutenant Colonel and intelligence officer Józef Gruss, which operated in the edifice.
The site comprised subsidiaries from Eltra, which have been acquired by "Tyco Electronics".
On 10 March 2011 "Tyco Electronics Ltd" changed its name to "TE Connectivity Ltd", more relevant to its position as a connectivity and sensor component manufacturer.[29][30]
The factory is specialized in the production of connectors,resistors,relays and otherelectrical engineering devices. It cooperates with groups such asSiemens,Grundfos andEricsson. The plant employs approximately 1,300 people.[31]
In September 2022, "TE Connectivity" moved and expanded an injection molding branch in Bydgoszcz, from Unii Lubelskiej street to Krzywca Street, on the formerZachem area.[32] The Bydgoszcz sites developed the production of a wide range of connectors for the electronic industry and cabling systems for thetelecommunications industry.
The 11-floor skyscraper has been erected in 1963 to house Eltra offices. It still is the tallest building (49.5 metres (162 ft))[33] on the street. In the 1990s, it has been home to different companies.[34]
In 2018, a thorough renovation project of the building has been carried out by the company "Locum". The new facade design and the refurbishing of the main entrance has been realized by the Architectural Design Studio "Archigeum".[35]
In this factory were produced, among others, popular laserCD players and electronic organs at a rate of 5000 models each year in the late 1980s.As the site expanded, it took over in 1972 the buildings of the nearby former "Accordion Factory in Bydgoszcz" (Polish:Bydgoska Fabryka Akordeonów (BFA)).[36]
The company has undergone various iterations of its brand name, as follows:
On 23 June 2022 the ordinary general meeting of Shareholders of "Elda-Eltra Elektrotechnika S.A." in Bydgoszcz adopted a resolution to change the company name of the company as follows:Schneider Electric Elda S.A..[25]
Since the late 1950s, Eltra has had a dominant position on the Polish market of electrical contact elements such as switches, connectors and lamp sockets.
In the 1960s, company best seller products became transistor radio receivers. One of the most famous was theKoliber model. In 1969, three-band receiver models were available (Dominika andIzabella), as previous radios could only receive two bands,low frequency andmedium wave, and a year later theLaura 4-band receiver came into production.At that time, Eltra proposed the modelJacek, sold in parts to be customer-assembled.[6]
In the mid-1970s, the production of the first portable stereo radio started. In total, several dozen models of portable radio receivers have been manufactured by Eltra, starting from the cheap and basic ones (Sylwia,Kama), to luxurious items (Julia Stereo) and radio tuners for shelf stereosUnitra, via popular models (Mariola,Jowita).[6]
In the 1980s, radio tape recorders (portable and stationary) came into production (e.g.Edyta 2 RMS-823,Klaudia RMS-801,Marta RM 405).In 1989, productions of stereo units withnoise reduction system began.
The 1970s popular radio tape recorderGrundig MK 2500 had also been produced in Bydgoszcz under license asUnitra ZRK.[37]
The company produced as well:[18]
In addition to civilian line of productions, Eltra managed special manufacturing orders for the army (e.g. teletechnical connectors).[18]
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