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Tungsram was a manufacturing company located in Hungary and known for their light bulbs and electronics. Established in Újpest (today part of Budapest, Hungary) in 1896, it initially produced telephones, wires and switchboards. The name "Tungsram" is a portmanteau of tungsten ( ) and wolfram ( ), the two common names of tungsten used for making light bulb filaments. Before becoming nationalized by the Communist government in 1945, the company was the world's third largest manufacturer of light bulbs and radiotubes, after the American General Electric and RCA companies.
In March 1937, the first television experimental broadcasts of still images (Tungsram trademark and Mickey Mouse) began in the Tungsram laboratory, initially with low FPS. With the help of the charge storage video camera developed by the company, a successful continuous motion picture transmission was tested in an experimental TV broadcasting station at Újpest in June 1937.Balázs Bozó: The history of Tungsram electron tube production (Hungarian)[1]
British Tungsram Radio Works was a subsidiary of Hungarian Tungsram in pre-war days.
In 1990, General Electric acquired a majority stake in Tungsram and over six years invested $600 million in the venture, thoroughly restructuring every aspect of its operations. To date, this has been the largest manufacturing investment by a U.S. firm in Central and Eastern Europe. World BankJanuary-February 1997 Thereafter Tungsram operated as a subsidiary of General Electric and the name merely was retained as a brand.
As of February 2018, the CEO of General Electric, Jörg Bauer agreed to buy GEʼs lighting business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, as well as its global automotive lighting business. The business continues to operate again under the name Tungsram Group. Company of former GE Hungary head to buy GE Lighting EMEA Budapest Business Journal. February 15, 2018
Since February 2020, the business partners of the company have been able to use the recently opened Tungsram Lounge at the Ferenc Liszt International Airport with conference rooms.
In April 2022, Tungsram laid off 1600 employees and then in May they filed for bankruptcy protection. In November nearing the end of the six month protection period they announced they had been unable to come to an agreement with their creditors and were thus going into liquidation. As part of the liquidation process it was decided the Zalaegerszeg plant would continue to operate under the name Scintilla Fémalkatrész Kft.
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