The development of industrial processing of hemp. Part II.
Post-Bakay era 1890 – 1944
The Szeged Hemp Spinning Factory was almost the exclusive supplier of both the joint army and the Hungarian Army, and was one of the first to be placed under military supervision.
The hemp processing factory in Újszeged was established by Miklós Hipp from Palánka and János Narbuth from Lemberg. In July 1887, the city sold 40 acres of land on the lower banks of the Tisza River to entrepreneurs on favorable terms. The factory buildings were completed by the summer of 1888, and hemp soaking began. The factory was taken over by First Szeged Hemp Finishing Co. in 1889 with a share capital of HUF 200,000. In 1891 the share capital was already 650,000 HUF, and the plant, equipped with 46 crushing, cutting, troweling, etc. machines, produced 15,000 tonnes of finished hemp annually by processing 2500 acres of produce. At the same time, the factory was expanded with a sailcloth weaving plant with a capacity of 1 million square metres of sailcloth by setting up 60 weaving machines and 7 larger auxiliary machines in order to utilize the over retted fibers obtained during hemp processing as a side product.
In 1905 the factory was taken over by the Hungarian Hemp and Flax Industry Co. with a share capital of 2 million K. After German shareholders left the company, Leó Fuchs, who mainly had a Viennese financial interest, took over the majority of the shares. In 1915 the Jute and Hemp Industry Co. of Pesterzsébet acquired the majority of the shares, and in 1917 the Central Textile Industry Co. took over the company in Újszeged. In the 1920s, the factory, which employed 800 people, sold 60% of its products abroad.
During the reconstruction of 1927-28, the machines were grouped together in a practical and economical way, as well as constructions for hygienic purposes. From then on, most of the machines were supplied by the factory’s new electrical centre. Some modern machines were also installed and the most modern fire safety equipment was installed. During the crisis years, the company’s survival was largely due to this modernization: goods produced in large quantities, in good quality and, above all, cheaply, with modern equipment, remained sought-after items all along. The factory was able to remain profitable throughout, something few could say about themselves at the time.
In the second half of the 1930s, as a member of the international yarn and twine cartel, it exported to 43 countries and was the second largest foreign exchange producer in the textile industry after the Goldberger factory. The number of its workers at that time was 1200.
