” An extremely confident, sound and absolutely reliable industrialist, his practical generosity is intertwined with his active patriotism and classy mindset.”
description of Manfred Weiss from the Ministry of Defense (1909)

Without Manfréd Weiss, who was tireless, determined, blessed with extremely good crisis management capabilities, puritan, richly charitable, and who worked for fourteen to sixteen hours a day, establishing several social institutions besides his factories – we would see a different Budapest and a different Hungary. His life and the life of his descendants provide an insight to the lives of Hungarian Jews. His soundness, versatility, foresight, openness, empathy towards people, and helpfulness provides a lasting example for all people.

Beginning of the 1800s

The grandfather of Manfréd Weiss, Brauch Weiss, a pipe maker and retailer from Moravia, arrived in Pest and opened a shop selling metal products in Rumbach Sebestyén Street.

1807

The father of Manfréd Weiss, Adolf Weiss, was born, who would become a wealthy merchant with his brother, Arnold.

1845

The first of the six children of Adolf Weiss was born, Berthold, who together with his father ran businesses which made the family a permanent supplier to the army of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and gained a considerable interest in the Hungarian mill industry.

1857

Manfréd Weiss was born, blessed with extraordinary organizational skills, Manfred joined the family business at a very young age.

1878

Bosnia and Herzegovina were put under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The Weiss brothers, together with other companies, undertook the organization and completion of all military transportation. The military orders were not only a source of finances, but also a source of business and social relationships. During the economic hardships of the 1880s, investing in real estate provided survival for them.

27 December 1882

The Berthold and Manfréd Weiss First Hungarian Cannery and Ore Factory was established. Production began in January 1883. The factory operated at Lövölde square at first, then near Közvágóhíd, at the corner of Soroksári street and Máriássy street. Products included canned meat, soup, vegetable and coffee under the Globus brand. The Weiss brothers provided 34% of the military can needs. In addition, the factory produced cartridge cases and cartridges among other military equipment. Moreover, the Weiss family was a major shareholder in the Hungarian Bank for Industry and Commerce, as well as being the founders and major shareholders in the Hungarian Ship and Machine Factory Co. The Industry Bank delegated Manfréd Weiss to the Board of Directors of the Arms Factory. Soon, however, Berthold and Manfréd separated. Berthold became a Parliamentary representative and focused on public activities, while Manfréd’s industrial carrier began to flourish.

1893

Manfréd Weiss leased an isolated plot on the Csepel Island suitable for the production of lice cartridges. Four plants were built, and ammunition production began. However, during development, Manfréd Weiss paid attention to the fact that in times of peace instead of producing military products, the equipment should easily be converted to produce other types of products. With the growth of the factory in the coming decades, Csepel Island, which used to be peasant land would become industrial.

1896

Manfréd Weiss bought the leased areas on the Csepel Island where there were already twenty buildings. Among them was a maintenance workshop, a water tower, a boiler room, a power plant, a smelter, and a foundry. By this time, the factory had become the most significant domestic private supplier of the army. After the Millennial exhibition, Emperor Franz Joseph donated nobility with the forename, Csepel to Manfréd Weiss for his industrial and commercial merits, public and charitable activities.

1900

In Csepel, additional plants were built to produce the moldings. After two years the exportation of munitions started: Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and England were all among the customers. Focusing on technical developments made Manfred Weiss successful: he bought patents, exclusive manufacturing and sales rights. Thus, he became the supplier of camp furnaces and then complete camp kitchens.

1904

Alice Wahl, the wife of Manfréd Weiss died. Manfred became devasted by the death of his wife, he founded a free lying-in home in her memory in 1910. They had six children, four girls and two boys. Elza became the wife of Alfréd Mauthner, a grain trader; Daisy married Ferenc Chorin Jr., a craftsman and president of GYOSZ; Marianne was the wife of Móric Kornfeld baron, the chief executive of Ganz Co.; while Edit, an operating room assistant, remained maiden and organized the charity activities of the family. The two boys, Jenő and Alfonz gained a degree in engineering.

1906–1908

The production of copper alloy wire, rods and of strip began.

1912

In May, with the help of Polish experts, the steelworks of Csepel opened, as did a material testing laboratory and a design institute started operating. A casino, choral society, library, theatrical and cinematic shows and sport opportunities made the lives of the workers enjoyable. In this year, the occupational medical office was expanded with six bedded wards. Additionally, the HÉV of Csepel (not the same as today) was electrified which was used for the transportation of the goods.

1913

The factory became a family joint stocking company. The working hours were 53 a week, and 50.5 hours a week during the night. The good and loyal workers could enjoy great financial appreciation.

1914

On July 28, the First World War broke out. To enhance the production of military material, three-shift production began. In the following year, a home was opened for the workers. The number of them was growing continuously: in 1910 the number of the workers was 1737, during the war this grew to 27 000. In 1915, Manfréd Weiss became a member of the Upper House.

1918

The factory operated under the name Manfréd Weiss Ammunition, Steel and Metal Works. This year, Manfréd Weiss received a baronial address.

26 Marc 1919

During the Soviet Republic, the Garbai Government took state ownership over the factory. Seemingly, all the work of Manfred Weiss came to an end: the baron attempted to commit suicide, which luckily failed. The family moved to Vienna to get Manfred healed.

Autumn of 1919

The state ownership was repealed, and Manfréd Weiss began to reorganize the factory that had suffered serious damages from the transitional period. The Bethlen Government attempted to support the company which was in serious financial difficulties with several amends.

After the war

the machines, built for military production, were modified and so the factory was set for the production of “peace products”: plows, milk jugs, forage harvesters, seeders, grinders, corn crumbles, irons, shoe boots, cots, gas heaters, brandy cauldrons, ironing boards were all on the list of products. In the following years, Manfréd Weiss built a hospital as well, founded a home for infants, and opened a free kitchen which offered lunches for two thousand children each day.

25 December 1922

At the age of 65, a stroke caused the death of Manfréd Weiss. The company was led by Alfréd Mauthner at first, later Ferenc Chorin took over.

The Manfred Weiss Company after the death of Manfred Weiss

The product profile of the Manfréd Weiss Company

was further expanded: in the second half of the 20s, the company started the production of military aircrafts and then cars. A six-wheel off-road truck prototype was even prepared for the Ministry of Defense. The production of bicycles began in July 1929.

The Great Depression

affected the Manfréd Weiss Co. as well. By introducing new products, the company managed to survive the difficulties. Welding rods, electrodes, stanol papers, brass curtain holders with iron inserts, stoves, radiators and bathroom fixtures were added to the new profile. In 1930, a patent was purchased from Pfaff to start the sewing machine production. Regarding vehicles, the production variety was also expanded: motorcycles, mopeds, even an attempt at tractor production – out of which they produced 200 pieces.

1937

The MWCTP, which is Manfréd Weiss Corporate Training Group was founded. Later, a sports field was established, and sections were set up. The football division got to NB1 in 1941 and won the championship twice.

1 September 1939

The Second World War broke out. As a result of the armament program, tanker production began in 1940, while the aircraft factory was replaced to Szigetszentmiklós. The settlement in Csepel was hit by many bombs during the war, and in 1944, during the German occupation, the Weiss family became the victim of blackmail. On May 17, the Weiss family was forced to sign a unilateral agreement with the Waffen SS to enable thirty-four members of the family to leave to neutral countries – e.g., Portugal, Switzerland – for the factory and all their family assets. In 1945, they were considered traitors for their actions, and Chorin and Kornfeld could never return home.

1945

The Csepel factory came under Soviet military control and on December 1, 1946, under state control.

In 1948

the factory was taken under state control without any compensation, a year later it was declared a national company. Its name: MW National Company for Steel and Metal Works.

Between 1950 and ’56

the official name of the company was: Mátyás Rákosi Steel and Metal Works. From 1956 its name was Csepel Steel and Metal Works.

1988-89

The work of Manfred Weiss, the Csepel factory, completely fell apart and privatization began. On the territory of the former factory, more than 400 companies operate today. The brands founded by Manfred Weiss – Globus cans, Csepel bicycle (also in the form of the MOL Bubi) – can even be found today.

As a motto in the end:
“All your creations and every true person preserve your memory.”