Prime Minister István Tisza once said that the entire Hungarian state had failed during WWI, “only two things worked: the heroism of our sons and Manfréd Weiss’ capacities”. Within two decades, the legendary ammunition manufacturer had built one of Europe’s biggest steel works and ammunition production complexes. Who was this a morose, workaholic borderline genius, and what did he know?
Kickstart
The tycoon’s grandfather had migrated from Bohemia to Hungary. He owned a pipe manufacturing workshop in Pest’s Rumbach Sebestyén Street. Manfréd’s father Adolf was a merchant who traded in plum marmalade quite successfully. His success was partly attributable to having married with benefits, a family strategy that later also helped his son Manfréd. Adolf married Éva Kánitz, the daughter of a respectable Óbuda family. Manfréd, their youngest child, was born in 1857 who, when twenty joined his brother’s business. Before long they hit the jackpot. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1878 and the army supply contracts (foodstuff, produce, ammunition, construction materials) were given among other companies to the Weiss’. This is when the legend of Manfréd Weiss began. The organizational genius and perseverance of this twenty year old man were remembered in the Ministry of Defense even decades later. When cheap American wheat flooded Europe and almost destroyed the Hungarian produce market, Weiss salvaged the family fortune by purchasing property. With a good sense to business he had bought two pieces of land which multiplied its value in a short while.
Canned food and bullets
The Weiss Brothers took yet another turn and opened their canning factory in December 1882. Signature Weiss traits, such as thorough planning, openness and assertiveness all came into play again when starting up the new business. The Weiss’ had long been preparing to open a factory and, following thorough consideration, decided to go for the food industry. When they heard of the plans of the Ministry of Defense to establish a canning factory, Manfréd acted immediately. He sent a sample shipment of his canned Goulash to Vienna, which he had produced in a makeshift workshop, completely unsuitable for large-scale production of canned food. The introduction however proved to be a success - the Weiss’ got the license. They soon expanded production capacity and the variety of choice. They for instance produced in large quantities hot-water soluble powdered coffee, a predecessor of Nescafé.
Further expanding their production portfolio, they soon began to produce, besides the canned food products, bullet cartridges, army bottles and other type of army supplies. These industries caused losses in the beginning; Weiss however continued to invest money into development. For several decades, he followed the business policy of matching production with prospective demand, instead of the current demand, and willing to accept losses in view of future success. In the meantime he also made substantial contributions to the establishment of the Hungarian Bank of Industry and Commerce, thus acquiring financial interests as well.
From backwater to an industry giant
By the early 1890s the factory had grown out the Pest plant and this, coupled with an explosion in the factory encouraged Manfréd Weiss to continue production at a new location in a sparsely populated area. The Csepel island lying just south of the capital seemed to be the perfect location. The proximity of Budapest, cheap land and labor were all ideal to relocate the Weiss plants in 1892 and start to concentrate more and more on production of war materials. During the following two decades the dusty little village grew to become one of the heavy industry centers of Europe, called the “Csepel wonder” by the contemporaries.
The territory of the plant grew manifold. Whereas the plant began operations with 150 workers in 1893, 27 thousand workers were employed in three shifts by 1917. The flagship product was ammunition. Three years into WWI in 1917 the plant produced close to 330 million pieces of ammunition for the infantry and the artillery. The engineers of the company continuously observed the global market and immediately acquired new products or patents if the boss saw potential in them. This led to the production of the army-oven or metal rods necessary for modern construction.
Various different factors contributed to this unprecedented pace of development. One of these was Weiss’ crisis management strategy. At times of cyclical economic hardships (at the turn of the century and the early 1910s) he always looked ahead and purposefully experimented with new products or widened the production spectrum. He reckoned that early on in the development process problems and difficulties were inevitable and if those coincided with the years of depression, when demand was low anyhow, he could offer to the market a mature product in large quantities in the booming years after the depression.
Weiss obviously had to predict what would become a hot product in the future. “I know, everyone knows that the size of my manufacturing plant was way bigger than what was necessary in the peace years” he told novelist Sándor Bródy in the only interview he ever gave. “Those famed experts all shook their heads in doubt and even explicitly said, this would all be too way much and not needed. It became needed and my foresight is good enough a compensation for me. We did have, do have and shall have ammunition”.
The third factor was the world war itself, which created a huge demand for the products of the bullet tycoon. When asked by Bródy on potential moral concerns of producing war materials, Manfréd Weiss replied simply saying: “This is my profession and I care about nothing but doing it right”.
A purposeful marital policy also contributed to the gradual growth of the industrial empire. Similarly to the tradition in European aristocratic families, marriages were a conduit to reconciling or merging the interests of rival groups or simply growing the volume of the family fortune. Weiss married the daughter of Albert von Wahl, the Austrian railroad tycoon. Elza, one of Weiss’ four daughters married one of the owners of the Mauthner grain empire, Marianne married financier, Móric Kornfeld, while Daisy became the wife of Ferenc Chorin. His son, Alfonz married the daughter of tobacco tycoon Mór Lipót Hercog, a marriage through which the Weiss family and the Hatvany-Deutsch family became related.
A tradition of charity
The industrialist, who was known to be quite reserved and often harsh, found it important to donate some of his wealth to charitable causes. The industry concern followed this tradition after Weiss’ death. Csepel underwent a major reconstruction, roads were built and local schools also received donations from the company. Houses and apartments were built for hundreds of working class families, they provided financial support to the Christian and Jewish communities of Csepel, hospital, kindergarten, day care and school were all built for the benefit of the employees of the company. Charity went beyond the borders of Csepel obviously and the company financed the construction of a 240 bed war hospital when the war broke out and also contributed to the construction of a medical center for pulmonary diseases. They sponsored university students, student organizations, Christian and Jewish relief organizations and soup kitchens.
Weiss Manfréd’s wife died in 1904 and the maternity home he established in her memory in 1910 became the most advanced of its kind in Hungary. This institution was the first to provide standardized pregnancy counseling and it also housed a nursing school. In the period between 1910 and 1918 5,535 babies were born in the maternity home, which offered its services free of any charge. The Weiss Alice Foundation, which the industrialist founded in memory of his wife, provided substantial life start support to needy young women. Manfréd Weiss remained a practicing Jew all his life. He actively supported the charity work of the Jewish community. The company tradition continued to be followed even after some its managers (like Ferenc Chorin) had already converted to Christianity. In the growing antisemitism of the early 1940s the company spent stellar amounts from a hidden source to ensure that Jewish welfare institutions remain operational.
The death of an industry tycoon
Manfréd Weiss was awarded the title of nobility by the emperor in 1896. According to the tradition, newly awarded noblemen were to choose a name and a motto. Both were highly idiosyncratic. The family had since this point borne the name “Csepeli” and summarized their credo in the Latin “labor omnia vincit”: labor conquers all. The motto was highly ironic as labor was something traditional Hungarian nobility quite rarely respected as a value. The Weiss’ were awarded the title “Baron” in 1918.
One of the first measures of the Communist dictatorship of 1919 was to nationalize the entire Csepel complex. The company was Manfréd Weiss’ whole life - when the baron saw it vanishing he unsuccessfully attempted to poison himself. His Pest villa was also pillaged during the commune. To the surprise of the burglars however, there was nothing to be stolen from the cabinet of the country’s biggest taxpayer but a few suits. The Baron led a puritan life and never cared too much about personal luxuries.
Budapest was under Romanian rule for a few months period in 1919. The occupying army systematically looted property and removed a huge amount of machinery and raw materials from the plant. Although Manfréd Weiss never recovered fully from the poisoning he did manage to reorganize production after WWI. His signature foresight helped him in this undertaking as he already had made preparations for peace time production during the war, for example by producing plowshares. His health however deteriorated rapidly and he died of stroke in December 1922.
Jumpstart
The tycoon’s grandfather had migrated from Bohemia to Hungary. He owned a pipe manufacturing workshop in Pest’s Rumbach Sebestyén Street. Manfréd’s father Adolf was a merchant who traded in plum marmalade quite successfully. His success was partly attributable to having married with benefits, a family strategy that later also helped his son Manfréd. Adolf married Éva Kánitz, the daughter of a respectable Óbuda family. Manfréd, their youngest child, was born in 1857 who, when twenty joined his brother’s business. Before long they hit the jackpot. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1878 and the army supply contracts (foodstuff, produce, ammunition, construction materials) were given among other companies to the Weiss’. This is when the legend of Manfréd Weiss began. The organizational genius and perseverance of this twenty year old man were remembered in the Ministry of Defense even decades later. When cheap American wheat flooded Europe and almost destroyed the Hungarian produce market, Weiss salvaged the family fortune by purchasing property. With a good sense to business he had bought two pieces of land which multiplied its value in a short while.
Canned food and bullets
The Weiss Brothers took yet another turn and opened their canning factory in December 1882. Signature Weiss traits, such as thorough planning, openness and assertiveness all came into play again when starting up the new business. The Weiss’ had long been preparing to open a factory and, following thorough consideration, decided to go for the food industry. When they heard of the plans of the Ministry of Defense to establish a canning factory, Manfréd acted immediately. He sent a sample shipment of his canned Goulash to Vienna, which he had produced in a makeshift workshop, completely unsuitable for large-scale production of canned food. The introduction however proved to be a success - the Weiss’ got the license. They soon expanded production capacity and the variety of choice. They for instance produced in large quantities hot-water soluble powdered coffee, a predecessor of Nescafé.
Further expanding their production portfolio, they soon began to produce, besides the canned food products, bullet cartridges, army bottles and other type of army supplies. These industries caused losses in the beginning; Weiss however continued to invest money into development. For several decades, he followed the business policy of matching production with prospective demand, instead of the current demand, and willing to accept losses in view of future success. In the meantime he also made substantial contributions to the establishment of the Hungarian Bank of Industry and Commerce, thus acquiring financial interests as well.
From backwater to an industry giant
By the early 1890s the factory had grown out the Pest plant and this, coupled with an explosion in the factory encouraged Manfréd Weiss to continue production at a new location in a sparsely populated area. The Csepel island lying just south of the capital seemed to be the perfect location. The proximity of Budapest, cheap land and labor were all ideal to relocate the Weiss plants in 1892 and start to concentrate more and more on production of war materials. During the following two decades the dusty little village grew to become one of the heavy industry centers of Europe, called the “Csepel wonder” by the contemporaries.
The territory of the plant grew manifold. Whereas the plant began operations with 150 workers in 1893, 27 thousand workers were employed in three shifts by 1917. The flagship product was ammunition. Three years into WWI in 1917 the plant produced close to 330 million pieces of ammunition for the infantry and the artillery. The engineers of the company continuously observed the global market and immediately acquired new products or patents if the boss saw potential in them. This led to the production of the army-oven or metal rods necessary for modern construction.
Various different factors contributed to this unprecedented pace of development. One of these was Weiss’ crisis management strategy. At times of cyclical economic hardships (at the turn of the century and the early 1910s) he always looked ahead and purposefully experimented with new products or widened the production spectrum. He reckoned that early on in the development process problems and difficulties were inevitable and if those coincided with the years of depression, when demand was low anyhow, he could offer to the market a mature product in large quantities in the booming years after the depression.
Weiss obviously had to predict what would become a hot product in the future. “I know, everyone knows that the size of my manufacturing plant was way bigger than what was necessary in the peace years” he told novelist Sándor Bródy in the only interview he ever gave. “Those famed experts all shook their heads in doubt and even explicitly said, this would all be too way much and not needed. It became needed and my foresight is good enough a compensation for me. We did have, do have and shall have ammunition”.
The third factor was the world war itself, which created a huge demand for the products of the bullet tycoon. When asked by Bródy on potential moral concerns of producing war materials, Manfréd Weiss replied simply saying: “This is my profession and I care about nothing but doing it right”.
A purposeful marital policy also contributed to the gradual growth of the industrial empire. Similarly to the tradition in European aristocratic families, marriages were a conduit to reconciling or merging the interests of rival groups or simply growing the volume of the family fortune. Weiss married the daughter of Albert von Wahl, the Austrian railroad tycoon. Elza, one of Weiss’ four daughters married one of the owners of Mauthner, a company trading in agricultural produce, Marianne married financier, Móric Kornfeld, while Daisy became the wife of Ferenc Chorin, the manager of the *Eastern Hungarian Mining Company. His son, Alfonz married the daughter of tobacco tycoon Mór Lipót Hercog, a marriage through which the Weiss family and the Hatvany-Deutsch family became related.
A tradition of charity
The industrialist, who was known to be quite reserved and often harsh, found it important to donate some of his wealth to charitable causes. The industry concern followed this tradition after Weiss’ death. Csepel underwent a major reconstruction, roads were built and local schools also received donations from the company. Houses and apartments were built for hundreds of working class families, they provided financial support to the Christian and Jewish communities of Csepel, hospital, kindergarten, day care and school were all built for the benefit of the employees of the company. Charity went beyond the borders of Csepel obviously and the company financed the construction of a 240 bed war hospital when the war broke out and also contributed to the construction of a medical center for pulmonary diseases. They sponsored university students, student organizations, Christian and Jewish relief organizations and soup kitchens.
Weiss Manfréd’s wife died in 1904 and the maternity home he established in her memory in 1910 became the most advanced of its kind in Hungary. This institution was the first to provide standardized pregnancy counseling and it also housed a nursing school. In the period between 1910 and 1918 5,535 babies were born in the maternity home, which offered its services free of any charge. The Weiss Alice Foundation, which the industrialist founded in memory of his wife, provided substantial life start support to needy young women. Manfréd Weiss remained a practicing Jew all his life. He actively supported the charity work of the Jewish community and the company tradition continued to be followed even after some its managers (like Ferenc Chorin) had already converted to Christianity. In the growing antisemitism of the early 1940s the company spent stellar amounts from a hidden source to ensure that Jewish welfare institutions remain operational.
The death of an industry tycoon
Manfréd Weiss was awarded the title of nobility by the emperor in 1896. According to the tradition, newly awarded noblemen were to choose a name and a motto. Both were highly idiosyncratic of the family. The family had since this point borne the name “Csepeli” and summarized their credo in the Latin “labor omnia vincit”: labor conquers all. The motto was highly ironic as labor was something traditional Hungarian nobility quite rarely respected as a value. The Weiss’ were awarded the title “Baron” in 1918.
One of the first measures of the Communist dictatorship of 1919 was to nationalize the entire Csepel complex. The company was Manfréd Weiss’ whole life, when the baron saw it vanishing he unsuccessfully attempted to poison himself. His Pest villa was also pillaged during the commune. To the surprise of the burglars however, there was nothing to be stolen from the cabinet of the country’s biggest taxpayer but a few suits. The Baron led a puritan life and never cared too much about personal luxuries.
Budapest was under Romanian rule for a few months period in 1919. The occupying army systematically looted property and removed a huge amount of machinery and raw materials from the plant. Although Manfréd Weiss never recovered fully from the poisoning he did manage to reorganize production after WWI. His signature foresight helped him in this undertaking as he already had made preparations for peace time production during the war, for example by producing plowshares. His health however deteriorated rapidly and he died of stroke in December 1922.