Béla Dienes acted as CEO of United Incadescent and Electrical Ltd. (Tungsram) from May 1962 till January 1983.
Under his management, Tungsram, dismantled at the end of the WWII, cut off from Western relations and struggling to get back on its feet in the bipolar world, regained its status as a competitive player in the global light source industry. Dienes helped turn the company into a major Hungarian exporter and a major socialist enterprise with its production facilities spread over Hungary. He had a deep respect and care for the employees of the company. He supported their professional development and inaugurated a large-scale housing program that provided housing for thousands of employees, allowing them to start families. His memorial plaque, initiated and financed by former Tungsram employees, was inaugurated in the Tungsram housing complex in Újpest on October 7, 2021.
Béla Dienes (1925-2005) started to work at Tungsram in 1946. From 1950, he worked as an engineer, from 1958 as a leading engineer at Konverta Rectifier Factory, which was later integrated into Tungsram. From 1961, Dienes was a leading engineer for the telecommunication industry in the Ministry for Metallurgy and Machine Building. He acted as CEO of Tungsram from May 1962 until January 1983. During these two decades, he put the company on a path toward maximal growth within the framework of the planned economy: Tungsram dynamically increased its output and exports, it became a competitive player in the global light source industry thanks to its vertical production chain, in-house product and production development, as well as an extended sales network abroad. In 1970, Philips and Tungsram halogen lamps were launched on the market nearly at the same time and Tungsram became a supplier of leading car manufacturers from Europe to Japan. Tungsram delivered turnkey light source and glass factories to various countries.
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Tungsram played a central part in the life of Béla Dienes. He held the company’s issues and achievements close to his heart even after he left Tungsram in early 1983 to serve as counselor at the Hungarian Trade Representation in Belgrade. His former colleagues remember him as an outstanding manager who knew many employees of Tungsram personally and always had a kind word or a question of genuine interest for his colleagues. He introduced regular dinners in the Tungsram canteen, supported the development of cultural, social and sport facilities at the company (i.e. building the gymnastics hall in Megyeri street) and started a large-scale housing program thereby strengthening employees’ commitment to the company and the bond of the Tungsram family. Former and present Tungsram employees are grateful for his achievements.
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Picture 1. The memorial plaque
Picture 2. Inauguration of the memorial plaque on October 7, 2021, in the presence of former and present Tungsram employees and representatives of the district of Újpest
