Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works

Weiss Manfréd Acél- és Fémművek

Company type	Joint-stock company
Industry	Machine manufacturing, heavy industry, military manufacturing
Predecessor	Weiss Berthold és Manfréd Első Magyar Conserv Gyár
Founded	1892
Founder	Baron Manfréd Weiss
Defunct	1950
Fate	Nationalized and renamed Rákosi Mátyás Vas- és Fémművek
Successor	Rákosi Mátyás Vas- és Fémművek
Headquarters	Budapest (Csepel Island) , Hungary
Area served	Hungary, Austria-Hungary, various international armies (Serbia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Russia)
Key people	Baron Manfréd Weiss, Ferenc Bíró (general manager 1948–1950)
Products	Aircraft, munitions, automotive engines, bicycles (Csepel brand), automobiles, steel and metal products
Number of employees	Over 40,000 (by World War II) (1940s)

File:Berthold Weiss Canned Foods.jpg

An 1880 image of the canned food factory located in Csepel, which eventually became the foundation of the Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works

File:Weiss Manfred 1901.jpg

Photograph of the Weiss Manfréd Works on Csepel Island in 1901. The industrial complex included over 32 factories.

The Weiss Manfréd Acél- és Fémművek ("Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works"), commonly known as Csepel Művek ("Csepel Works"), was among Hungary's largest machine manufacturing enterprises, situated on Csepel Island in southern Budapest and established in 1892. Ranking as the second largest industrial firm within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the foremost in the Hungarian sector, it was a vital contributor to heavy industry and military manufacturing in the monarchy. Founded by Baron Manfréd Weiss of Csepel, a Jewish industrialist, by the First World War, the company had become one of Austria-Hungary's leading defense manufacturers, producing a wide range of products including aircraft, munitions, automotive engines, bicycles under the Csepel brand, and automobiles. Severely damaged by Allied bombings and looted during World War II, the company persisted until 1950, when it was nationalized and renamed Rákosi Mátyás Vas- és Fémművek ("Mátyás Rákosi Iron and Metal Works NV", with "NV" standing for Nemzeti Vállalat, or National Company).

History

The company's origins trace back to the Weiss cannery founded in 1882 by Manfréd Weiss and his brother Bertold at Lövölde Square in Budapest's District VI. Operating under the name Weiss Berthold és Manfréd Első Magyar Conserv Gyár (Berthold and Manfred Weiss First Hungarian Cannery Factory), the brothers expanded their canning operations before relocating to Máriássy Street near Közvágóhíd. There they produced meat products branded Globus, primarily for military supply, while supplementing seasonal work by handling infantry ammunition dismantling and reloading. Responding to rising demand for canned goods, they incorporated tin can manufacturing into their activities, marking a transition toward iron industry production under the name Manfréd Weiss First Hungarian Cannery and Metalware Factory. Beginning in 1886, the factory also manufactured cartridge cases and subsequently ammunition for both the Austro-Hungarian Army and Navy. This new facility produced an extensive array of armaments ranging from small firearms to large artillery shells.

In 1892, production commenced at an infantry ammunition plant constructed within the Weiss Manfréd complex on Csepel Island, initially manufacturing 8 mm Mannlicher rifle cartridges for Hungary's Royal Defence Forces as well as the joint Austro-Hungarian Army. Between 1893 and 1894, millions of 7.62×54 mmR Mosin-Nagant cartridges were produced for Tsarist Russia’s army. Following this, artillery shell production of various calibers began.

Consequently, Manfréd Weiss emerged as a key defense supplier within Hungary’s industrial landscape, competing chiefly with the state-owned Diósgyőr steelworks (Diósgyőr-Vasgyár). In 1906, backed by lobbying from the Hungarian Society of Industrialists advocating legislation that restricted state enterprises to produce only goods unavailable from private firms, Weiss Manfréd quickly solidified its position as the dominant market player.

A significant growth phase occurred in 1911 when Austria-Hungary substantially increased its military expenditure. This surge in public contracts enabled rapid expansion of ammunition manufacturing capacity alongside establishment of additional facilities including steel and iron furnaces as well as copper, nickel, and aluminum processing plants. Production scaled up swiftly; soon the firm supplied ammunition not only domestically but also to armies of Serbia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, and Russia. By 1913, employment at Manfréd Weiss exceeded 5,000 workers.

During World War I, workforce numbers surged beyond 30,000 employees. Recognizing his contributions to the imperial war effort, Manfréd Weiss was ennobled as Baron Weiss de Csepel—named after his company's main operational site. At war’s outset in 1914, the WM complex encompassed approximately 250 hectares with 216 factory buildings.

The war presented unparalleled growth opportunities for Weiss Manfréd. Having evolved from a modest enterprise into a family-owned joint-stock company employing nearly 30,000 people by then, military demands prompted expansion including adoption of a three-shift work system—the first such implementation nationally.

In 1917 alone, production reached 330 million rounds of infantry and artillery ammunition. That same year a General Insurance valuation placed the factory’s worth near 100 million Crowns—a considerable sum given contemporary economic context: bread cost roughly 56 fillér per kilogram; worker wages ranged from 100 to 130 Crowns; senior educators earned about 200 Crowns; while executives and parliamentarians received between 1,000 and 2,000 Crowns monthly. Luxury items such as automobiles were especially costly—a two-seater Opel 'Doktorwagen' with eight horsepower sold for about 4,500 Crowns; a four-seat Benz10 with twenty horsepower commanded roughly 14,000 Crowns.

By World War II’s onset, the enterprise had transformed into a modern industrial conglomerate employing over 40,000 staff members; its leadership remained predominantly composed of Hungarian Jews. Following Nazi Germany’s occupation of Hungary during Operation Margarethe in 1944, many executives were arrested by the Gestapo. The Weiss family managed to emigrate to Portugal thereby evading Holocaust atrocities; however, their extensive art collection along with control over their industrial empire was seized by German forces. Despite this confiscation, Germany maintained Hungary’s nominal sovereignty and compensated owners substantially while installing German-managed trusteeships for a period extending twenty-five years. Eventually control shifted directly to Nazi SS authorities under new management including officers such as Erhard Milch, Kurt Baron von Schröder, and Hans Jüttner.

Starting March 1944, Allied bombing campaigns inflicted severe damage on Weiss Manfréd facilities. The Danube Aircraft Factory was rendered non-operational after four attacks; seven bombings targeted Csepel factories causing widespread destruction including most metal works buildings being heavily damaged or destroyed; copper electrolysis plants burned down; aircraft assembly lines along with tractor and enamel factories were also devastated.

Postwar recovery required substantial reconstruction efforts to restore production capacities. The factory not only fulfilled domestic demands but also manufactured machinery for war reparations while supplying vehicle components to occupying Soviet forces. In 1947 approximately ninety percent of output consisted of reparations material. Although placed under state supervision in 1946 with ownership rights still formally held by the Weiss-Chorin family initially intact, full nationalization effectively occurred by 1948.

Between 1948 and 1950 Ferenc Bíró (1904–2006), brother of Mátyás Rákosi, served as general manager during years marked by forced industrialization policies that boosted machine tool manufacturing output. However production declined following shifts in industrial strategy around 1954 before expanding again in subsequent decades due to Comecon collaboration and significant exports to Western markets. By the 1970s nearly half of all production was destined for export to Western countries.

Weiss Manfréd Aircraft Models

• Weiss Manfréd WM-10 Ölyv
• Weiss Manfréd WM-16 Budapest
• Weiss Manfréd WM-21 Sólyom
• Weiss Manfréd WM-23 Ezüst Nyíl