Ganz Celebrates 145 Years of Transformer Manufacturing

“The fact that the Ganz’s name has become known over the decades as a manufacturer of high-quality heavy electrical machinery, such as power transformers and rotating machines, is no coincidence. Over the past century and a half, from the patenting and production of the first transformer in 1885, the founding of the Ganz Electrotechnical Department in 1878, the first AC generators in 1882, the production of the V43 electric locomotive in 1964, and the launch of the new era of intelligent transformers in 2021, Ganz has been a key player in the energy industry for 145 years. And our colleagues are still working every day to carry on this legacy, and to further strengthen Ganz's reputation both at home and abroad,” shares Jan Prins, managing director of Ganz Transformers and Electric Rotating Machines.

The Electrotechnical Department of Ganz was founded in 1878 in the Budapest foundry opened by Abraham Ganz in 1885. By manufacturing high-quality and unique products, Ganz Electrotechnical Department, led by András Mechwart and Károly Zipernowszky, and later by Ottó Bláthy, rapidly became one of the cradles and driving forces of Central European electricity in the 19th century. The company is now one of the market leaders in the energy sector's digitization efforts, green transformation, and sustainable operations through its Ganz Intelligent Solutions condition monitoring system, launched in 2022.

Following its foundation, Ganz pioneered the production of arc and incandescent lamps, as well as DC dynamos and self-excited AC generators, contributing to the spread of electricity throughout Europe, from the World Fairs in Paris and Vienna to the opera houses of Budapest and Vienna and the street lighting of Rome.

In 1884, Ganz engineers patented, and in 1885 produced the closed iron-core transformer for the distribution and transmission of electricity, which has since become the basis of the electricity system, and the following decades of work resulted in the production of electrical systems such as the three-phase induction motor, the hydro and turbo generator, and the phase-changing asynchronous drive motor electric locomotive.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Ganz had not only produced its 10,000th transformer, with a capacity of several hundred kVA, but also contributed to the construction and operation of factories and power plants throughout Europe, including Hungary, Italy, Croatia, and Austria.

The company's products and developments have also contributed to the expansion of national railways all over Hungary as well as to the development of public transport in Budapest.

In 2020, the company operating as the technological successor of Ganz was again 100% Hungarian-owned, after liquidation proceedings were initiated against the former Indian-owned CG Electric Systems Hungary. In the three years since the reorganization, the company has stabilized its operations and production process, with more than 350 employees and a turnover reaching roughly HUF 13.2 bln in the first half of 2023.