ECONOMIC - ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY, PRODUCTION, BULBS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600140169-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2011
• Sequence Number: 169
• Publication Date: June 19, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

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GO~ CLASSIFICATION S_g_0-g..z_T NOW
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
COUNTRY Germ Dencratic Republic
Economic - Electrical industry, production,
bulbs
018 003 001000 803738 017310 781 00.68.. . -~? -+
0. V. C'. 11 IMP 31.03 0i8883P. 301 T00110E40100 OR 180 PST3A0T138
OF !T3 C0811W00 10 000 030080 TO 80 M03ST3QPt300 838308 08 t10.
8111T10 30 .80. 338000 gas 08 TM1e 8038 t3 8!0018010.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1950
DATE DIST. 17 Jun 1951
NO. OF PAGES 9
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
A.% Introduction -- General Plant Organization
is trustee appointed by the local government. In 1947, the DTV (German trustee
administration for sequestered and confiscated property in the Soviet-occapied
sector of Berlin) 'Look over; in 1448, the plant vas official],q expropriated,
and in Key 1949, it was iuclnnded in the soviet-controlled plants of the B??
(Ce*taal Radio and Coms+inications Adminiatrstton) group to which the other
in- plats in the Soviet Zone also belong.' At pres-
en 1950), an area ,23,000 square asters is being used by. the plant.
Investments needed for conatrua ion (not now c}~nstruction, but only re-
pairs and equipment) aswvunt to"appr tely 3,500,C00 Deutsche marks at pres-
ant' Soviet Zone prices, but the B 'j.n Leip a].lwed only 700,000 Deutsche
emterkiae, including the research group, as well as Germany's largest inaan-
daacest lamp works, which had a broad 7usaufacturing program and excellent tech-
nical and scientific personnel. During the war, the entire installation was
badly damaged (about 30% damage by bombings and 20% during the fighting). In
1945, it was almost completely dismantled; only one important unit was over-
looked. Troops were quartered in the buildings for acme time and recoDatruc'-
tion could not be started until 1946. In the beginning, the plant was run by
serks for 1950. The plant bas no 4 x be anile the actual manufactur-
imf department needs all avalL.+ble rfoa. ThE kitchie, however, is excellent,
Asician is on duty mat there is
owned shoe-repair shop and a. tailor
kindergarten for the children of vu:
in case of michaees, his sick pay
a?' ~A
buildings formerly housed the management section of the entire Oarsa
percent of his average D4. -
,red 8,000 people, working in several
In the past, the plant solo
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Personnel in Jane 1950 (round figures)
Mn
liamea
`dotal
PereCYSt
Administrative employees
125
160
285
'23
Technical employees
165
80
245
LEboyarr,
290 .
980 ,
1.870.
Total
1,180
1,220
2,400
100
Distribution of Workers in Individual. Departments
Machine-building department
160
semifinished.-materials department
110
Wire department (total)
215
Forging and drawing
80
DiWnd polishing
25
Spiral winding
70
Electrodes
40
Lamp department (total)
675
All-purpose bulbs
225
Miniature bulbs
210
Gas-discharge lamps
240
Hard-metal shop
45
In comparison with other plants, at the end of 1949, the following were
employed: Berlin Incandescent Lamp Plant, 2,030 persons; Osram/West Berlin,
5,520 persons; and Osram/West Germany, 2,860 persons.
The large proportion (23 percent) of administrative and technical em-
ployees includes approximately 50 people who must be kept on hand for machine
building (for plant use only), and 30 men in the guard unit. Also, labora-
tory personnel are need-ad to supervise the product ion of tungst:;n. They in-
clude the following:
Plant Supervisor: Karl Neugebauer
Technical Director: Dr Ing Koehler
Social Director: Groecinakl.
Chairman of Plant Trade Union Council: Struck
Head of semifinished-materials department: Geyer
Read of wire depart at: Berg (Assistant, Beichsann)
Head of lamp department: Lietache
All-purpose bulbs: Lietache
Miniature bulbs: Rix
Gas-discharge 1amFe: Dr Busmen
Glow leaps: Vogel
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Read of bard-metal shop: Supervising Engineer pease (Asistamt, Xteuzi"eld)
Read of machine -building department: Baffran
Read of machine-drafting department: Ogrodawy
Head of materials-testing department: Daetaberg
Read of maintenance: Engineer Mueller
Read of TAE (Technical Work Standards) office: Lehmann
Read of planning: Pelzer (Assistant, Preppernau)
Head of cost accounting: Schroeder
lead of personnel office: Rinze
C. Production
During May 1950, a total of 373,000 `cork hours were recorded, 245,000 (ap-
proximately 66 percent) of then entirely for net#ufacture, the remaining 128,000
hours for machine building and general labor.
1. Tungsten Powder
About 2 tons of tungsten powder was manufactured in the semifinished-
materials department.
2. All-purpose Bulbs
Fifteen-, 25-, 40-, 60-, and 100-watt bulbs (clear glass) were man-
ufactured with automatic machines.
Two hundred- and 300-watt bulbs were made by han4. The quota for 1950
called for 7,920,000 bulbs altogether (approximately 650,000 200-watt bulbs)
equally distributed among the 12 months. The quota was slightly overproduced
during Kay (2.4 percent).
On 3 Ju Pe 1950, the plant turned out the 15 mi.Llionth'bull, produced
since the war.
The automatic machines are operated .u two shifts,. This puts a great
load on the machines end is dangerous, since there are no reserve parts on lmand.
The m e at expects an average production of 5,000 laws per group per shift.
Comparison with other Incandescent -Is" plants shove that in December
:9k9, DOW produced 633,000 bulbs; 0,-ren/Weat Berlin, 1,927,000;, and Osra /West
Cermazy, 2,073,000,
!esids the three ,gaups of automatic machines in operation, five
;:her groups are iuaiai= c~sis?: r` was: M-NA are expected to be installed in 1951.
At that Una, it is expected that cite-abLft production viii be rammed. Varier
ordinary c:bxcu mbmtances, one group prc,dineus 5,,00x)-6,000 bulbs per shift. bw-
ginning in 1951, seven of the eight groups will be operating, while sae group
rill be held in reserve or will be undergoing repairs. That mould mesa, for
a one-shift operation, a yewly prc* nctica of spprczimatsly 12 million bulbs.
There is no doubt that this number can be reached if the plant can obtain suf-
ficient material.
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During the last 3 Months, rejects amounted to an average of 12 percent
against a prewar' average of 5-6 percent. The life span of the bulbs, which had
been 1,200 hours, has scow been increased to ebomtOOOW hours.
3. Miniature Bulbs
T.n._mvxltare bulbs are being produced for flashlights, radio dial lights,
measuring instruments, etc. Because of the variety or shapes, these Iu.i a can-
.
ufactured at BGW but at Gluehia mpenverk Pisuen,, iIB. No increase in the man-
ufacture of m giature bulbs at BOW is anticipated, but the manufacturing methods
Germany, 690,000.
An assembly-line system is used. The tubes are coated with the fluorescent ma-
terial according to a laboratory method, which leads to considerable waste of
this expensive material and of manpower as well. The manufacture of the two
belt. Evacuation and charging with gas is done at well-arranged tables, h,
however, are not fitted for mass production. It is estimated that waste during
The starters, which are sold along with the tubes, are not manufactured
in this plant.
Comparison with other incandescent lamp plants, in December 1949, shows
that BGW produced 33,000 tubes; Osram/West Berlin, 81,500; and Osram/West Germany,
8,500.
The BGW intends to expand considerably the manufacture of fluorescent
lamps and to improve manufacturing conditions. There is talk of producing 1.,
million fluorescent tubes in 1951, but the demand for all-purpose lamps is so
large that machine building in that field will probably have to take precedence.
The life span of the fluorescent tubes is given as 2,000 hours.
Each unit is constructed individually. The tubes are produced for 11-
luminated signs; uccasioually entire words and sentences are constructed. Pro-
D. die equipment
1. Machine-Building Department (CQmbined With Tool Production)
Al]. special Oc ery needed for the aanufacturei candascent bulbs
has alwe" been designed and built right in the plant.. This also applied to
the old 0sran plant. This tr ttion his proved valuable and has helped in the
reconstruction of the plant. aichin!e shop on Eudolphstraase was therefore
the first unit rebailt, and, blr t" Berlin standards, its equipment is excellent.
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All kinds of necessary whines have been installed, including aidrill, a
parallel plate machine, honing machines, and tread-grinding es. All
of these are critical items in the Soviet Zae. Altogether there are 115 ma-
chine tools., The personnel of the machine shop is quite remarkable; nearly
30 percent belong to wage group 8 (master machinist).
2. Semifinished Materials Department
Only q -9 .80'percent Of "*Me U#mautled.
a. Tungsten
't'ungsten ore (scheelite) is not smelted on the premises. Instsmd,,
tungatic acid, WO? (a yellovieb-green powder), is used. There"axe focir, coitif ii-
uous furnaces ?it ti ffve .tubes each, said one experimental furnace with one tube,
uci the W03 to et4kie tungsten by the use of hydrogen. So-called
for red
of about 500 grams,
Schiffchen (boats) of s9he 91~ei] rtos, each With a Capacity
are used to load these fur aces. Reduction takes place'at 500-800 degrees C
and takes about 10 bow's. Progress through the furnace in automatic and at,uni-
form speed. Extensive safety. eg ea are necessary because of the.great danger
of an explosion of the hy4rogess gas.
In hydraulic presses (2,000 kilograms per square centimeter) the
crystalline-tungsten powder is shaped into rode 12 x 12 x 400 millimeters.
There are two presses, which are busy only about 30 percent of the time on each
shift.
Preliminary sintering takes place in electroinduction furnaces at
1,600 degrees C, in the presence of safety gas. The final sintering is done by
sending 2,000-3,000-ampere current (12-15 volts) through the material at a
temperature of approximately 3,200 degrees C.
There is no glass-melting furnace in the plant; it is therefore
necessary to depend on glass rods, tubes, and parts obtained from the outside.
Glass testing is an important part of the work, and the testing equipment is
very modern. The bulbs, tubes, and rods needed for the manufacture of all-
purpose bulbs come to the plant ready for processing. Considerable work is
needed to clean the bulbs with hot lye in steam-heated vats.
Miniature bulbs are blown on the premises; give automatic ma-
chines produce 15 bulbs per minute,. They,: machines were built from memory,
adapted from those previously in the plant. The material needed for the blow,
ing molds at first caused considerable difficulties, since the malleable cast
iron previously use4 had come from the US. After considerable testing, a good
substitute was finally found in sintered iron from the Thale Iron and Smelting
Works (SAG "Marten"), which is saturated with colloidal graphite. The five
automatic machines are used only 60 percent of the time during a one-shift work-
3. Wire department
With the exception of one shop, this department had been completely
dismantled. X
The filament wire for the lamp spirals is manufactured from the tung-
sten rods described above. Manufacture consists of a long series of complicated
processes which are quite expensive.
The rods are first heated and reduced to 3-millimeters' diameter by
circular forging machines; 22 steps &re required for this process. The forge
hmmers operate at 3,000-5,000 strokes per minute.
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A'r"$'S^ InDRto Fm'.dyw ay:o~.:` 4g r .? s.?~(~`~.. d ?J^. ..u.
in eight coarse4raxing units, the wire then undergoes a reduction in
diameter of about 10 percent per operation by being drawn through hard metal
dies, pistil til a mter of 0.2 millimeter is reached. The speed of the opera-
tion approximately 3 meters per minute. One man operates two units.
Seventy-five fine-drawing units are used for the final drawing, which
reduces the wire to a filament, 0.3-0.5-carat 'diamonds are used for the dies.
One woman can operate five units.
The thickness of the wire is not measured with a gauge but by weight.
Six torsion scales are available for this weighing the make is not known, but
in probably Hartmann & Braun, Frankfurt/ ain). The most accurate of these scales
is calibrated to 0.2 milligram for each mark on the scale. An electric vibrator
is built into each scale to prevent bearing friction in the scale and is acti-
vated at each weighing.
After the final drawing, the wire is wound into spirals. In general,
the distance between windings is 0.8 times the thickness of the wire, The
windings must not touch at any point, so that the bulb will retain the correct
resistance. Sixty winding machines (about 3,000 revolutions per minute) wind
the wire on iron cores. Double spirals are used for lamps above 100 watts:
single winding
At present, the 15 double-spiral winding machines are in use only
about 30 percent of the'time. The various machines give satisfactory service,
but their construction and general operation cannot be compared to that of the
,old Osram machines. Because of the complete dismantling of the entire-spiral-
. ing unit, it was necessary to rebuild the equipment completely.
To remove tension and establish a state of crystallographic equilibriaaa,
the spirals are subjected to heat treatment. Seven continuous annealing furnaces
are used, some heated by gas, others by electricity. Preliminary heating is
done at 1,100 degrees C, tempering at 1,400 degrees C. After annealing, each
spiral is tested for exact meas?,.ements, pitch, etc. Eight rather primitive
microscopes with fixed vertical tubes are the only equipment available for mak-
ing these measurements; magnification is 80-100.
Support wires for the spirals in the bulbs also serve as conductors
for the current. These wires are either of molybdenum or of iron wire with
0.002-millimeter nickel plating. The plating is done in a machine built at the
plant, which is primitive but gives excellent service.
The electrodes consist of three different .rise parts welded together:
Beds bare copper wire (soldered to the base); center of so-called Pinkh wire
(iron-nickel alloy, copper coated, with the same coefficient of expansion as the
glass basek and upright wire inside the bulb, of nickel-coated iron or molybdenum.
Welding is do?e in 36 completely automatic machines which survived from
the old Osrea plant. One woman worker operates two or three machines; the out-
put is 50 pieces per minute for each machine.
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4. alb Departaeat
a. All-purpose bulbs are assembled and finished by completely automs-
tic or semiautomatic machines. The machinery for a complete cycle of manufac-
ture is called a group, Each group includes:
Machine which cuts off the glass tubing for the pinch base
and presses the dish-shaped foot against it.
u.-hi-e Vh4Ct" fuses together t mss d, the mss' foot,
and the tube for evacuation. The electrodes are put in place
and pressed in, and, the pumping hole is blown.
Machine which installs the support wires, bends them, welds
the spiral, and threads the spiral on the support wire.
(4) Machine which stamps the bulb type, evacuates the bulbs by
the flush aaethod (i.e., alternating high and low pressure,
which eliminates possible air bubbles), and seals off the
pump tube.
(5) Machine which cements the base. Following the cementing of
the base, the copper electrodes are soldered on by hand.
(6) Machine which tests the bulbs. The bulbs are put in the ma-
chine by band and are also packed into cartons by band,
All machines have been newly built, but some of them were mounted on
bases which were still in good shape.
As mentioned earlier, there are three groups in operation end five
more are being built. It should be mentioned tb. t machines are no 1.ager being
built which combine pumping and fusing operations. The use of two separate
units, one to evacuate the bulb and the other to seal off the tube, eliminates
many breakdowns and makes maintenance easier,
b. Miniature bulbs. All operations are done by hand except the blow-
ing of bulbs, which.is done automatically. A semiautomatic machine, much
simpler in design than the automatic machines, is available for fusing and attach-
ing the socket,
c. Fluorescent tubes, The tubes are cleaned by hand. The fluorescent
material is mixed with an ether solvent in four quite primitive shaking units
and put into a wide-mouthed bottle. The stopper of this bottle has a hole big
enough to admit the tube so that the end of it can be immersed in the solution?
When air is forced, into the bottle, the solution rises in the tube until the
pressure is stopped (by means of a hand-operated cock). The solution then runs
back into the-bottle and some of the fluorescent solution adheres to the tube
wall. After this first costing has dried, the process is repeated. The appara-
tus consists of three tables., each with a glass container, an air-pressure line,
and a drying raFk.. The fluorescent coating is baked on In a gas-heated drying
chamber with rgliler grate.
Installation of the sockets with the spirals is done at individual,
veil-equipped work tables which are connected by a conveyer belt. 'i"mo sockets
are needed for each tube. An automatic machine fuses them into the tube. The
machine, of recent construction (1949), turns out 200 tubes per hour. Ivacua-
tton and filling with argon gas is done at five separate tables (pumping time,
5 minutes pdr tube). The tubes are tested for leakage and lighting at a very
primitive testing table, but testing with low and high voltage is done at a
very well equipped semiautomat. This is followed by a final to Ling lasting 5
hours.
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Production )o.terisls
Copper wire is obtained from the former Vogel Plant in Roepenick? The
supply is ample.
pinkh wire (iron_sickel alloy with copper coating) is obtained from West
Germany.
Seventy-five percent of the amount of tungsten wire needed is produces
ed thickness, enough mpchi,nes are available
for fine the required
drawing, but forging and coarse drawing are in-
to t supply and the is eme demand to
adequate, and additional amounts mast be obtained from West Germany.
There is still a fairly good supply of tungsten ore (scheelite) and tungatic
acid (W03) on hand, but soaae additional shipments of W03 are being obtained from
various sources. Obtaining scheelite from China is one of the most important
reasons for a trade agreement between China and the Soviet Zone.
Glass bulbs of magnesium-silicate glass, as well as exhaust tubes and
glass rods, come from the former Osram Glassworks at Weieewasser, in adequate
quality and quantity.
e so-
pinah source of dissatisfaction. from the post, h o-
Glass time for
far elong but this is unobtainable now in the
called M-glass (31 percent lead) was used,
Soviet Zone because of the lack of lead. The material which took its placeaste),
Type 352, with 16 percent lead, wen fairly satisfactory 4vp mounted
until 1949, when a crisis developed and the waste, because of faulty glass,
to 50 percent. After short periods in storage or in use, the gloss foot developed
pro-
fine cracks which caused leakagrs. The reason was that compttitiOngati glue vats
paganda caused the workers in the glass department to nearly e~ap Y the instead of using only 60-70 percent as is usual. This led to a higher production,
but also to a lowering of the quality, which could not be detected on super-
ficial examination at the plant and became evident only in the finished bulbs.
Glaris tubing for fluorescent pubes and miniature bulbs also comes from
Weisswasser.
---
Socket cement, campasau v --Y ----
Therawtmaater'ialssareesupposedly in ttle is in alcohol.
Rare (inert) gases such as krypton, helium, and argon, are not found in
the soviet Zone and must be imported from West Germany. They are therefore
used in the smallest poss'ble quantities. All-purpose bulbs are not filled
with rare gases.
Fluorescent materials, such as zinc-beryllium 216 c, zinc-beryllium 216 k,
jift&esium tungste.e, cadmium berate, etc., are all obtained from West Germany.
Mercury is imported from 'West Germany through legal trade chann3ls.
F. Distribution of Products?
In 1950, no more reparations orders had to be filled. However, the needs
of the occupation ?oeces and of the various Soviet offices have to be granted
preference. Incandescent bulbs are a controlled item in the Oerrtla Democratic
found in retail stores. It is difficult 'to
rel
y
Republic, and are therefore so
ts
cover even the most urgent needs of the general econmw (the people-owned plan
complain bitterly over the short supply of light bulbs), and the pe^p1e in gen-
era'_ must buy either on the black slarket (bulbs produced in West 7arlin or West
aermw;y) or in the RO (Trade Organisation) stores.
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1A~a. .. M aw' ,
prod=e4 warms of 3 a bus 1t end 1 k a short
the Soviet" Z*fe can ei"ford to "b ii m*re than one bulb at a ti sop and, hme people
=St be eoBitent to: get one bulb at, 1ow ixctusxala
bulbs in A, this WOMIld
If it $bQU)A:,rte ssible to
man au avexKg ~D ~k5 Per aroduce no
capita, where", ~, hiwea, ?13e! $4re1~
on 1.2-1.4 bulbs per cmRpita. Also, the Ybsm? i+ ant Soviet affic4r in the
Gam i*tic Republic use about" three to five t r the forma . aor IMI
civilian coxesumi,tioi bulbs. in 1949, 15 percent cit tba
(Sweden' Ziu ,ary) S1ritzesr1e4d), but since 1950, exp `t has decreased to below
4 'percent (especial], ainiaturs bulbs)? because of b prices and poor qua.ity+.
prices for aU-per ax, t ce bulbs we 25-30 percent high' than in
1938. fluorescent ttUbee with coil"fir Cost 30 Deutsche a .
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