VEB FUNKWERK KOEPENICK PRODUCTION PERSONNEL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A006900460003-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 11, 2008
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: June 6, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL *INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains Information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Spionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorised person is prohibited by law.
8-Z-C-.lens- T
COUNTRY East Germany
SUBJECT VE8 Punkwerk Koepeniok production,
Personnel, and Economic Problems
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
6 June 1955
5
RD -
This is UNEVALUATED Information
SOURCE EVALUATIONS ARE DEFINITIVE. APP-RiAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
1. The construction of large transmitters,(Gross-Sender) has decreased considerably;
new developments in this line are not torelfeen during 1955. The testing fields
(Prueffelder) are empty and the sbt roil{. , o " current and measuring izstrarnts in-
vested in these fields are not pail or, ithemselves. Jammling transmitter eon-
struotion has come to a complete,itand ltil. The only transmitters which are
still being developed area a singlewliideband short-wave transmitter, for which
only 75,000 EIS have been provide4f and a lOngrwave transmitter with a 250 kW
which is about thre"uarters completed, For this latter transmitter, only
80,000 DS! have been provided for 1955. The amounts provided for these two
transmitters will not be nearly sufficient for the sompl on of the transmitters.
Y television transmitter with a capacity of 30 k W a n d 40 about 75% completed.
However, the meat of 100,000 DIS provided for 1955 for this project will also
not be sufficient to complete the transmitte~?~ `~ A 50 kll ultra short Vave trans-
mitter, supposedly to be developed in 1955, rt~ill not be built because no funds have
been allocated for its 300,000.b1S were pisnnsd for this project, which sum, how-
ever, would not have' on sufficient for th# completion of such a transmitter.
In the production area of ship !s radio tra critters are a developed emergeney
transmitter (under an order for 300 units)- and an SOO.,watt medi aswave uniting-
wave transmitter (expected 195,5 orders se 50 snits). Orders Ere expected from
fisheries for 50 lugger stati ue (Loggsr4Kation) in 1955. he development of
the emergency transmitter, oh is to constructed in a smaller sine than
the existing model, wras,bo-t be give o the Abteilung 8ohiffsfuak since the
chief ,pf lbteilfts ?U, (=e sahe? wieklvtng iaptaenger), Jens-meter Es1aala',
needed work along with his urge station receiver (drossstatsons- fnnger)
work which is progressing poorly. Singe the production pilot model for the 800 V
1imiting-wave transmitter will not be completed before VW 11111 ~W 15 hsaaawn/1 of
inaffiaient material deliveries, Abtsilung TU is without development contracts.
2. VE8 Punkwerk Koepeniok sent equipment to three foreign exhibitions, including one
Peiping and one in Oairo. The equipment delivered to the latter two fairs
high frequency thermal generators and high?,fyrequeney welding apparatus and
measuring innstrmseats) did not survive the sea transport, since it arrived
completely corroded. The VEB attempted to obtain export orders for large
transmitters and other apparatus at these exhibitions. 'However, the prices
for the equipment were so high and the equipment so poor that it could not meet
ySTATE - ARMY
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AIR III AIC X
(Nolsi Weahington distribution Indle.t.d by '1111 PI.Id d1e1r16iton by "#".)
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foreign competition. The large station receiver, which was delivered incompletely
developed and untested, was in fifteenth lace in the competition, The profits
from eQuimssnt deliveries 25X1
were lost through the payment of penal- 25X1
e
Strctural wants Peon t (Abteilung Bauelemente)
3. The systematic development and production of construction parts in East Germany
was actually begun in early 1953. An exhibition of structural elements in East
Berlin indicate4.tt the quality of the switches, connectors, variable conden-
sers, condensers# eta., left something to be desired. Only a small percentage
could actually bq called tropic-proof. The main reason for this was that the
Ministry for Heavy Industry's deadlines did not allow time for development of
the specifio scp4pmont. At first, the developmental models were constructed with
parts from former German army stocks which apparently satisfied the requirements.
Although these stooks are ravening low, the Ministry has not heeded the warnings
of industry that-something must be done in this field.
he Structural extuts portmentof VEB rk Koepeniok has stopped any
further developmnt of variable condensers, and the means for measuring
these (tanggat*dalti measuring bridges and temperature measuring areas), since
these slUsnts *% to be constructed by VEB Punkwsrk Arnstadt, to which factory
the production, degilopment, and tooting of variable condensers is to be trans-
ferred. A trangfr.of the construction of structural elements from Berlin devel-
opment s t?rprioss is to take place. Following are two examples of this proposed
transfers'
Construotioss of, 4i .,frequeaoy oonrseotors and plug conneotioagby VEB Funkwerk
Koepenipk TO Work fuer Fernmeldewesen(WF), Obersohoensweide,is to,be trans-
ferred -te Vii! %ohpnwerk Rpdebsrgj
Construction 9l,spw3y developed switches of the IF plant if to be transferred to
VEB ft *Ark arossbareitenbaeh and to TEE =LAM Dorfhain.
This transfer is also to include all the tools neosssary for the production of
the various structural elements. lash of the new producing enterprises will have
a development office subordinated to it. lirthernore, production of individual
parts of the stmrvetural el.*snts by private enterprises is to be discouraged is
the future wad this, production is to be transferred to nationalised enterprises
(VEBs) in iii t Qerwm yr. Affected privet, enterprises includes Gebe. Iaeisenn,
Liohtenbe gj' ftema )ADO, Berlia?Pan] wp4 Firma ROxA15 and other smaller enter-
prises. hose enterprises will also be required to turn over their production
tools to the TWO
ProduOtioa o piepprrooof 4olded material has been maAly neglected' nothing at
all has been dose is~ the way of metal-clad contacts. Per a le, the production
of b0 i *.b~rowe sheet metal for overburdened And overheated electrical oon-
tact a h" ppt been started at R Presswork Auerhaa?er because of a shortage
of material. Moo! in'the field of hard sns-plating of contacts only Firma
,8trohbaoh, a prlvats entyprise In Dresden," is capable of doing a first-class
job of silvor?.p3,at . urthermore, for insulation material for high frequency
engineering, the production of 'to p, in the place of polystyrolens is under 7
develoymost in 4 small fashion Mo t1me Firma Hayden (Prof. Idmsllsr) in Aedebeui.
Two different t pss! and j,3M are being produced in small
quantities. A sftt sr dove oment is under way at the VEB Iflektrochemisohes
Xombinat Bitteirlteld. The silicon lacquer produced is usable to a degree and at
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Funkwerk Koepenick impregnation of transformer windings for higher thermal
ratings is being developed. Production of epoxyde resin'(Epoxy-dharz( :) is
underway., but the Equality (phase-angle difference and electricity constant -
Verlustfaktor and lektrizitaetakonstante) is not as high as that of the West
German products such as araldite. This epoxyde resin is especially important
as protective shells in the production of all mica (dielectric)-condensers
which are being developed in VEB Kondensatorenwerk Gera and are to be produced
there in greater numbers in 1955.
6. a Structural Element Department of Funkwerk Koepenick has the following pro-
jects according to the 1955 Plana
a. Spring slides (Federfuehrung) for transmitter tube sockets and., in con-
nection with this, coordination with the enterprises constructing the
sockets, be consuming industries have indicated enough interest to war-
rent production in the amount of 300000 Dl1.
b. Development of three ceramic switches., tropic-proof., amiliar to the Mayer
switches produced in West Germany., for lower range high-frequency voltages
and currents up to a maxiumu of 2 kV and 0.5 amperes.
Total expenditure
26,000 DI1
co Development of a high-tension high-frequency switch for 5 kV and 6 amperes,
smiliar to the Mayer switches.
Total expenditure 39,000 DM1
d. A study project for high-frequency high-power transformers for large trans-
mitters. Decrease in the sine and the spacing of high-tension-carrying
parts by mounting in containers of compressed gas (Frigeon) at 15 Atue.
Total expenditure 100000 am
e. Transition into series production of various mountings at various enterprises.
For examples SRS-308, ORS-301# SRS-304, 0407, SRL-305, SRS-501, (8R8-391)
SRS-502, SB&'4010 IA1,9 W-tii, and LO-16.
Total expenditure 15,000 DM
f. Testing of structural elements for clear patent rights
Total expenditure 3,000 DMa
g. Testing of structural elements for tropic-proof qualities
Total expenditure 3,000 DM
Development of transmitter structural elements
Total expenditure 20 00 DM1
TOTAL (6a* through 6h) 326,000 MG
Expected orders from other departments of Funkwerk Koepeniok and from
other fumes 34,000 DM (estimate)
Total planned amounts 360,000 DM1
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Consumer Gods Production
7. Technical Diractor Walter Heine had not found any way to make up the 1,700,000
DM deficit of the plant, since for 1955 the plant had only one-half the orders
that it had in 1954. A deficit of one million DM6 was incurred in connection
with the production of coffee-grinders which could not be covered by the sale
of these items, since a poor quality electric coffee-grinder costs 95 DM. The
1954 planned production of electric coffee-grinders was 109000 units; the actual
production was 300 units, Production and development of consumer goods has not,
however, been halted because of these poor results. Rather, mass production of
detector (crystal) apparatus, radio time switches and ventilators is increasing,
and plant personnel are being asked for new suggestions for consumer goods pro-
duction.
Measures for Cost Reduction
~1
8. All departments have been instructed to out down on both long-distance telephone
calls and on local, or internal, calls. The departments have also been instructed
to conserve on nonferrous, metals such as aluminum, brass, and red bronze; certain
trustworthy employees have been put in charge rf the distribution of these metals.
The = press has castigated the poor financial situation at Funkwerk Koepeniok,
mainly to satisfy the requirements of the so-called "self criticism" idea. This had
an adverse effect, howeverg other firms became hesitant about accepting orders
from Funkwerk Koepeniak since they were not sure of receiving payment.
Investments
9, Investments for the procurement of measuring devices and other necessary mach-
ines for the plant for 1955 have been cancelled in toto; even investments for
the procurement of office furniture (200 DM worth)were approved only after long
disoussionA. New economies are allegedly to be achieved by allowing only certain
specified amnunte to each department for repairs (about 40 DMa per month per de-
nr tment ),
S' -- -f the ZbteXRrj&
100 As of March 1955a rk Koepeniok employed 3,500 persons in its three plants.
Of this number, 600 persons, including West Berlin residents, are to be die-
charged gradually* Further discharges are in the offing since the plant believes
it can make the decreased ordensprofitable through a decrease in personnel. In
the Oberschoeneweide plant, no, II9 60 female workers receiving an hourly wage
of 1.80 DM are to be discharged; new employees then taken on will be obliged to
do the same work on the night shift for an hourly wage of 1.40 D11.
11, The two development areas TE 1 (Transmitter Construction and Ta 2 (Measuring
Devices) were merged into one development directorate. hief of this now de-
velopment was Heins Andreas, who had not performed his functions satisfactorily
in the Main Administration RPT in the Ministry for Heavy Industry and who supposedly
was to redeem himself in this new position. He resigned after a few days,
allegedly because Rf a sudden illne ss~and then disappeared. In development area
TB I, Transmitter onstruotion Departments I through 4 were combined into one
department, TU, in order to reduce costs. The former chief of these four de-
partments,, Wolfgang Bruske, has been discharged.
Unsucce ^aful Imes atmanta
12. Tn expectation of larger orders from foreign countries for large transmitters
(Plant Manager Paul Bkr - mentioned seven large transmitters for China) 200,000
DMg worth of ceramic oondensers were produced and stored. These could not be
sold as a result of the completely changed economic situation and the fact that
the size produced is no longer in use, A loss of 100,000 DM1 was incurred in
connection with the procurement and processing of mica sheets which had inadequate
dielectric strength and had to be scrapped.
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Goe s
1. As received, Previously reported as VEB Werk fuer Bauelemente der Hachrichtenteoh-
nik Grossbreitenbach.
2. Flektro-Radiozubehoer Dorfhain.
3. Gebr. Rleinmann, Treuhand-Bptrieb, Berlin-Lichtenberg, Weitlingstrasse 70.
4. BACO - formerly BAGO Wlektro GmbH; according to the index of manufacturers in the
Leipzig Fair directory, Spring 1955, this firm has now been renamed VEB Elektro-
Meohanik (vormo BACO).
5. ROKA - Robert Laret, Berlin SW 29, Gneisenaustrasse 27.
6. Strohbach and Schoen, Metallveredelung, Dresden A 16, Blasswitser Strasss 27.
7. Possibly identical with Oehme and Mueller, Radebeul 1, Rennerbergetrasss 11.
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