Autophone

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The Autophon AG , later Autophon Holding AG was a Swiss manufacturer of telecommunications equipment based in Solothurn , which existed from 1922 to 1987 as the company with Hasler and Zellweger Telecommunications for Ascom merged. Originally founded as a special factory for automatic telephony, Autophon later also manufactured radio and television receivers, radios and display systems, among other things. At the time of the merger, the Autophon Group was the largest telecommunications group in Switzerland.

history

Former Autophon building in Solothurn, today Ypsomed production site
Memorial plaque for Walter Hammer on the former Autophon building
Natel A, Switzerland's first portable mobile phone, from Autophon and Unitel

The company was founded in 1922 by industrialists from Solothurn with the significant participation of Walter Hammer, the first director of Autophon AG. The first President of the Board of Directors was the later Federal Councilor Hermann Obrecht . Automatic switching systems for telephone calls were a novelty at the time; Autophon was the first special factory for such systems in Switzerland. Customers for the systems were found in companies in industry, trade and service companies as well as in administration. In the 1930s, the production program was expanded to include people search systems and telephones for the Swiss Army . For more than twenty years, Autophon also supplied all- wave receivers to the army. These were also used on the Jungfraujoch during World War II to monitor European radio traffic. A so-called sound direction measuring device was also developed and produced, which was used to locate enemy artillery positions . Autophon acquired the private telephone companies in Zurich and Basel , founded a general agency for western Switzerland in Lausanne and also began exporting its products, particularly to France and Italy .

In 1931 Autophon began manufacturing telephone broadcasting devices, followed by radio receivers in autumn 1932. Autophon's entry into radio production also served to cushion the slump in the business with automatic telephone systems, which occurred because the Swiss post, telephone and telegraph companies (PTT) made use of their monopoly rights . Only the PTT were authorized to connect subscriber systems to the public telephone network, and Autophon, unlike its competitors Standard Electric , Siemens and Hasler, was not considered. This was justified by the fact that the four companies each used their own system and the PTT fitters were already familiar with the competing systems from the local headquarters. The introduction of a fourth system cannot be justified.

The first Autophon radios Rex 33 and Rex 34 were not in-house developments, but replicas under a license from C. Lorenz . From 1935 own devices were produced, the first in-house development was the Rex-Medium model . From 1933 to 1949 there was an agreement with the Radio Steiner chain of stores , which took over the distribution of Autophon devices. Autophon then set up its own organization for the sale and maintenance of its radio and television sets, which were also in production in the 1950s. Various subsidiaries were also established abroad in the 1950s and 1960s. However, Autophon stopped developing and manufacturing its own radio and television sets as early as 1956, as there was strong price pressure from cheap imported equipment from German manufacturers. The radio-TV sales and service department continued the business with foreign equipment and also took over the construction of antenna and company television systems.

From 1945 the company developed two-way radio devices for civil use. The first devices were delivered in 1948 to the police in Basel, the SBB for the shunting radio in the Lucerne train station and to the shipping company for Lake Lucerne . In addition, from the 1970s onwards, Autophon and the Aachen computer manufacturer Krantz Computer developed information display systems for its Mulby computers, which were used at airports, including Frankfurt Airport from 1977 , as well as at train stations and stock markets.

When Autophon AG celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1972, the group, together with its sister companies Téléphonie SA and Electrona SA, employed around 3,300 people with consolidated invoicing of 212 million Swiss francs . In 1984 Autophon merged with the telephone manufacturer Gfeller in Flamatt to form Autophon Holding AG. At the beginning of 1987, at the time of the merger with Hasler and Zellweger to form Ascom, the Autophon Group was the largest telecommunications group in Switzerland and employed 6,000 people worldwide. In 1986 the consolidated invoicing was 780.9 million francs.

literature

  • 50 years of Autophon . Autophon, Solothurn 1972.
  • Karl Müller: memories and encounters. As a communications engineer for 50 years in the service of Autophon AG Solothurn . [Sn], [Sl] 1989.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 50 years of Autophon . Autophon, Solothurn 1972, p. 4-5 .
  2. ↑ a b 50 years of Autophon . Autophon, Solothurn 1972, p. 5 .
  3. ^ Karl Müller: Memories and Encounters. As a communications engineer for 50 years in the service of Autophon AG Solothurn . [Sn], [Sl] 1989, pp. 30 .
  4. ↑ a b Martin Bösch: Autophon AG Solothurn - company history. In: Armyradio.ch. December 15, 2011, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  5. ^ Karl Müller: Memories and Encounters. As a communications engineer for 50 years in the service of Autophon AG Solothurn . [Sn], [Sl] 1989, pp. 21-22 .
  6. ^ Karl Müller: Memories and Encounters. As a communications engineer for 50 years in the service of Autophon AG Solothurn . [Sn], [Sl] 1989, pp. 29 .
  7. ^ A b Karl Müller: Memories and Encounters. As a communications engineer for 50 years in the service of Autophon AG Solothurn . [Sn], [Sl] 1989, pp. 25 .
  8. ^ A b Karl Müller: Memories and Encounters. As a communications engineer for 50 years in the service of Autophon AG Solothurn . [Sn], [Sl] 1989, pp. 6 .
  9. ^ Karl Müller: Memories and Encounters. As a communications engineer for 50 years in the service of Autophon AG Solothurn . [Sn], [Sl] 1989, pp. 41 .
  10. ^ Krantz Computer history on the Computer History website
  11. ↑ 50 years of Autophon . Autophon, Solothurn 1972, p. 9 .
  12. ↑ 50 years of Autophon . Autophon, Solothurn 1972, p. 11 .
  13. ↑ The Autophon Group, the largest telecommunications group in Switzerland with 6000 employees worldwide ... In: Computerwoche. January 23, 1987, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  14. ↑ Autophon prepared for the Ascom merger. In: Computerwoche. May 29, 1987, accessed April 1, 2013 .