Metz works
Metz mecatech GmbH Metz Consumer Electronics GmbH
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legal form | GmbH |
founding | 1938 |
Seat | Zirndorf , Germany |
management |
Metz mecatech GmbH: Lauri Jouhki Metz Consumer Electronics GmbH: Weizhong Sun, Zhi Wan, Norbert Kotzbauer, Manfred Billenstein, Yuanqi Dong |
Number of employees | 540 (2015) |
sales | 108.4 million euros (2011) |
Website | www.metz.de |
Two companies from the fields of flash units, plastics technology, SMD production (Metz mecatech GmbH) and entertainment electronics (Metz Consumer Electronics GmbH) based in the Franconian town of Zirndorf operate under the brand name Metz .
The company site is owned by Metz mecatech GmbH. Metz Consumer Electronics GmbH rents various rooms on the site. The former family company develops, produces and sells high-quality photo electronics, plastics technology and consumer electronics products. The products are developed and manufactured in Germany. The company was founded in 1938 by Paul Metz . In 2013, Metz-Werke celebrated its 75th company anniversary at IFA .
As a result of the bankruptcy, the company was sold to two foreign investors in early May 2015.
history
The company was founded by Paul Metz in Nuremberg on November 28, 1938 . From 1939, the production program for Carl Zeiss was expanded to include the production of electronic homing devices for fighter planes. Shortwave transmitters and receivers as well as other radio technology were produced by the end of the Second World War in 1945 . After the military production ceased completely at the end of the Second World War, the entrepreneurial restart began in 1947 with the production of radios in the newly created radio technology division (renamed to entertainment electronics in the mid-1970s).
Metz has been producing universal flash units for cameras since 1952 . TV production started in 1955. In 1957 a clay furniture factory for wooden cabinets was built, which in 1969 was expanded to include plastic production.
Founder Paul Metz died in 1993. The company was continued by his 69-year-old widow Helene Metz. It was not until 2010 that she withdrew from operational business.
After the company had suffered from price pressure from Asian competition for a long time, bankruptcy was filed with the Fürth District Court on November 19, 2014. In January 2015, the company announced that around 110 of the remaining 540 jobs are to be cut.
At the end of March 2015, the company announced that it had found two investors. The company was thus split up. The television equipment division was taken over by the Chinese electronics company Skyworth (Skyworth Group Limited). Skyworth is China's leading television manufacturer and has been pursuing international growth for years; The company is opening up new markets primarily through acquisitions. The other divisions of Metz-Werke, flash units and plastics technology, were acquired by the Daum Group, which, like Metz, also comes from the Fürth area. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. According to Metz, a total of 298 people were employed at the beginning of June 2015.
Consumer electronics
In 1950 Metz had a complete range of radios, from the smallest super to the music cabinet; Establishment of a laboratory for electroacoustics and another special laboratory. 1954 followed the production of the "Babyphon", a battery-operated radio-phono combination, the first portable radio with record player . 1955 was the beginning of television production . The first hi-fi devices came in 1958 : the top-quality stereo hi- fi super “410” with a two-channel amplifier; Stereo hi-fi concert cabinet "705" with stereo record changer. In 1966, Metz was also represented for the first time with tape recorders at the Hanover Fair, and color television production began in 1967 . This was followed by a series of radio spots with the distinctive advertising slogan “Allmächd, Rainer, an Metz mächert ich aa”, which, due to its popularity, gave its name to Metz-related exhibitions in Fürth in 2009 and 2018. In 1989 the range was expanded to include VHS and S-VHS camcorders and video recorders . From 1998 onwards, all televisions were equipped with 100 Hertz technology. On the occasion of the International Consumer Electronics Fair in Berlin in 1999, Metz presented new premium line televisions with super-flat picture tubes (4: 3 and 16: 9) as well as integrated room lighting, two DVD players and a hi-fi CD receiver. In 2001 high-quality plasma televisions with 42 inches in 16: 9 format were presented. In 2003, hard disk recorders with timeshift and background recording functions came onto the market. In 2005 self-developed LCD televisions (prepared for HDTV) were presented. As of 2008, Metz had a large range of LCD TVs with 42-inch full HD panels, 100 Hz DMC technology and an integrated hard disk recorder. In 2011, the company presented the Metz Media System networking solution and expanded the range of TVs to include 3D-capable product families. With mecaControl , an operating app for controlling Metz televisions via smartphones and tablets was presented at IFA 2012.
Flash units
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Metz_Mecablitz_34_BCT_1.jpg/220px-Metz_Mecablitz_34_BCT_1.jpg)
In 1952, another company division was founded: For the first time, flash units were produced on behalf of Agfa and Carl Braun and production of the "mecablitz" began. In 1957, the world's first transistor electronic flash unit was presented, the “mecablitz 100”. In 1982 the 5 millionth flash unit rolled off the production line. In 1994 the flash unit "mecablitz 50 MZ-5" was presented; For the first time, a Metz flash unit is controlled by three microcontrollers . In 1986, together with Bosch , Agfa and Philips , Metz developed SCA adapter systems such as SCA-3000 and SCA-3002 in order to be able to adapt flash units to the various electronic controls of various camera models . In 1998, the smallest flash unit in the world with high light output and extremely simple 2-button operation was presented at photokina . In 2002 the ten millionth flash unit was sold. In 2012 the series mecalight and mecastudio were newly introduced. In 2013, the mecablitz 64 AF-1 digital with a graphic touch color display replaced the 58 AF-2 digital . Metz is one of the three largest manufacturers of flash units in the world. Metz flash units are now exported to over 90 countries. Metz flash units were the first in the world to be equipped with a USB interface. They can be used to update the firmware via computer and the Internet.
Plastics technology
With its plastics technology, Metz-Werke also supply other companies with components. The following procedures are used:
- Compact injection molding
- Internal gas pressure injection molding
- Thermoplastic foam molding
- Ultrasonic welding and hot mounting
- In-mold process
The following techniques are used at Metz for surface treatment:
- Water-based or solvent-based painting
- Automatic painting with systems from ABB , AKR and Dete
- Hand painting on hand spray booths
- Printing ( pad printing )
- Hot stamping
Web links
- Metz-Werke website
- Family company Metz: "It fits." How a small family business asserts itself against large competitors. In: Die Zeit , No. 11/2011
References
- ↑ metz-mecatech.de: Imprint
- ↑ br.de: 110 employees have to go ( Memento from November 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Metz-Werke GmbH & Co. KG: Annual financial statements for the business year from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. on Bundesanzeiger.de
- ↑ Flash units
- ↑ Production solutions
- ↑ SMD production
- ↑ Company history on the manufacturer's website , accessed on January 29, 2016
- ↑ Metz. nordbayern.de, October 28, 2018, accessed on August 28, 2019 .
- ↑ http://www.br.de/nachrichten/mittelfranken/inhalt/metz-rettung-zirndorf-100.html ( Memento from May 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.br.de/mediathek/video/sendung/frankenschau-aktuell/tv-metz-aufschwung-100.html ( Memento from November 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Barbara Ohm: Fürth - history of the city. Jungkunz, 2007, ISBN 3-9808686-1-3
- ↑ a b 70 years of Metz, photoscala.de , March 11, 2008
- ↑ Metz has filed for bankruptcy, heise.de , November 20, 2014
- ^ TV manufacturer Metz is broke, Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 19, 2014
- ^ After the decline, the bankruptcy follows, Stuttgarter Zeitung , November 22, 2014
- ↑ Skyworth Group Limited. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
- ↑ Metz brings Chinese partner Skyworth on board. nordbayern.de, September 19, 2015, accessed on August 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Hans Kratzer: Wou the rabbits Hoosn and the pants Huusn haaßn. Süddeutsche, January 12, 2017
- ↑ Broadcasting Museum : Metz show ends. nordbayern.de, April 18, 2009
- ^ Title of the special exhibition “Made in Franconia. From backyard factories and global corporations ” on the website of the city of Fürth, accessed on August 29, 2018
Coordinates: 49 ° 26 ′ 49.6 ″ N , 10 ° 56 ′ 27.3 ″ E