Vebjørn Tandberg

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Vebjørn Tandberg (1963)

Vebjørn Tandberg (born September 16, 1904 in Bodø , † August 30, 1978 in Oslo ) was a Norwegian electrical engineer and founder of Tandbergs Radiofabrikk . Tandberg grew up as the son of Vebjørn Olsen Tandberg (1873-1934) and Anna Therese Johanson (1878-1958) in Bodø, Nordland . His parents, originally from Uvdal , ran a tool retail shop there.

Studying and starting a business

After graduating from school ( Examen artium ) in 1925, Tandberg studied electrical engineering at the Norwegian Technical University . He successfully completed his studies in 1930. As an assistant to Johan Holtsmark , he came into contact with loudspeaker technology at the Institute for Physics there and then founded Tandbergs Radiofabrikk in Oslo in 1933 .

Thanks to high import duties , Tandberg was able to successfully market its comparatively expensive, high-quality products. Until the occupation of Norway by the German Wehrmacht - and the associated ban on private ownership of radios - the company expanded . Even from 1940 until the end of the war, warehouse production continued.

Tandberg as a social entrepreneur

Tandberg became known not only for its products, but also for its extremely progressive and social attitude towards its employees. At the turn of the year 1939/1940, he transferred the company to a foundation , with the employees as the largest shareholders . However, he himself retained responsibility for the operational business .

Tandbergs Radiofabrikk was not a member of the Norwegian Employers' Association and was therefore able to determine working conditions and social benefits autonomously. In 1937 the weekly working time was reduced from 48 to 42 hours, in 1948 again to 39. As early as 1938 there was a company pension amounting to 70% of the last wage. From 1947 onwards, all employees who had been with the company for 10 years were given an additional week of vacation. The five-day week was introduced in 1955, initially in the summer months from June to August, and then in 1969 for the entire calendar year. From 1970 all employees received a fixed salary, from 1974 there were individually agreed working hours and rules for sick leave.

In 1976, with co-authors Arvid Møller and Lasse Thorseth, Tandberg published a collection of articles, lectures and interviews that outlined his attitude as an entrepreneur. The title of the book is Mennesket i bedriften (The human being in the company).

Economic difficulties and downfall

Lecture hall named after Tandberg at the North University

The 1970s turned out to be difficult for the radio and TV industry. Many companies had to file for bankruptcy or were bought up, also in other European countries (see for example Telefunken ). Tandberg was initially able to maintain its success through the takeover of the largest domestic competitor, A / S Radionette . The over-ambitious takeover of a factory in Haddington, Scotland and the construction of a new production hall in Notodden in Telemark mark the exit from the profit zone. Despite the diversification of the portfolio - Tandberg had set up a data processing department - it was not possible to stop this trend.

After retiring in 1973, Vebjørn Tandberg initially worked in the company in an advisory capacity. Between 1976 and 1978 the economic situation was so dire that neither a state loan of 55 million kroner nor an increase in the share capital of another 120 million NOK could stop this. On August 30, 1978, Tandberg received a letter from the board of directors that his services as a consultant would no longer be used. On the same day, he committed suicide by suffocating himself on sleeping pills . He never lived to see his company's bankruptcy filing in December 1978.

Despite the unworthy decline, Tandberg is still known today as a brand and as a person - not least because of his special social understanding as an entrepreneur. A lecture hall at Nord University in his hometown Bodø was named after him.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Vebjørn Tandberg - Norsk biografisk leksikon. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 3, 2016 ; accessed on October 3, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / nbl.snl.no
  2. ↑ Arvid Møller, Lasse Thorseth, Vebjørn Tandberg: Mennesket i write: and utvalg artikler, foredrag and intervjuer of and with Vebjørn Tandberg . Lu-Mi, Oslo 1976, ISBN 82-531-4090-8 , pp. 195 , urn : nbn: no-nb_digibok_2011052308124 (access only with an IP address from Norway).
personal data
SURNAME Tandberg, Vebjørn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian electrical engineer and founder of Tandbergs Radiofabrikk
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Bodø
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1978
Place of death Oslo