Tungsram is a Hungarian manufacturer of light bulbs and vacuum tubes since 1896. General Electric, in 1990, acquired majority share in one of Hungary's largest, oldest, and internationally most prestigious firms, the light-source manufacturer Tungsram. Over the past six years GE has invested $600 million in the venture and thoroughly restructured every aspect of its operations. It is the largest U.S. manufacturing investment in Central and Eastern Europe to date.[1] It is now a subsidiary of General Electric and its name is used as a brand name only.
The company was awarded a patent for electric bulbs with a tungsten filament in 1903. Later in 1934, they also announced a patent for Imre Bródy's electric bulb filled with krypton. Both provided a longer lifetime for electric bulbs.
The name Tungsram is a portmanteau of "tungsten" /ˈtʌŋstən/ and "wolfram" /ˈwʊlfrəm/ (as tungsten, the metal used for making the filaments, is known in Hungarian, German and many other languages). British Tungsram Radio Works was subsidiary of the Hungarian Tungsram in pre-war days.
