History of D&D Drótáru Zrt.
Adolf Deichsel from Germany saw an opportunity to produce wire products in Hungary, and in 1912, he founded his company called Magyar Acélsodrony-, Drótművek és Kötélgyár Deichsel A. (Hungarian Steel Wire, Cable and Rope Works Deischel A.), where the history of wire making in Miskolc began according to the pattern of the founder’s other factory in Zabrze, Poland.
Work started with manual rope making, which was followed by nail and iron wire manufacturing, but twisting machines also arrived in the next year. At the beginning, the company employed about 40 people; wire rod bundles of 120 to 180 kg were handled by the workers manually, who carried the bundles on their shoulders to the plant, because there were no forklifts or cranes; later on, material was carried on carts.
In addition to wire cable, the plant also produced spring wires, fencing, cloth, nails, chains and fence elements, both for industrial and domestic use.
During World War II, most of the machines were dismounted and removed upon instruction from the owners; then, on 4 December 1944, workers living nearby started to clear away the ruins and reconstruction of the plant.In honour of them, the company adopted the new name December 4. Drótművek (4th December Wire Works) later on, in 1954. The factory became property of the Soviet Union after the war, and then was returned to the Hungarian State in 1952.
In the 1960s, the wire factory exported its products to numerous countries in Europe, and tried to enter new markets in Asia and Africa, while its product range also changed. The production of high-strength wires such as rods for reinforced concrete was started in the new heat-treatment, pickling and drawing halls in 1962.
Owing to the technical professionals working at the factory, a lot of innovations and patents made the factory known worldwide, e.g. the stitched flat rope developed in the early 1960s.The high-quality flex ropes, followed by superflex ropes, as well as were Koral cables and several other patented products, developed and implemented by the engineer team of D4D Works.
Stabilised concrete pre-stressing strand, which is regarded the main strategic product these days, has been manufactured since 1982.
Despite the vicissitudes suffered during the last century, the factory had the chance to develop from time to time; it exported its products to more than 40 countries at the end of the 1980s, relying on a headcount of 2200.
Metaltrade Hungária Kft. acquired 51%, and later on 100%, of the ownership of the company; the new name of the company was D&D Drótáru és Drótkötél Ipari és Kereskedelmi Kft. (D&D Wire Products and Wire Cable Industrial and Commerce Limited Liability Company), and was subsequently reorganized into a joint-stock company.
The new owner kept the original product structure and tried to regain its market shares, but, despite continuous growth of production and sales figures, the factory did not become profitable during the years. The new direction of development was in the field of pre-stressed concrete rods and strands; an automated pickling line was installed, and construction of a new pre-stressed concrete wire plant began.
In 2004, the owners decided to perform a significant realignment of the company and stop manufacturing certain products they found unprofitable at that time. Stranded wire cables, cables, cold-dipped wires and welded meshes are not produced any more, and the company adopted a shorter name also in use these days: D&D Drótáru Zrt. (D&D Wire Products Private Limited Company).
In 2009,Třinecké Železárny, a.s., member of the Moravia Steel holding registered in the Czech Republic became 100% owner of D&D.
Our company has been developing continuously since the change of ownership: we endeavour to meet the increasing market demands through continuous development, better working conditions, renovation of buildings and machinery on a continuous basis, and purchasing new twisting and drawing machines.