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Manufacturers of plugs
and sockets in AT, NL, NO, PT, SI and SE |
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 info page |
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| Note that
logos and information are restricted to companies and brands of
material
that is shown in the museum.
Countries and manufacturers are listed in alphabetical order. Each of these countries uses the CEE 7/3-7/4 (Schuko) standard for domestic appliances. Abbreviations of types of business entities are explained at the end of the list. Sources: catalogs and internet sites of the given companies and Wikipedia. ® shown logos are registered trademarks of given companies or brands. Logos may not be copied, except for strict encyclopedic purposes in relation to plugs and sockets. |
| Austria |
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ELIN Aktiengesellschaft für elektrische
Industrie. In 1892 Franz Pichler founded in Weiz, Steiermark
(Styria) the F. Pichler Werke. In 1897 renamed Weizer
Elektrizitätswerke Franz Pichler & Co. The company produced dynamos
and generators. For financial reasons it became in 1908 a public
limited company and renamed ELIN Aktiengesellschaft für elektrische
Industie. In the 1930s domestic electrical appliances were added to the
product range, including plugs and sockets. After WW II Soviet occupation forces confiscated most of production equipment and ELIN was expropriated. In 1959 ELIN merged with the German AEG-UNION. Finally, after radical changes, the company was divided in three division that became part of the Ortler Group. The company focuses on energy supply and electrical installation projects. |
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Ernst Maté GmbH. The company was
founded in 1918 in Wien. It merged in 1972 with Presswerk Erlacher
(Villach, Austria) and renamed to MPE (Maté Presswerk Erlacher).
MPE
went bankrupt in 1976, was bought by Legrand and became Legrand
Österreich in 1978. |
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PC Electric GmbH.
Founded in 1949.
Based in Sankt Martin im Innkreis. From 173 manufacturer of a full
range of industrial CEE plugs, distribution boxes, cable reels etc. The name PCE is distantly related to a former owner of the company. Production facilities in Austria, Germany, Poland and Sri Lanka. |
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Steckerwolf KG.
Friedrich Wolf founded (date unknown) an electrotechnical company,
specialized in a range of three-phase AC and high voltage DC
connectors. Manufacturing took place in Neudörfl (Burgenland) and
Vienna. Factories closed down in the early 1980s. |
|
 logo on 1955 plug |
Ulbrichts Witwe GmbH. The
company dates back to the establishment of Heinrich Ulbricht's Wwe
(widow)
metal button factory in 1765, in Wien. In the 19th century the company
developed industrial metal galvanization techniques. In the 1930s they
were one of the early plastics pioneers in Austria. The factory moved
to Schwanenstadt, Oberösterreich. It is likely that production of
electrical accessories in the 1950s have been a sideline. Ulbrichts
Witwe GmbH focuses now on production of
safety helmets and injection molding techniques for automotive
applications. |
| Finland |
 |
Ensto.
Ensio Miettinen founded in
1958 a company manufacturing electrical accessories in Porvoo. Ensto is
still an Ensio family concern. After steady grows and diversification
of product range Ensto concentrated to Ensto
DSO (Distribution System Operations) with focus on electricity
distribution, and Ensto Building Systems (lighting, heating systems,
electric vehicle charging etc.). The double E logo stands for Ensto
Electrification and can be found on electrical accessories. In 2021
Legrand acquired Building
Systems, but operations continue under the Ensto band. |
| Hungary |
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Kontakta / Kontavill.
In 1919 István Szalay started in Budapest
production of electrical accessories, in 1937 renamed Szalay István Rt.
Electrical Installation and Equipment Factory. After WW II the company
was nationalized and renamed Kontakta Electrical Installation Factory.
Production moved in 1960 to Szentes. In 1963 Kontakta was forced
to merge with a Budapest based Watch Factory. The joined
management organization stayed initially in Budapest, but from 1988 all
activities were focussed in Szentes. The company renamed Kontavill.
After privatization in 1992 Kontavill Zrt. joined the Legrand Group. |
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Kaposvári Villamossági Gyár Kft (KVGY).
Electricity Factory Ltd. in Kaposvári (city south of Lake Balkatn)) was founded on January 1. The company's
main activity is production of electrical devices and equipment,
low-voltage and high-voltage fuses, transformers, machine tools and
automatic controls for industrial equipment. |
| Netherlands |
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Corodex.
Manufacturer of Bakelite press material and end products in Zandvoort.
Founded in the
late 1930s, but production could not start before 1947. Bakelite
products comprised among others electro-technical, wiring and lighting
accessories. In 2009 the Dutch electro-technical business enterprise
Hateha has acquired the trademark Corodex. |
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Hollandsche Draad- en Kabelfabrieken,
later shortened to Draka, was founded in 1910 by Jan Teeuwis
Duyvis and
Francis Howe in Amsterdam. Two years later Philips (see below) took an
interest in the company. In 1957 Philips sold its shares and Draka
merged with its competitor Nederlandse Kabelfabriek and renamed Draka
Kabel / NKF. Philips acquired the company in 1970. In 1986 the Draka
part was split off and Draka Holding fused with the Italian company
Prysmian. The Prysmia Group is now one of the world's largest cable
makers. Drakaflex, trade name of the Draka rubber cable division has made extension and appliance cords with moulded plugs for domestic use in the 1950s - '80s(?). |
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Hollandse Apparaten Fabriek.
Founded in 1931 by P van der Kulk in Rotterdam. He started the
production of cast-iron installation boxes. From 1934 also
phenol-formaldehyde resin was used under the name Hafeliet. Hafeliet
processing allowed manufacturing a larger range of products, among
other plugs. Production moved to Ede in the 1960s. The company was
acquired in 1977 by Brown Boveri and, after the merge with Asea, became
in 1988 ABB HAF. |
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Hazemeyer.
In 1906 Floris Hazemeijer
founded the electro-technical company Firma F. Hazemeyer & Co*. in
Hengelo; in 1913 renamed N.V. Fabriek van Elektrische Apparaten v/h F.
Hazemeyer & Co. (v/h = former). First, lightning conductors were
produced, followed by cast-iron switch boxes and middle voltage
appliances. From 1930 Bakelite (Hajaliet)
products were added. Thermosetting plastic switch and fuse boxes can
still be found
in older Dutch homes. To improve the position of electrotechnical
companies on the international market several Dutch companies decided
in 1963 to cooperate under
the name Holec. Hazemeyer Hengelo became Holec Holland (both:
HH). After
several reorganizations Holec was acquired in 1998 by the British
company Delta. In 2003 the Delta Group was bought out by the American
Eaton Corporation. A detailed story about HH, with many illustrations can be found at a Holec site (in Dutch). * note the difference in spelling of the founder's name and the company name. |
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Inventum Huishoudelijke Apparaten BV.
Manufacture of electric household appliances, founded in 1908 by
Alexander Vosmaer in Bilthoven. At least in the 1920s - '50s
necessary plugs and extension cords were also made by the company.
Inventum is now based in Arnhem. |
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Philips Gloeilampenfabriek NV.
Philips incandescent lamp factory was founded in 1891, in Eindhoven, by
Gerard Philips and his
father Frederik. Gerard's brother Anton joined the company four years
later. In 1923 Philips started with production and processing
Bakelite-type resins; the trademark Philite was patented in 1930. It
was applied for many industrial and domestic products, including plugs
for radios and household appliances. After WW II the product range was
enlarged considerably, but nowadays Philips focuses fully on
healthcare. Radio, TV, chips,
consumer electronics and lighting departments have been sold. |
| Norway |
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Brřdrene Braathen AS.
In 1904 the brothers Karl and Oskar Braathen founded a hardware
factory in Oslo. In 1920 the company started production of electrical
installation materials. In 1929 it moved to a 5-storey building, that
housed the factory, warehouse and offices. The Braathen brothers were
shareholders and major customers of Oslo Presstoff Industri AS
(OPI),
founded in 1937. They made the Bakelite components of electrical
accessories. When Brřdrene Braathen ended production is
unknown, but the factory plant was pulled down in 2006. OPI still
exists. |
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ELKO AS. Founded in 1945 in Oslo as
AS Electrokontakt, which explains the abbreviation ELKO. The company is
a still active manufacturer of electrical outlets, plugs and switches
for the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish market. ELKO is now a part of
Schneider Electric. Some ELKO products carry the name Gelia, one of the ELKO wholesalers in Sweden. |
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Etman International ASA. Etman
Electric Co. Ltd has been founded in 1986 in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China.
Etman International ASA is a Norwegian holding group with subsidiaries
in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Etman Electric is manufacturing consumer
electrical products in China and has significant sales in Northern
Europe. EGANT is an Etman group brand responsible of DIY and semi-professional market. Products are made in China. EGANT office and warehouse are located in Klaipeda, Lithuania. |
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Philip Hauge AS.
Founded in 1945 by the civil engineer Philip Hauge in Wergeland,
outside Bergen, and moved to Midttun in the early 1960s. The company
has always focussed on industrial sockets and plugs. For
more than 30 years it was part of the ASEA group and was merged into
ABB
in 2001. From 2017 Philip Hauge
AS was spun off as a separate company in connection with ABB's decision
to separate production of special products from its core business.
Philip Hauge is now based in Nesttun, Bergen. |
| Portugal |
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JSL Material Eléctrico S.A.. In 1953 the Thorbjörnsen family founded in 1953 a small factory in Barcarena, Portugal. Initially they produced electric household and lighting equipment for the inland market only. Export started when the European (economic) Community was created in the late 1980s. JSL plugs, sockets, switches and wiring material is now exported to more than 50 countries in Europe, Middle East, Africa and South America. | |
electrical
table and decorative
equipment porcelain |
Electro Cerâmica. In
1912 Joaquim Pereira Ramon started in Lisbon a workshop for
manufacturing porcelain electrical equipment. Business expanded and
moved to vila Nova de Gaia (near Porto) and created the Empresa
Cerâmica, Limitada.
Soon the company started also production of high-voltage insulators. In
1945 the company was purchased by Grupo Vista Alege. Product range
expanded to industry and trade of porcelain for electrical and
industrial uses, but also utilitarian and decorative porcelain. Electro
Cerâmica exported to Belgium, Sweden, Southern Europe, Israel, India
and USA. Note: the Portuguese company is unrelated to a Romanian company of the same name. |
| Slovenia |
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TEM Čatež d.o.o. In 1973, the
Ljubljana household appliance factory Elma established a small plant in
Čatež, manufacturing electrical accessories.
Products were incorporated into Elma household appliances. In 1989 the company was split off and registered as an independent manufacturer, named TEM Čatež. TEM is an abbreviation of Tovarna elektromateriala (factory of electro-materials) and Čatež is the location near the town of Velika Loka in southeastern Slovenia. In 1996 Andrej Bajuk took over the position of director and decided to focused on production of a line of modular sockets and switches which are used in most new electrical installations. The museum is grateful to Domen Soklič for providing the above information |
| Sweden |
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AB Dirak. The electrical equipment
industry AB Dirak was founded near Värnamo (Jönköping County) in 1986. Ed-Wa Past AB is an injection molding company founded in 1963 in Värnamo by Edvin and Walter Pettersson. Both companies merged in 2014. Both Dirak and El-Wa are trade names that can be found on electrical accessories. |
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ELJO. Joel Olsson bought in 1945
the company Dala Bakelit Industri, Arfvidsson & Co. in
Bĺstad. In
1953 the company changed it name in Eljo
Plastindustri AB. Production focused on electrical equipment and
accessories. In 1971 the name was shortened to Eljo AB. In 2003
Schneider Electric acquired the company. They closed the Eljo plant in
Bĺstad and moved production to other units of the Schneider Group in
2007. From
2009 the brand name Eljo was no longer used. |
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Malmbergs. In 1916 started
operating as an electrical installer in Kristinehamn. In 1981 Jan Folke
took over the company, moved business to Halisberg and focused on
imports, wholesale and distribution of electrical equipment and
accessories. The Malmbergs Elektriska Svenska AB (publ) is also active
in Norway, Finland, Denmark and UK. Products carrying band name
Malmbergs are produced elsewhere. |
| Abbreviations Austria: AG = Aktiengesellschaft (public limited company ≈ plc). GmbH = Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (private company limited by shares ≈ Ltd). KG = Kommandiditgesellschaft (limited partnership). Hungary: Rt = Részvénytársaság (public limited company ≈ plc). Zrt = Zártkörűen működő részvénytársaság (private limited company ≈ Ltd). Netherlands: BV = Besloten vennootschap (private limited company). NV = Naamloze vennootschap (joint stock company). |
Norway: AS = Aksjeselskap (stock-based limited company). ASA = Allmennaksjeselskap (public stock company). Portugal: S.A. = Sociedade Anónima (joint stock company) Slovenia: d.o.o. = Družba z omejeno odgovor nostjo (private limited company) Sweden: AB = Aktiebolag (private company limited by shares). AB(publ) = AB publika (public limited company). |
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