History of the Factory
Fabryka Transformatorów w Żychlinie has over 85 years of experience in producing transformers. It was the very first successful company within electrical machinery industry in Poland. The history of the Factory dates back to 1921 when it started operating on a large scale in Żychlin. There, under the name Polskie Zakłady Elektryczne
Brown Boveri PLC, housed in the buildings of the former sugar factory Walentynów equipped with its own power plant, it started producing transformers, three-phase motors, generators, and later – also very first Polish tram motors. The production began in 1923 with the output of 14 pieces of electrical machinery. The following years led to an increase of the production: 1924 – 90 pieces, 1925 – 216 pieces. It was a period of very dynamic development of the company. The whole production at that time was based on the license documentation of the Swiss concern Brown Boveri. However, in 1930s the factory started producing transformers and other electrical machinery according to the Polish designs and these proved to be very competitive comparing with products of other companies. Operating the factory in 1931 became unprofitable due to the global economic crisis and therefore it had to be closed for 2 years. In 1933 the Factory was re-opened under the new name Zakłady Elektromechaniczne Rohn-Zielinski PLC on the license of Brown Boveri. The company manager was M.Sc. Zygmunt Okoniewski.
Several years before the outbreak of World War II the plant in Żychlin won a tender for supplying transformers for the Mościce – Starachowice segment of the first high-voltage line Rożnów Warszawa. In that period transformers for the power plant in Rożnów were also manufactured.
During the World War II the plant operated as a part of German company from Mannheim – Brown Boveri.
After the war, the factory was nationalized and given the name Zakłady Maszyn Elektrycznych i Transformatorów M-1. Production started again on March 15, 1945. The Plant remained the leading manufacturer of electrical motors and transformers in Poland. In 1967, its name changed once again to Zakłady Wytwórcze Maszyn Elektrycznych i Transformatorów EMIT.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the factory extended its activity and modernized the stock of machine equipment. In 1991 EMIT was once again converted to the public limited company with the main shareholder Elektrim PLC from Warsaw. Investments made between 1996 and 1999 resulted in a dynamic increase in the production of transformers incorporating state-of-the-art materials and technology. The assortment was extended with dry-type and cast resin transformers as well as with the new series of oil-immersed distribution transformers made according to European standards. For the invested money a new production hall equipped with the most up-to-date machines was built as well.
For introducing a new quality control system in 1997, the Plant obtained an ISO 9001 certificate.
In November 2001 the Factory was divided. One of the parts was the transformers factory which started operating under the name EV Żychlińskie Transformatory as a public limited company owned by Elektrim-Volt from Warsaw. In December 2005 the owner of the factory changed and since 2006 it has been operating under the name Fabryka Transformatorów w Żychlinie.