THE Belgian components manufacturer: M.B.L.E.
This is the first informations I've found about this factory. I'm searching every doc in order to complete this! Many thanks!
The «Manufacture Belge de Lampes Electriques» was the greatest factory of electronic components in Belgium. Created in the year 1911, this manufacturer begins to make incandescent electric lighting bulbs under the brand «MAZDA». Year 1924, some models of electronic tubes were produced. It was the beginning of the «ADZAM» tube brand.
In 1947, starting production of fluorescent lightning tubes.
In the year 1949 a great decision was take by the general assembly of managers and shareholders: making new productions of electronic components and starting new activities in the telecoms and physical nuclear domains. This new activities will complete the existing ones.
This ambitious program will need to obtain licenses, helps from other factories and to have its own research department. Between 1949 and 1955, the personal of these departments has increase to more than 160 doctors, ingeneers and technicians.
In the year 1948, the company was located Quai Fernand Desmet with a surface of 5000m². In 1955, the company own 3 modern factories with a total surface of 56000m²... About the employees, the personal was multiplicated by seven in the same era. To tell the incredible enlargement of this company in the early fifties!
Always in the fifties, the M.B.L.E. have young age employees: 31 for the men, 24 for the women, and 35 for the masters. Perhaps it was a reason of the dynamic in this company!
This is a draw -typically in the 50's style!- of the Anderlecht factory. Photograph below this page...
Employees enjoy unprecedented social advantages: group and private life insurances and a personnal fund, supplied by the company. There was also a Health fund, a Study fund and also a study reading-room.
A «Sport and Agreement club» also exists for the employees; having a dozen activities like football, equitation, swimming, painting,... Activity rooms and sport-grounds were supplied by the company.
Employees were informed of the company life by means of a newsmagasine. The general direction have paid attention to keep a very good social climat and have defend a generous politic. The M.B.L.E. has receive the «Prix Industriel» (industrial price) from the «Société Royale Belge des Ingénieurs et Industriels», in the year 1955.
In the late 50's, MBLE innovates with a new product: didactic panels designed for the electronics study and understanding. They were made of pluggable and interchangeable modules, each forming one or some basic electronic circuits. When connecting the modules, it was possible to build one complete electronic appliance and plug it on. These panels use tubes and transistors. Modules were build in plastic material with pluggable support, on which was drawn the element symbol. This supports were plug on the main panel, and when placed the realized circuit was directly shown. This kind of modules has a big success in the technical schools.
This is photographs of different buildings located in Bruxelles. Clic to enlarge...
Bruxelles (Rue des Deux-Gares, 80). The factroy stays here until the end. This buiding still exist today.
Evere (avenue Ciceron, 1).
Rear of Evere buidings. On the left top, partial view of the sport-grounds for the employees.
The factory build in the fifties at Anderlecht, 68-70 rue de l'Agrafe. Located inside, the telecoms and physical nuclear departments, and also the transistors production lines.
At the end of the 60's, one other factory was built at Grâce-Hollogne (right, a draw of the project), near Liège (Belgium). In a first phasis, ending in 1972, a surface of 10000m² was in the plan, manufacture hall and various buildings. Expanses provides for in the budget were 408 millions BEF and number of employees was 500 personnes (250 end 1970). Employees were formed in Bruxelles. This factory has produce assemblies fot television sets, like varicap diodes channels selectors and deflexion coils.
A second phasis was provided, and will take 5 years for realisation. A second assembly hall must be built and numbers of employees doubled.
There was also an other factory in Roulers (no photograph). It produce metallised plastic capacitors and potentiometers.
At the late 60's, staff of the different factories was 5500 persons.
The M.B.L.E. and Philips:
It was a real direction will to integrate a few production units it the structure of the electronic giant Philips since the Rome Treaty, 25 march 1957. This will reinforce the M.B.L.E. position on the Europeean and mondial markets, and will be a guarantee for the activities in the different workshops.
This way, in the late 60's, a third of non-linear resistors sold in the world became from the Evere factory, and Roulers was the greatest production unit in its domain for the world.
In the year 1967, the company start the distribution of Philips products in Belgium. It was magnetic recording, sound-systems, closed circuit television and cinema projectors (15, 35, and 70mm).
The kits...
The MBLE also sold electronic assemblies in «do-it-yourself» version. Measure, audio and hobby were proposed.
In the 70's, those kits were sold under the Polykit brand. More documents about this kits will be avaliable soon on this site.
Expo 58 ...
Of course, the MBLE was present at the Bruxelles 1958 Universal Exhibition, with its own pavilion... looking like an electronic tube ! Important notice about documents and pictures shown here !
This creation was drawn by the architects Thiran, Wybauw and Lesage.
One particularity of this pavilion: one metallic shutter electronically driven was moving under the sun action, forming a screen at every day hour.
Of course, all visit long, visitors can discover explicit panels and photographs showing the better realizations.
Come for a virtual visit (26 pages) of this wonderful pavilion !
Outside its private pavilion, the M.B.L.E. was also present into the exhibition, in the TELEXPO palace with radiocommunications appliances, radars, transistors remote controls and spare parts. Also in the lowest sphere of the Atomium (Nuclear Energy Belgo-Congolais group) with radiation counters and detectors.
Clic on the drawing to see a larger expo58 plan (236k) ...
A visit of the wonderful Expo 58 M.B.L.E. pavilion !
MBLE and Polykit assemblies boxes...