1903 1922

TW O ARCH RIVALS. ONE INNOVATIVE COMPANY At the beginning of the last century, two rival research groups were working in the field of wireless telegraphy. The Slaby-Arco group was represented by the radio-telegraphy department of AEG, founded in 1899. The other as the Braun-Siemens group, represented by a company called Gesellschaft fr drahtlose Telegraphie, System Prof. Braun und Siemens & Halske GmbH. Under the advice of Emporer Wilhelm II, the two groups merged to form the Gesellschaft fr drahtlose Telegraphie mbH company on May 27, 1903. And the rest is history. A TELEFUNKEN FIRST The very first Telefunken customers were the German Army and the Imperial Navy. Telefunken was proud to deliver the first two transmitters for the new coastal radio station, Norddeich Radio, in November 1905. In October 1906, the expansion of a much larger Nauen station was completed with a range of 300 km and HF output of 10 kW. Welcome to the power of Telefunken. M EET DR. TELEFUNKEN Dr. Georg Graf Von Arco was the first Technical Director and Managing Director of the Gesellschaft fr drahtlose Telegraphie mbH in 1903. He was also the holder of more than one hundred patents. Among other inventions, he initiated the high-frequency mechanical transmitter and the wavemeter. Necessity is the mother of invention. Or in this case, German inventions.

1923 1936

TELEFUNKEN GOES COM M ERCIAL On April 17, 1904, the company changed its name to "Telefunken, Gesellschaft fr drahtlose Telegraphie", and on July 26, 1932 Telefunkenplatte GmbH officially began its commercial activity with registered capital of 100,000 Reichsmarks. The station in the Telefunken building, Tempelhofer Ufer 9 in Berlin, began broadcasting concerts regularly two and a half months before the official start of the "Deutsche Rundfunkverkehr". The world tour of the Graf Zeppelin airship in 1929 got off the ground by using Telefunken transmitters, receivers and directional equipment exclusively. Also, on October 31, 1928, during the 5th Grand German Radio Exhibition in Berlin, Telefunken presented a television set with the Karolus-Telefunken system, a scanning process of film images through a Mechau projector with a Nipkow disk, in public for the first time. M EET TELEFUNKENS M AD SCIENTISTS Dr. Hans Bredow is considered to be the "Father of Broadcasting". He was employed at Telefunken from 1904 to 1919 as a Project Manager, and later as Managing Director. Prof. Dr. Walter Bruch developed the very first electronic television camera, with which he participated in the live broadcast of the Olympic Summer Games in Berlin in 1936. He also earned international fame by inventing the PAL color television system. He joined Telefunken's Television and Physical Research Department in 1935. These two innovators thought out of the TV box and helped shape and make Telefunken what it is today. W ELCOM E TO RADIO TELEFUNKEN he German radio station in Zeesen near Knigswusterhausen (8 kW shortwave transmitter) was built by Telefunken and was officially placed in service on August 28, 1929. The Mhlacker radio station (60 kW output) was handed over on December 20, 1930. Telefunken is now in, and on, the air.

TELEFUNKEN GOES FOR THE GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE In 1935, Telefunken equipped the Olympic Stadium, the Maifeld and the Dietrich-Eckhardt Stage with electrical-acoustic equipment for the Olympics. On August 1, 1936 at the XI Olympic Summer Games in Berlin, an electronic television camera, known as the Ikonoskop, was used for the first time for a direct transmission. Again, another Telefunken first. And second. And third

1936- 1954

NOW PLAYING ON CHANNEL TELEFUNKEN The first fully electronic television studio equipped by Telefunken for the Deutsche Reichspost was opened with a live broadcast in August 1938. The 500 kW long wave transmitter in Herzberg, also known as the most powerful German broadcast transmitter, was supplied by Telefunken and began to operate on May 19, 1939. ITS NOT A M ERGER. ITS A POW ERHOUSE On September 24, 1941, AEG took over the 50% of Telefunken shares owned by Siemens & Halske AG valued at 20 million Reichsmarks. Thus, Telefunken became a 100% subsidiary of AEG. In exchange, Siemens & Halske AG received the shares of Eisenbahn-Signalwerken, Klangfilmgesellschaft mbH and Deutsche Betriebsgesellschaft fr drahtlose Telegraphie (DEBEG) owned by AEG. Strength in numbers, indeed. POST W W II The reconstruction after the World War II posed a particularly difficult challenge to Telefunken. All production facilities and equipment were destroyed, disassembled or confiscated and many valuable experts were scattered around the world. Rebuilding began in West Germany and Berlin in 1945, and the production of tubes and transmitters was resumed the same year. But growth was on the way.
THE TELEFUNKEN COM E BACK In 1953 Telefunken already comprised six plants and five sales offices in Berlin, Ulm, Frankfurt/Main and Hanover again.The range of products consisted of long-range communications systems, radio and television transmitters, marine radios, commercial receivers, directional and navigation systems, radar devices, deci and UHF directional radio connections, mobile radio systems, portable radio systems, HF heat generators, measuring equipment, electro-acoustical systems, music centers, record players, transmitter tubes, radio tubes, special tubes and quartz crystals. As you can see, Telefunken was relentless and has come a long way. PROF. DR. DR. W ILHELM T. RUNGE THE FIRST Prof. Dr. Dr. Wilhelm T. Runge (1895-1987) performed trailblazing work in radio and radar technology and played a significant role in the development of microwave in Germany. He was especially renowned internationally in the field of high-frequency technology. As well as for having a few, very important titles before his name.

1955 1962

AS TELEFUNKEN GROW S, SO DOES ITS NET W ORTH The name of the company was changed to Telefunken GmbH on January 4, 1955. Due to the expanded business activities of Telefunken, AEG increased the capital of the company to DM 100 million in 1958. THE FIRST GERM AN STEREO STUDIO. BROUGHT TO YOU BY TELEFUNKEN The Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) station ordered the first German stereo studio in 1961. The harbor radar system, supplied by Telefunken, was officially placed for service in Hamburg Harbor in August 1962, while the first German transistor receiver (six transistors) was produced in a test series in 1956. Prof. Dr. Walter Bruch filed the fundamental PAL "time decoder" patent on December 31, 1962. It was the first German stereo studio of its kind, and Telefunken sought to it that there was nothing else quite like it.

1963-1978

W HATS IN A NAM E? Telefunken GmbH became Telefunken AG on July 5, 1963. On June 23, 1966, the General Shareholder Meeting of AEG passed a resolution to integrate Telefunken AG into Allgemeine Elektrizitts-Gesellschaft. Based on an operating lease agreement, the business activities of Telefunken were transferred to AEG effective January 1, 1967, and were continued under the combined name AEG-Telefunken. In March 1968, AEG-Telefunken developed a new mediumrange radar system (Type SER-LL), which was able to detect targets at an altitude of 24,000 meters at a distance of 280 kilometers. Telefunken expands on land, as well as in the air. TAPE RECORDERS W ORTH M ILLIONS AEG-Telefunken delivered the two-millionth tape recorder, a Magnetophon 204 TS, on August 5, 1969. The ten-millionth black-and-white television picture tube was produced in Ulm on January 27, 1970. The numbers are astounding. As is Telefunken.AEG-Telefunken delivered the two-millionth tape recorder, a Magnetophon 204 TS, on August 5, 1969. The ten-millionth black-and-white television picture tube was produced in Ulm on January 27, 1970. The numbers are astounding. As is Telefunken. ECONOMIC SLOW DOW N There was a worldwide economic slowdown in the wake of the oil crisis in 1974. The competition in consumer electronics sector also became more difficult due to Japanese suppliers. The only profitable divisions of the company at this time were telecommunications and traffic technology. But Telefunken, as usual, was known for their resilience

1979- 1983

THE NAME GAME CONTINUES The name of the overall company was changed to AEG-Telefunken Aktiengesellschaft on June 21, 1979. The "Aktiengesellschaft" [stock corporation] suffix was necessary due to a new law in the European Community. In 1979, AEG-Telefunken supplied the complete telecommunications and high-voltage equipment for the International Congress Center (ICC) Berlin, valued at DM 50 million. In January 1983 the company received an order for simulation systems for electronic battle simulation for training Tornado crews of the German Luftwaffe and Navy. The total value was at DM 37 million. The net worth: priceless. TOUGH TIM ES FOR TELEFUNKEN Court composition proceedings were opened against the assets of AEG-Telefunken AG by the District Court in Frankfurt / Main on October 31, 1982. The District Court Frankfurt / Main confirmed the composition of AEG-Telefunken AG in accordance with the petition filed and closed the proceedings on September 19, 1984. Even during this difficult financial situation, AEG-Telefunken continued its business and founded AEG-Telefunken Nachrichtentechnik GmbH (ATN), in Backnang, Germany, together with Bosch, Mannesmann and Allianz Versicherungs-AG in 1981, as well as Telefunken electronic GmbH (TEG) in the field of electronic components (semiconductors) together with United Technologies Corporation (UTC), USA in 1982. On July 1, 1992, AEG-Telefunken and Deutsche Aerospace (Dasa) founded Telefunken Microelektronic GmbH (TEMIC), into which Telefunken Elektronic GmbH was integrated among others. But Telefunken was determined to prevail.

A FINAL, BUT NOT LAST, TURN Effective March 31, 1983, the French group Thomson-Brandt S.A. took over 75 percent of the AEG-Telefunken shares in Telefunken Fernseh und Rundfunk GmbH, Hanover, Germany, including its German and foreign subsidiaries. The remaining 25 percent were supposed to follow on January 31, 1984. Daimler-Benz AG entered the company in autumn of 1985 and decided in Autumn 1995 to dissolve the legal entity and transferred the remaining assets to EHG Electroholding GmbH. Thus, the history of the company was over. But not that of its brands. A historical overview is offered by the company archive of AEG-Telefunken in the "Deutsches Technikmusem Berlin", Trebbiner Str. 9, 10963 Berlin.

1984 2004

INNOVATION YESTERDAY. TODAY. AND TOMORROW Currently, the Telefunken brand and name rights lie with Telefunken Licenses GmbH, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. This company is one hundred percent subsidiary of EHG Elektroholding GmbH, Frankfurt/Main. EHG, on the other hand, is the legal successor of AEG Aktiengesellschaft. The licensor is Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs GmbH, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. A differentiation is made between brand licensing agreements, name use agreements and combined agreements. And third-party use always requires the written approval of the licensor. In 2003, Telefunken can look back at one-hundred years of brand history. In the past, Telefunken was associated with significant technical developments and enjoyed the reputation of a successful German company. The Telefunken brand is registered in the official trademark registries of 118 countries. It continues to be used under a variety of licensing agreements. These are the topics that can be found in the commemorative volume "Telefunken After 100 Years - The Legacy of a Global German Brand." Whether discovered on this website or in book, these topics should not only focus attention on the past, but also simultaneously highlight the beginning of a strong Telefunken brand. Simply put, its not just about where weve been. But also where were going.

2004 2009

TELEFUNKEN TODAY Since December 2007, the trademark-right TELEFUNKEN rests with TEELEFUNKEN Holding AG, Frankfurt. Currently, TELEFUNKEN is the owner of more than 20,000 patents and active in over 130 countries around the globe. Today, TELEFUNKEN stands for innovation and progress in the ever-changing world of information and communications technology and is strictly focused on consumer quality from design concept to execution. And because of its strong heritage and long-standing tradition, Telefunken has a high brand-awareness and a clear positioning in the field of premium products.