ORWO

1909 founded the Agfa AG in Wolfen (now Bitterfeld -Wolfen ), the district of Anhalt -Bitterfeld, Wolfen film factory, which later merged with the brand ORWO (abbreviation for Original Wolfen ) had the monopoly on film production in the GDR. In addition to movies to photography and film for the cinema, reprographics and X-ray film material and technical films and plates were prepared.

History

On the history of Agfa AG see also: Agfa

Creation time

The film factory in Wolfen belonged since its founding in 1909 to joint-stock company for aniline production (Agfa ) and was in 1925 part of the IG Colors. The Agfa Wolfen film factory in 1929 within the IG Colours leading company division III and was thus responsible for the Agfa camera München (formerly A. Hch. Rietzschel ), the photo paper Leverkusen and Faserwerke Wolfen, Premnitz and Landsberg / Warta. 1936, the film factory in Wolfen the first practical multilayer color film in the world, the Agfacolor New, manufactures, responsible for its development Gustav Wilmann, Wilhelm Schneider and John Eggert recorded. In the same year was built in Wolfen with funds of the German Empire at that time the largest fiber plant in the world. There is produced on the basis of the native raw material wood cellulose which is then further processed to form synthetic fibers. Best-known synthetic fiber this time from Wolfen is Vistra. Noted author Hans Dominik wrote as part of an advertising campaign for the new product, the book " Vistra, the white gold of Germany." In 1943, the film factory in Wolfen on the magnetic tape production, which was postponed for technical reasons by BASF in Ludwigshafen to Wolfen. In May 1943 the first SS guards with 250 female concentration camp prisoners from the central women's concentration camp Ravensbrück in the newly built satellite camp Wolfen were at IG Farben film factory reassigned.

End of the war and postwar

On 20 April 1945, the film factory was taken over by the U.S. armed forces. There followed a systematic review by American and British experts. Until the crew change on July 1, 1945 important documents such as patents, recipes, Directorate records and research diaries, specialty chemicals and precious metals were seized. The knowledge obtained in this way was provided to the American photo-chemical industry. A few years later, Eastman Kodak offered a color film, which was based on the Wolfener method. Per SMAD Order No. 156 of 22 July 1946, the film Wolfen factory went into Soviet ownership and Fotoplionka Soviet corporation has been assigned (SAG ) "Mineral fertilizers". Many people left the Soviet Zone to the west in order to look into the local Agfa businesses a professional future. In Wolfen began in 1946 arranged by the SMAD demo days at the same time seizing the production of Reparationsgründen. 50 % of the production facilities for the production of color film produced only since 1936 were dismantled and transported to Schostka / Ukraine to build the color film n ° 1 of the USSR there. ( This was one of the few "successful" demo days., The majority of dismantled industrial plants were never taken in the Soviet Union in operation. ) For this purpose, engineers and masters from Wolfen were committed, who traveled to the USSR, some with their families, there to take the assembly and start-up of production.

The film factory in the GDR

Later allocate the SAG " Photoplenka ", in which was the entire Soviet Rohfilmindustrie was. December 31, 1953, the film factory was discharged from the SAG and operated now under the VEB film and chemical fiber Agfa Wolfen. 1958, adopted by the GDR government " chemistry program " brought an expansion of the film and a reduction of the fiber division for Wolfen. In the same year Wolfen member of the newly formed Association of Publicly Owned Enterprises ( VVB ) " chemical fiber and photochemistry ".

In 1964 the trademark change from Agfa ORWO (Original Wolfen ) to markedly from Agfa AG Leverkusen, since 1964 Agfa- Gevaert, deferred and not have any problems with the registration of the trade mark on the Western market and thus to trademark disputes, as to avoid in the 50s.

With the establishment of Fotochemische combine in 1970 Wolfen became its parent company. Founding members of the new combine was the photo paper works Dresden, photo paper works Wernigerode, gelatin works calbe, Photo Chemical Werke Berlin and the blueprint Berlin plant.

Transition to the market economy

In 1990 the Photo Chemical Combine was dissolved and converted Wolfener parent company June 13, 1990 in the film factory Wolfen AG. The entire share capital of DM 230 million held the THA. There followed in 1992 a splitting of the film factory Wolfen Wolfen AG in the Asset Management Company Ltd and the film factory in Wolfen GmbH. The privatization of the film factory Wolfen GmbH failed. In 1994, the liquidation of the company was initiated.

The new owner of liquidating the film factory Wolfen GmbH was founded in the fall of 1994 the Photo Industrial Heinrich Manderman. He founded the ORWO AG, but in November 1997 was also insolvent.

Small parts of the film factory in 1998 then lined up again. Since then, produces and assembles the FilmoTec technical films ( such as monitoring materials and holography ) and black and white Cinefilme on Wolfen site for the entire world market using the brand ORWO. The ORWO Media GmbH went into the digital photo services industry. The production of chemical color films, however, was discontinued.

Others continue existing operating parts are the fine chemical manufacturer Organica Fine Chemicals GmbH Wolfen, Synthetica, FEW Chemicals, some film producers - all of which also suppliers for optical, electronic and film industry - and the special mechanics company MABA.

On 25 September 2002, the ORWO Net GmbH was founded. She took over on 1 October 2003 the operations of predecessor companies in the photo the service sector and has acquired the trademark ORWO and PixelNet.

On 27 November 2009, the ORWO Net GmbH in Saxony- Anhalt acquired the assets of the insolvent Photo source GmbH, including the trademark " Photo Source " and " Revue". ORWO Net since 2005 cooperated already with photo source and produced all products around the image.

Products and processes

Both ORWO in the GDR and the Agfa color films presented, which were developed in the 1930s Agfacolor procedure ago ( non-diffusing color couplers ). Agfa- Gevaert introduced his film materials and photo paper from 1978 ( color negative film ) and 1985 ( amateur color reversal films ) on the so-called Eastman -color or Ektachrome process to (oil- proof color couplers, for example, C -41, E-6 and its predecessor ), after which the films compatible with Kodak, Fuji, among other things were. ORWO prepared a transition analogous to similar considerations in the USSR before, but could not make the change, which brought considerable disadvantage in the world market is dominated by Kodak with him until the end of the GDR. Agfa procedure was compared with the Kodak process some drawbacks in various respects. The dyes ( color couplers ) were readily soluble in water, which caused longer washing after fixing, in addition, a non- lifted for the same reasons on the Kodak - level temperature baths prolonged development (25 ° C to 37.8 ° C), which is why the movies in many Western industrialized countries - particularly the non- Agfa- dominated - were just to develop more and more difficult in the 1980s, as many laboratories were not equipped for the Agfacolor method and falling prices a introduction into the GDR often did appear as little sense. When casting but the materials allowed the Agfacolor process - again due to the properties of the coupler - only lower running speeds of the machines. Also, no films could be produced, the sensitivity of the approach ranged the Kodak films, but rather the antiquated machinery of the film factory Wolfen was owed ​​as the method used, as the company Ansco in 1967 to operating according to the Agfacolor process Super Anscochrome 500 (ISO 500/28 ° ) had brought out. In the eighties, research has been conducted to own new films that worked in the Kodak method. These were sold after 1989 as a color negative film PR100 and QRS100, but could not prevail on the market despite some good test results.

The most common black and white negative films contributed to designate a combination of the symbol NP ( for negative Panchromatic ) and their sensitivity in degrees DIN as a trailing number. Were offered: NP10 ( only briefly in the trade), NP15, NP18, NP20, NP22 and NP27 as a cassette and as daylight coil for cartridge filling. The color negative films were analogous with NC (negative color) and in the color reversal or slide films according to their vote on daylight or artificial light with UT (reverse light) or UK (reverse artificial light). At the same time was usually only one type photo color negative film in the trade. Initially this was the unmasked NC16 and somewhat later addition also the NC17 Mask, both provided by the masked and with DIR couplers were replaced NC19, which then succeeded as recently on C- 41 of the NC21 before the changeover. On slide films were different sensitivities in trade, daylight range especially the UT18 and UT21 types, and later as a supplement to the higher sensitive type UT23, in artificial light range, there was first the type UK17, which was later replaced by the UK20. In addition to photographic films, there was theater, X-ray films and narrow, which differed in the specifications and sensitivities of the photographic films. In addition, presented ORWO photo papers and Magnetband-/Tonbandmaterial for the amateur and the professional requirements including data storage ( EDP ) ago. The brand survived the turn, although only in a limited form, but even today.

Company Museum

The Industry and Film Museum in Wolfen (51 ° 39 ' 24 " N, 12 ° 15' 45 " O51.65658333333312.262588888889Koordinaten: 51 ° 39 ' 24 " N, 12 ° 15' 45" E ) was also outsourced. It tells the story of Agfa and ORWO and represents the only museum in the world of machines from the 30s and 40s the production of film stock.

Wende film PR 100 - made in GDR

Wende film QRS 100 - made in Germany

Purchase Order 1986