# The factories of Bucharest

You drink a Gambrinus never knowing it was born on Orhideelor Road, in an 1869 brewery. Bucharest was the country's first industrial centre: 195 large enterprises and 15,617 workers as early as 1901 — and Faur alone employed 20,000 before 1989. Then came privatisations, insolvencies and malls — and ten of fourteen were left. The map below pins 14 factories on today's streets.

In short: the first factories are German and French (Luther 1869, Lemaitre 1864); the peak is interwar and socialist, with Malaxa (Faur 1921, Republica 1929, IOR 1936); after 1990 they fall one by one — Republica sold in 2003, Electronica down to 137 TV sets in 2003, Grivița declassified in 2009. Ten still produce today: Faur, IMGB, Romaero, CFR Grivița and the rest. Search your street below and see which factory stood on it.

## The map: 14 factories, 1989 is the year they all burn

Green are the 10 factories still producing (or still alive): Faur, IMGB, IMUAB, Automatica, Electromagnetica, Turbomecanica, CFR Grivița, IOR, Romaero, Felix. Amber are 4 ghosts: Republica, Electronica, Grivița beer, Semănătoarea — pinned on today's streets as points, not surveys. Drag the slider or press play and see what was producing in the chosen year — in 1989, all 14 were running.

### 1869–1920: steam and beer

Luther builds on Orhideelor in 1869; CFR Grivița starts in 1897; the 1887 and 1912 industry laws fill the city with factories — Vulcan (1908), Tudor (1911), Energia (1913). The first lights come on.

### 1921–1989: Malaxa and the platforms

Malaxa buys the Faur land in 1921 and builds Republica between 1929 and 1938; after the war come the platforms: 23 August, IMGB (1963), Pipera (Electronica 1960, Felix 1970), Militari, Băneasa. In 1989 all fourteen burn.

### 1990–2026: privatisations and ghosts

Republica sold in 2003, Electronica down to 137 TV sets in 2003, Grivița declassified in 2009, Semănătoarea fading in 2017. On the map, the ghosts fade one by one; ten factories stay green.

Points are anchors on the verified address or the nearest today's street (display only, not surveys or footprints). The start year is the first certain attestation: Faur 1921 (the land; building starts in 1922), Republica 1929 (the 1929–1938 Malaxa works), Romaero 1920 (ASAM). End years are the last attested production events: Republica 2007 (the takeover), Electronica 2006 (the assembly), Grivița 2009 (the partial declassification), Semănătoarea 2017 (the last period). Factories with no verified address or year (Assan 1853, Vulcan 1908, IPRS 1962, Timpuri Noi, Aversa) are counted in the text, not pinned on the map.

## From Luther to Felix

A century and a half of factories: who built them, who closed them, and what is left of them.

The beginnings are German. Erhard Luther builds in 1869, at the edge of Bucharest, on Basarabilor Road (today Orhideelor): output jumps from 17,000 hectolitres in 1905 to 67,000 in 1910, and in 1928 Luther brews one sixth of the country's beer. The CFR Grivița works start in 1897 and never stopped: they still repair coaches, at 359 Griviței Road. Between them, the industry encouragement laws (1887, 1912) fill the city with forgotten names: Lemaitre (1864), Vulcan (1908), Tudor (1911), Energia (1913) — counted here, unmapped, for lack of a verified address.

The peak has a name: Malaxa. Nicolae Malaxa buys the eastern-edge land in 1921 and builds the Faur works (90 hectares, 20,000 workers before 1989, 400 in 2010); between 1929 and 1938 he also builds the Republica works (180 hectares, 200,000 tonnes of pipes a year, the country's largest); in 1936 he founds IOR with Auschnitt and Carp. After the war, the state builds platforms: 23 August (Faur, Republica, IOR, IMUAB), IMGB at Berceni (1963, heavy machinery, now Doosan), Pipera (Electronica 1960, Felix 1970, IPRS 1962 — the last unmapped, its land now in Voluntari), Militari (Turbomecanica 1975, aircraft engines, now for Rolls-Royce), Băneasa (Romaero: ASAM 1920, IRMA, the Aircraft Enterprise, 11 Rombac 1-11 airliners).

The end comes after 1990, in waves. Republica is sold to the Russians in 2003, returns to the state in 2006, is taken over in 2007 — production dies. Electronica makes only 137 colour TV sets in 2003 (from 434,000 black-and-white and 75,000 colour in 1989), is privatised in 2004, still assembles around 2006 and fades. Grivița reaches Heineken in 2007 and is partially declassified in 2009, so the Basarab passage can cross it. Semănătoarea, born in 1949 on the nationalised Fichet safes, closes its last period in 2017. Ten factories run today — some limp: Felix exists mostly on paper.

Three factories deserve a file of their own. Automatica: founded in 1932, when Ford Romania buys land on Floreasca Road — yes, Ford had a factory in Bucharest; today Automatica does automation. Electromagnetica: since 1930 at 266-268 Rahovei Road, from dial telephones to LED bulbs. CFR Grivița: 1897, the only one doing today exactly what it did a century ago — coaches.

## The people: the Greek, the German and the electronics women

An industrialist who builds a city, a brewer with one sixth of the country's beer, and an army of engineers with TV sets.

### Malaxa: the Greek who built the east

Nicolae Malaxa: Faur (1921), Republica (1929–1938), IOR (1936) — plus the locomotives bearing his name.

Nicolae Malaxa, a Romanian industrialist of Greek origin, starts in the 1920s with locomotive works and buys the eastern-edge land in 1921: 90 hectares that become the Malaxa — Faur — 23 August — Faur works. Before 1989 the plant employed some 20,000 workers; in March 2010, 400 were left. Some buildings are listed monuments today.

Between 1929 and 1938 he also builds the Republica works (oil pipes, 200,000 tonnes a year) and in 1936 founds the Romanian Optical Enterprise with Max Auschnitt and Petre Carp. And the steam locomotives built at Reșița by his factories were officially the 151 “Malaxa” class — his name still runs on rails, at the Cluj depot.

- 1921: the Faur land
- 1929–1938: the Republica works
- 151: the “Malaxa” class

### Luther: the German with the beer

Erhard Luther: a brewery in 1869 at the edge of town, one sixth of the country's beer in 1928, Gambrinus after.

Erhard Luther, “the great German industrialist”, builds in 1869 on Basarabilor Road (today Orhideelor), at the Bucharest of the day's edge. The brewery grows fast: 17,000 hectolitres in 1905, 67,000 in 1910; in 1916 it becomes a joint-stock company with the Czell Germans in control, and in 1928 it brews one sixth of Romania's beer.

After the 1948 nationalisation it becomes the “Grivița” plant, in the 70s it is called “Gambrinus”, in 1998 the British and Americans take it, in 2007 it reaches Heineken — and in 2009 it is partially declassified, so the Basarab passage can cross over it. The Gambrinus you drink today was born on Orhideelor.

- 1869: the building, at the edge of town
- 1/6: of the country's beer, in 1928
- 2009: declassified for the passage

### The electronics women: Pipera's silicon dream

Electronica (1960), Felix (1970), IPRS (1962): TV sets, computers and the biggest components plant.

The Electronica works are founded on 18 January 1960, from the plant at 82 Baicului Street, and grow to make 434,000 black-and-white and 75,000 colour TV sets in 1989. In 2003 they make 137 colour sets. Privatised in 2004, still assembling Hyundai and Toshiba around 2006, they fade. The Miraj in your grandparents' living room was Romanian electronics.

Next door, ICE Felix (1970, 2-4 George Constantinescu Street) makes computers — mainframes, minis, micros, PCs — and Romania becomes the Eastern bloc's second computer-systems producer. IPRS Băneasa (1962), the biggest components plant, fades in 2002 and stays in Voluntari, unmapped. Felix exists today, mostly on paper.

- 434,000+75,000: TV sets, in 1989
- 137: colour sets, in 2003
- 1970: Felix starts computers

## Which factory stood on your street?

Type your street: the page knows, for 4,878 streets, which of the 14 mapped factories stood on it. Only 15 streets hold mapped factories; the rest — factories with no verified address — are counted in the text, not pinned on the map.

Streets are OpenStreetMap (October 2026); factory points are anchors on the verified address or the nearest street (display only). If your street held a factory with no address in the sources, it is not on the map — but it is in the text.

## Method: how we know

Every year on the page has a source; every point is marked as an anchor, not a survey.

The backbone is the Bucharest Museum Bulletin: BMIM XX (2006), Gabriel Constantin — Bucharest industry 1859–1933 (195 enterprises and 15,617 workers in 1901, the 1887 and 1912 laws, Vulcan 1908, Malaxa from 1922, the 1929–1933 crisis), with archive references. Per-factory data comes from the Romanian Wikipedia articles (with their press sources), and addresses from trade registries, company sites and Nominatim — every address is logged in the research ledger.

The geometry is anchoring, not survey: each factory is a point on the verified address or the centroid of today's street (OpenStreetMap, October 2026, 4,878 streets), with small offsets so they do not overlap. The start year is the first certain attestation; end years are the last attested production events, not death certificates: Republica 2007 (the takeover), Electronica 2006 (the assembly), Grivița 2009 (the declassification), Semănătoarea 2017 (the last period). The lookup only matches street names; it measures no distances.

What we do not know we do not invent: factories with no verified address or year (Assan 1853, Vulcan 1908, Lemaitre 1864, Fichet 1920, SET 1923, Aversa, IPRS 1962, Timpuri Noi, Policolor, Tudor 1911, Energia 1913) are counted, not mapped; Felix is listed as “alive” though it exists mostly on paper — the page says so openly; Republica sits on the Faur–Republica platform point, and Semănătoarea on the namesake neighbourhood.

## Quiz: six questions from the page

All answers are above, source included. Three of six is human; six of six is from the platform days.

- **How many factories are pinned on the map?** 14
- **When did Malaxa buy the Faur land?** In 1921
- **When did Luther build the brewery?** In 1869
- **How many colour TV sets did Electronica make in 2003?** 137
- **With whom did Malaxa found IOR in 1936?** With Auschnitt and Carp
- **What happened to the Grivița plant in 2009?** It was partially declassified for the Basarab passage

## Old questions, short answers

- **How many factories are on the map?** 14 — 10 alive (Faur, IMGB, IMUAB, Automatica, Electromagnetica, Turbomecanica, CFR Grivița, IOR, Romaero, Felix) and 4 ghosts (Republica, Electronica, Grivița beer, Semănătoarea). At least 11 more are counted in the text, with no verified address.
- **Why does Faur sit on 1921, if building started in 1922?** 1921 is Malaxa's land purchase (the Faur article); 1922 is the start of construction (BMIM). The page takes the first certain attestation and states both dates openly.
- **What was Ford at Automatica?** Automatica was founded in 1932, and Ford Romania bought land on Floreasca Road in September 1934. Yes, Ford had a factory in Bucharest; today Automatica does automation.
- **Where is the Gambrinus beer?** On Orhideelor Road: Luther's plant (1869), renamed “Grivița” after 1948 and “Gambrinus” in the 70s. In 2009 it was partially declassified, so the Basarab passage could cross.
- **What happened to Republica?** Malaxa's pipe works (1929–1938, 180 hectares) were sold in 2003, returned to the state in 2006 and taken over in 2007. Production died; the page takes 2007 as the last attested event.
- **Does Electronica still make TV sets?** No. From 434,000 black-and-white and 75,000 colour in 1989 it fell to 137 colour in 2003, was privatised in 2004 and still assembled around 2006. A ghost on the map, 1960–2006.
- **Which factories still run today?** Ten: Faur, IMGB (Doosan), IMUAB, Automatica, Electromagnetica, Turbomecanica (Rolls-Royce), CFR Grivița, IOR, Romaero (Wizz MRO) and Felix — the last mostly on paper.

## Sources

- BMIM XX (2006), Gabriel Constantin — industria bucureșteană 1859–1933: 195/15.617, legile 1887+1912, Vulcan 1908, Malaxa din 1922, criza 1929–1933 / Bucharest industry 1859–1933 https://bmim.muzeulbucurestiului.ro/
- Wikipedia română — articolele pe fabrici (Faur, Republica, IOR, Automatica, Electronica, Felix, bere Grivița, CFR, Romaero…) / per-factory articles https://ro.wikipedia.org/
- Registrele comerțului + site-uri de companii + Nominatim — adresele verificate / verified addresses https://www.onrc.ro/
- OpenStreetMap (ODbL), octombrie 2026 — 4.878 de străzi, geometria de fond / 4,878 streets, background geometry https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright

https://mariuscomper.uk/fabricile-bucurestilor/en/