Information on Hungarian soda siphons

In 1956, the production of soda autosiphons begins on the presses used for the manufacture of ammunition cases for tanks. Siphons are made in plain and sandblasted finish, anodised in several colours. The surface of the aluminium siphon bodies, which were removed from the presses and drawing machines, was polished with abrasive powder glued to a felt wheel and then polished to a mirror finish with a rag wheel or matted by sandblasting.

Then came anodising, or chemical painting. Before anodising, the threaded neck was welded to the siphon body, so the weld seam had to be covered by an aluminium ring. This neck collar bears the inscriptions “AUTOSYPHON” and “MADE IN HUNGARY”. There was also a wide ring at the bottom of the body to prevent the siphon from tilting on its round bottom. The base and neck were made separately by metal stamping and gluing. Anodising of the early pieces was also a problem, as defects in the base material always appeared when polishing. At that time the factory was making 30,000 pieces a year. The all-metal siphon heads were manufactured by MOFÉM – the Metal Processing Company in Mosonmagyaróvár.

In 1959, a new technological process was introduced in the production of autosiphons. The surface finish was modified and the aluminium level pipe was replaced by a plastic one.

In 1964, the new type of siphon body was mass-produced in Plant III of the company, which was then called Hűtőgépgyár (Refrigerator Factory). With the new technology, both aluminium rings were missing from the end product, which was manufactured on one step. Made from 8-10 cm thick aluminium disks, the cone-shaped pieces already stood on their own feet – they were manufactured with a smooth and straight bottom. After completion of the 0-series in February, the annual production plan was 110,000 pieces. In the second quarter, the production of the autosiphon was interrupted for a long time because the threads of the siphon head and the siphon body did not match. The plant manager, István Fehér, told the Néplap newspaper of the time that the screw threads of the heads produced in Mosonmagyaróvár were inaccurate. In the same year, the 0-series production of the newer, modern design of plastic siphon heads was started. Some of the autosiphons were produced with so-called “English heads”, i.e. the charger can be removed after screwing in and its place can be covered with a cap.

The factory has bought a licence for the autosyphon head from the Austrian company Heimo, which will be further developed. Heimo later stopped producing siphons completely and bought them from LEHEL

In 1965, based on an innovation by Gábor Molnár and Imre Forgács, the siphon was coated with blue, yellow, red, pink and light blue plastic, polyamide, instead of the fragile anodising. The first piece was tested by the chief engineer himself, who threw the siphon out of his first floor room. The metal body was dented by the impact, but the coating remained intact. Fifty different versions are now in production.

By Christmas 1969, the new two-liter “Héron” autosiphon, a new product of the Hűtőgépgyár, is available in the shops. The spherical body of this attractive product was seamlessly formed from a single piece without welding.

In 1970, 600,000 soda and whipping siphons are produced, in 1971, siphons have 1 and 2 litre capacities (the 2 litre is spherical), with “unbreakable nylon heads”, in five different colours. The price of a 1 litre autosiphon is 156 Ft, the price of a 2 litre one is 255 Ft. This year, three new types of siphons will be produced in Jászberény: the “Nóra”, the “Dóra” and the “Sandra”. Two of them are 1-litre and one is 2-litre. Their novelty is the design, aesthetics and colour.

By 1972, the Hűtőgépgyár had become the world’s largest siphon manufacturer, with an annual production of 900,000 units. Siphons of various capacities and shapes are exported throughout Europe, with Australia being the newest market.

In 1976, the French company Auto-Syphon itself (whose brand name was originally used as the name of the product) bought a good part of its siphons from the Hűtőgépgyár. This was the year in which the so-called ‘patronball’ was launched – a barrel siphon, also suitable for tapping beer, a five-litre aluminium siphon in a fancy barrel-like casing. The body was made by the Budapest Aluminium Product Factory, the head by LEHEL and the casing by the Miskolc Plastic Processing Company – exported by LEHELEX. In 1971, 4,000 units were sold to Sweden, and tens of thousands of units were sold in West-Germany and Czechoslovakia.

In 1974, the GDR ceases to produce siphons and make or fill chargers. In return, the Hűtőgépgyár in Jászberény undertakes to meet the GDR’s demand for soda and whipping siphons on a long-term basis according to an agreed schedule. The Répcelak plant guarantees the supply of siphon chargers, also on a long-term basis, and after 1976 also supplies cream chargers according to demand. This will be one of the most important markets for the factory.

In 1978, the Hűtőgépgyár is still the world’s largest siphon manufacturer – with 40 percent of the world market. They produce eleven different shapes of soda and whipping siphons, in countless colours and patterns, in batches of millions a year. Their products are exported to 17 countries, with 4,200 to 4,300 units leaving the production line every day, and this year they will produce their ten millionth siphon.

In 1979, Lehelex exported the siphons of the Refrigeration Plant and the siphon cartridges of the Répcelak Carbonic Acid Production Company. Western sales of siphons in 1979 were 370,000 units, worth $2.1 million. Six types of soda siphons and five types of whipping siphons were produced in 10 colours with polished and sandblasted finishes. Twenty-three countries were supplied, with the most important Western customers being West-Germany, France and Australia. Exports to the socialist countries, mainly the GDR, Czechoslovakia and Poland, amounted to 1.3 million roubles. This year, for market research purposes, the people of Jászberény presented to interested parties a siphon head of their own development,

In the early nineties, Lehel was already having problems with siphon production, because most of its exports were concentrated in the former GDR, where there were also problems with solvency and demand. In the West, plastic siphons and mineral water in PET bottles became more common. The shop prices of the products were as follows.: Héra soda siphon 2 litre 735 Ft, Héra 1 litre 675 Ft, Flóra set (pair) 1260 Ft, Mini set (pair) 1190 Ft, Cream whipper Mixi minor 0,5 litre 524 Ft, Cream whipper Mixi minor 0,25 litre 504 Ft.

In 1992, the Dutch Timi Holding acquired the equipment for the production of the soda and whipping siphon body, the exclusive rights to manufacture and the production know-how from Lehel Hűtőgépgyár Ltd. It set up a company for the production and distribution of soda and whipping siphons under the name of Szifon Ltd. and installed the production in Bátonyterenye, in a former mining machinery plant. The initial plans were to produce 250-300 thousand siphons per year. Lehel promised to help the new company to contact its former customers who had bought siphons, but the company also tried to establish a new foreign customer base – but the market had changed irreversibly – the relaunch failed…