Nordmende specifications

NORDMENDE, exakt Norddeutsche Mende Rundfunk KG (production) and NORDMENDE Vertriebs-GmbH & Co. OHG (Sales), was an independent manufacturer of consumer electronics from 1947 to 1977. The forerunner was the Radio H. Mende & Co. from Dresden, founded in 1923 by Otto Hermann Mende (1885-1940). In 1937, every third radio device manufactured in Germany came from Radio Mende. In addition to radio equipment, the production program also included transmitters, teleprinters, field telephones and amplifiers. During the war years, production was switched to armaments such as radios or bomb detonators. From 1978 NORDMENDE was part of the Thomson-Brandt Group - in addition to SABA and Telefunken .

Founded in 1947 with 18 employees in the bombed-out factory halls of the Focke-Wulf-Flugzeugwerke in Bremen-Hemelingen, the company quickly grew into one of the most important companies in the consumer electronics industry. In the mid-50s, the first move took place to larger production halls in Hemelingen (in Dietrich-Wilkens-Straße). On July 03, 1957, the company moved into the new, 12,000 m2 television plant, which at that time was the most modern factory for television sets in Europe. The number of employees was about 2,500 (for comparison: SABA about 1,600 employees incl. Telephone construction, Grundig approx. 8.600 incl. Tape production and studio technology as well as office technology (Triumph-Adler)). Due to the increasing demand, the company grew and opened branches in northern Germany: Wildeshausen (1964), Bremerhaven (1969), Sittensen (1970) and Verden (1972). NORDMENDE was considered innovative and a market leader in technology. So, the first TV with wireless ultrasonic remote control came from NORDMENDE in 1961.

Another branch of business, in addition to consumer electronics, was the development and construction of measuring instruments. This department operated under the name "Electronic measuring and testing devices - Industrial Electronics" and, in addition to common electrical measuring devices, was also a manufacturer of, for example, gas warning devices. However, no success on the market could be achieved with the special measuring devices, in contrast to the standard devices, signal transmitters and oscilloscopes.

The company was sold to the Thomson-Brandt Group in 1977. The brand name NORDMENDE was gradually replaced by Thomson in the 90th years and eventually disappeared from the market altogether.

Since 2007, the Indian consumer electronics group Videocon has been marketing devices under the NORDMENDE brand name again. He had acquired the corresponding trademark rights.

On 05.04.2017 the Fa. Tech niSat announced that it has acquired the license to use the NORDMENDE trademark for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland from the trademark owner Tech nicolor S.A.

Logo up to 1979

From the house magazine:

File:Nordmende Am Mikrophon 1955 08 26.pdf

Weser-Kurier from 31.03.2017

Neon sign 50th years < /p>

Old gatekeeper's building, now demolished

Factory view from old catalog. The halls are currently used by Daimler AG

Main building with company logo from old catalog

Main building at night

Main building on 13.07.2017, about 30 years after the end of production.

The frame where the neon sign was once perched can still be seen on the roof.