Graetz Reel to Reel Tape Recorders

1866 Albert Graetz founded the company Ehrich & Graetz metalworks in Berlin with Emil Ehrich, for manufacturing of lamps, burners, stoves and heating furnaces for liquid and gaseous fuels.

1887 Ehrich dies. Graetz sons Max and Adolf take over the business.

1899 Company grew rapidly, factories were built in Berlin, in the United States, France, the UK, and Bombay

1910 Max Graetz developed Petromax Lantern

1925 Started producing radios, and other electrical appliances under the name Graetzor and distributed radios of Elektro-Watt GmbH (Wattophon), Dresden.

1945 Factory was claimed by the Russian army, Graetz business and family estate were expropriated and exploited by Soviet management

1948 Max sons (Erich and Fritz Graetz) founded a new company “The Graetz Firm” in Altena, Germany that produced mainly radios and televisions.

1949 Company became part of the “peoples” program, “VEB-VolksEigenerBetrieb” means that the factory was owned by the people for the people (Communism)

1952 Developed Graetz 162W radio

1954 Graetz Spitzen Super 177W radio

1955 Graetz Comedia 4R/21

1958 Graetz Polka 613 and Graetz Musica 617

1959 Graetz KG acquired Sander & Janzen (aka Saja), a company with factories in Berlin and Duderstadt which made tape recorders, dictating machines and drive motors for turntables

1960 Graetz decided to transfer Saja’s tape-recorder development and production teams to their factory in Altena, Westphalia. Developed the Graetz Fantasia 922 Luxus – Stereosuper

1961 Introduced the Graetz M50K Tape Recorder. Company was then sold to Standard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL) AG.

1966 Graetz Melodia 14F was released.

1987 Acquired by Nokia.