UNITRA the Association of Polish consumer electronics manufacturers was established in 1961 and lasted in its original structure until 1989. After the systemic transformation, consumer products under the Unitra brand name reappeared on the market.

Domain of activity

Although the brand operated as an association of manufacturers, it had its own R & D Department. Unitra's equipment was also fabricated for the world's leading manufacturers such as the Japanese company

Sanyo is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own bu ...

. Sanyo SXM-80 column speakers can be named, among others, as the result of this cooperation. In the areas where the brand lacked an adequate technological base, it entered into cooperation with manufacturers from other countries. Radio Cassette Recorder Boombox Unitra-Sankei TCR-101 makes an example of such cooperation with the Japanese enterprise Sankei. Unitra warel LED

Territorial scope

Products of various manufacturers operating under the common brand name were available in all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe including

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and the

Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

–

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Significant dates

Founding

In 1961, as a result of a merger of two smaller manufacturers’ associations, one organization named the Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering Industry Association UNITRA was founded. Throughout the whole period of its operation more than 60 different enterprises were members of the Association.

Systemic changes

As a result of the political transformation in 1989, manufacturers’ associations were disbanded. Individual companies became independent and continued their activity with varying degrees of success.

Reunion

The idea of founding an association of manufacturers reappeared in the 21st century. Currently, the equipment made under the Unitra brand name is fabricated by manufacturers specializing in audio category.

List of associated manufactures

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Semiconductor device A semiconductor device is an electronic component that relies on the electronic properties of a semiconductor material (primarily silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors) for its function. Its conductivit ...

s) * CERAD * CERPO * Diora (Hi-Fi sets) * Dolam * Elmasz * Elpod , style="vertical-align: top", * Elpol * Eltra * Elwa * Fonica (Turntables, stereo amplifiers) * Lamina * Unitra-Lubartów * Magmor * Miflex * OBREP , style="vertical-align: top", * Polam * Polkolor * Polfer * Profel * Radmor * Radwar * Rawar * Unitra-Rzeszów * Telekom , style="vertical-align: top", * Telam * Telpod * Tonsil (

Loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...

boxes) * Toral * Unima * Unimor * Unipro * Unitech * Unizet , style="vertical-align: top", * Warel * WZT(TV sets) * Zatra * Zapel * Zelos * Zumet * ZRK (Cassette decks, stereo receivers) Each of these establishments used the name UNITRA, along with a stylized U trademark, before its own name.

References

* Mieczysław Hutnik, Tadeusz Pachniewicz, Zarys historii polskiego przemysłu elektronicznego do 1985r, SEP, Zeszyt Historyczny nr 2, Warszawa 1994. Electronics companies of Poland Polish brands