VEF: Латыш зауытының тарихы мен эволюциясы

Manufacturing company based in Latvia
the Venezuelan bolívar fuerte, whose [[ISO 4217
the aviation speed VEF

VEF, Latvian acronym for Valsts elektrotehniskā fabrika (State Electrotechnical Factory), was a manufacturer of electrical and electronic products in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 1919. Before World War II, it manufactured a large variety of goods, including Minox — then the world's smallest camera. After the war, it was the leading communication technology producer in the Soviet Union and the largest factory in the Latvian SSR.

VEF was established in April 1919 as The Main Workshops of the Latvian Post and Telegraph Department ( (PTVGD)), where, initially, the five mechanics were the only employees. In 1924 the factory was moved for the first time, and in 1928 moved again to its VEF's current location. The factory buildings were built in late 19th and early 20th century and span a city block. Before World War I the buildings were owned by 1887 established Russian Baltic factory UNION, established by Heinrich Dettmann. The company was renamed to VEF in 1932. During the 1930s the monthly production of PTVGD included 500 phones and 400 exchanges. They also repaired cars. VEF entered the world market in 1936 with the development of the Minox subminiature camera, designed by Walter Zapp It was the world's smallest camera at the time. During World War II the factory was looted and several buildings were destroyed by explosions. The factory was repaired after the war and it quickly recovered. During the 1960s VEF produced seven radio receivers and five phones every minute and two out of three phones in Soviet Union were produced by VEF. It also manufactured highly demanded transistor based radios "Spīdola" and in the 1970s — "VEF".]] The Latvian electronics industry had trouble competing with Western companies when the markets were opened in the early 1990s. Cited problems included poor service and product quality. Attempts to restructure these companies were not successful and their combined production fell more than 90% between 1993 and 1997. VEF was divided into six smaller companies, most of which no longer exist. Three remaining ones, VEF un Ko, VEF TELEKOM and VEF Radiotehnika RRR, employ between 100 and 200 people each. In 1999 the factory was privatized and reorganized.