| HAYDU BROS. WAS LARGEST TOWNSHIP EMPLOYER By Zoltan Haydu, Jack Farrell, Dick Farrell and Mary Farrell From Warren History, Vol. Two, No. 6, Fall 1996 |
The purchase of a 40-acre tract of land on Mt. Bethel Rd. South of the Kirch farm marked
the beginning of one of the largest manufacturing plants ever located in Warren Township.
For nearly two decades Haydu Brothers Laboratories was Warren's biggest single
employer.
Haydu Brothers was originally founded in Newark, NJ in l936 as Excel Products Co. by
George and Zoltan Haydu and their father, John, an immigrant from Hungary. In a loft
building on Market St., the company designed and built high speed machinery to make
small radio parts.
The 40-acre Mt. Bethel Rd. Lilac Farm, as it was known, was acquired from A. D. Runyon of
Millington for $5300, with $100 down and a 10-year mortgage. When the Haydu's bought the
land, there were over 1,000 lilac bushes growing there.
Initially, the Haydu's utilized existing chicken coops as their factory, starting with two
employees. Dick Farrell of Warren was one of them. In l939, as the manufacture of radio
tube parts burgeoned, Haydu enlarged its operation by building a 2,000 sq. ft. plant, tearing
down the chicken coops. As World War II approached, Haydu Bros. emerged as a major
employer in Warren.
With the onset of the war, the manufacture of electronic components became an essential
business, one that the Haydu family quickly met. During the war years about 80% of the
employees at the plant were women. Because of gas rationing, Haydu Bros. operated its
own bus line from Plainfield and surrounding towns in order to enable employees to get to
and from work. The company maintained its workers' spirits with pool parties and outings,
fostering a family atmosphere that many still remember today.
The company manufactured a wide assortment of electronic components for such prime
contractors as Raytheon, RCA, Sylvania, G.E., Philco, Sperry and Westinghouse. Some of
Haydu's components were part of the early radar employed against the Germans during the
Battle of Britain.
Capitalizing on their success, the Haydu's built a 2,000-ft. air strip next to their plant in
August 1946 to facilitate the shipment of parts to their customers using company-owned
airplanes. When air strips were not available, Haydu's pilots dropped their deliveries by
parachute. Haydu's air strip was Warren's first and only airfield.
After the war ended, in the 50's Haydu Bros. made headlines when one of its planes, a
Stinson carrying $20,000 worth of radar parts from Pennsylvania to Warren, crashed atop
a mountain off Mt. Horeb Rd. The pilot, a young Scotch Plains aviator, was pinned in the
cockpit until members of the local Rescue Squad and Washington Valley Fire Co. extricated
him dead, Haydu's product line expanded to include television tubes and parts, transistors,
burners, neon sign manufacture and glass blowing equipment.
They also manufactured Nixie and Beam switching tubes and television picture tubes for
such major companies as RCA, G.E., Sylvania and Magnavox. By l946 the Haydu plant
occupied 100,000 sq. ft. and employed 500.
During the years the Haydu company was active in Warren, there was hardly a family in the
area that didn't have someone employed at the factory. Among the families at work in the
plant were the Prossers, Toros, Houses, Mancerellas, Suttons, Marchells, Suckoes,
Sanders, Adamis, Possiens, Paldinos, Kirchs and four members of the Farrell clan.
The plant was sold to the Burroughs Corporation in l954 but was still operated and
managed by George and Zoltan Haydu until l956 when they left Warren to open Haydu
Industries on West Front St. opposite the old Mack Truck plant in Plainfield.
In l960 the Haydu brothers moved to Hialeah, Florida, taking many of their employees there
to a new plant where they continued to manufacture high quality electronic components.
Today George Haydu, who in the late 1950s was a leader in the work of resettling refugees
from the Hungarian Revolt of l956, is retired.
Zoltan Haydu and his sons operate the Z. Haydu Mfg. Co. in Hollywood, Florida,
manufacturing Ultrasonic dental equipment and components used in blood analyzing
equipment.
the beginning of one of the largest manufacturing plants ever located in Warren Township.
For nearly two decades Haydu Brothers Laboratories was Warren's biggest single
employer.
Haydu Brothers was originally founded in Newark, NJ in l936 as Excel Products Co. by
George and Zoltan Haydu and their father, John, an immigrant from Hungary. In a loft
building on Market St., the company designed and built high speed machinery to make
small radio parts.
The 40-acre Mt. Bethel Rd. Lilac Farm, as it was known, was acquired from A. D. Runyon of
Millington for $5300, with $100 down and a 10-year mortgage. When the Haydu's bought the
land, there were over 1,000 lilac bushes growing there.
Initially, the Haydu's utilized existing chicken coops as their factory, starting with two
employees. Dick Farrell of Warren was one of them. In l939, as the manufacture of radio
tube parts burgeoned, Haydu enlarged its operation by building a 2,000 sq. ft. plant, tearing
down the chicken coops. As World War II approached, Haydu Bros. emerged as a major
employer in Warren.
With the onset of the war, the manufacture of electronic components became an essential
business, one that the Haydu family quickly met. During the war years about 80% of the
employees at the plant were women. Because of gas rationing, Haydu Bros. operated its
own bus line from Plainfield and surrounding towns in order to enable employees to get to
and from work. The company maintained its workers' spirits with pool parties and outings,
fostering a family atmosphere that many still remember today.
The company manufactured a wide assortment of electronic components for such prime
contractors as Raytheon, RCA, Sylvania, G.E., Philco, Sperry and Westinghouse. Some of
Haydu's components were part of the early radar employed against the Germans during the
Battle of Britain.
Capitalizing on their success, the Haydu's built a 2,000-ft. air strip next to their plant in
August 1946 to facilitate the shipment of parts to their customers using company-owned
airplanes. When air strips were not available, Haydu's pilots dropped their deliveries by
parachute. Haydu's air strip was Warren's first and only airfield.
After the war ended, in the 50's Haydu Bros. made headlines when one of its planes, a
Stinson carrying $20,000 worth of radar parts from Pennsylvania to Warren, crashed atop
a mountain off Mt. Horeb Rd. The pilot, a young Scotch Plains aviator, was pinned in the
cockpit until members of the local Rescue Squad and Washington Valley Fire Co. extricated
him dead, Haydu's product line expanded to include television tubes and parts, transistors,
burners, neon sign manufacture and glass blowing equipment.
They also manufactured Nixie and Beam switching tubes and television picture tubes for
such major companies as RCA, G.E., Sylvania and Magnavox. By l946 the Haydu plant
occupied 100,000 sq. ft. and employed 500.
During the years the Haydu company was active in Warren, there was hardly a family in the
area that didn't have someone employed at the factory. Among the families at work in the
plant were the Prossers, Toros, Houses, Mancerellas, Suttons, Marchells, Suckoes,
Sanders, Adamis, Possiens, Paldinos, Kirchs and four members of the Farrell clan.
The plant was sold to the Burroughs Corporation in l954 but was still operated and
managed by George and Zoltan Haydu until l956 when they left Warren to open Haydu
Industries on West Front St. opposite the old Mack Truck plant in Plainfield.
In l960 the Haydu brothers moved to Hialeah, Florida, taking many of their employees there
to a new plant where they continued to manufacture high quality electronic components.
Today George Haydu, who in the late 1950s was a leader in the work of resettling refugees
from the Hungarian Revolt of l956, is retired.
Zoltan Haydu and his sons operate the Z. Haydu Mfg. Co. in Hollywood, Florida,
manufacturing Ultrasonic dental equipment and components used in blood analyzing
equipment.
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