ALLGEMEINE-ELEKTRIZITATS-GESELL SCHAFT, commonly known as the A.E.G. Prior to 1923, this was the largest electrical manufacturing concern in Germany and one of the most important industrial undertakings in the world. Since that year, however, the rapid expansion of the Siemens-Schuckert, Siemens-und-Halske group has served to rele gate it to second place. The total share capital invested in the company, ordinary and preferred, was, in 1926, 156,000,000 marks, debentures and loan capital 61,76o,000 marks, and reserves 16,1 20,000 marks, so that the total operating capital of the com pany was 233,88o,000 marks. Its output in 1925 was given as in excess of 400,000,000 marks, and it employs about 8o,000 workers.
The A.E.G. was founded by Emil Rathenau in 1883 as the Deutsche Edison Gesellschaft fiir Angewandte Elektrizitat and its function at that time was merely to exploit Edison patents. Since then, working always in close association with American firms, it has been able to expand very rapidly, and its range of production covers practically all equipment used in the generation, production and consumption of electricity, while it has embarked on the manufacture of steam locomotives, steam turbines, marine engines and internal combustion engines generally. From an out put of 200,000 h.p. of electrical machinery recorded in 1899, it has reached the annual quota of almost 3,000,000 h.p., while, in steam turbines alone, its effective output has risen to 800,000 h.p.
Much of this expansion has been due to the financial and ad ministrative policy of the concern. It has applied a great part of the profits realized in production to the acquisition of control ling interests in a number of manufacturing firms both at home and abroad. These firms specialize in the production of batteries and accumulators, cables, meters and instruments, lamps and telegraphic and telephonic apparatus, and, in this way, are subsid iary to the main firm. A further development has lain in the creation of power finance corporations to finance the production, transmission and distribution of electricity in Germany and in other important markets. The electricity supply companies fi nanced in this way constitute important customers for the products of the concern, and allow the A.E.G. to compete effectively for the supply of equipment to firms outside the range of control.
A recent survey has shown that the A.E.G. has interests in 14 manufacturing firms, four power finance corporations and 33 electricity supply companies, while it has close technical connec tions with the General Electric Company_of America. Both these concerns work together in the development of the European market outside of the great industrial countries. The A.E.G. has also important interests among coal-mining, iron and steel, ship building, chemical and engineering firms, especially in Germany, and has thus secured an outlet for its products. (H. Q.)