Re: End of the Forte
Sad, even tragic, but in 100 years of photo press that's a major theme -- the dirge of loss, as one beloved paper, lens, process, format, style, company, landmark, camera store, publication, (some of the latter less beloved of course) after another died. I think the most agonized was the loss of (hope I'm remembering it right) Dassonville??? paper. (Or like that.) But then of course some great new discovery was always roaring in to fill the gap -- though on that topic I say no more. Not to mention that the speed of change accelerates. I was shocked, SHOCKED, to discover that no store within a day's walk of my home sells plain egg noodles. I can get tagliatelli, tortillini, linguinetti, machiavelli, fornicalle, squiggles and curves, shells and twists in 19 sizes, grains and colors here in gentrified little Italy, even finally a product called "Hearty Wide Egg Noodles", but the simple quick cooking flat little strips are apparently no more. Multiply that by everything you wear (try to get ankle socks that cover your ankles) and use (even last month's drinking glasses are gone, let alone last year's street lights, torn out and replaced with replicas of old timey street lights that light a small spot directly below, but mostly the windows they shine into) and life is a continuing series of losses and dislocations. But that's not why I'm writing, which is pure curiosity. And, having perhaps exposed my ignorance on one topic, I throw caution to the winds on another -- what means "MM" ? If M is the Roman numeral for a thousand, MM would be a thousand thousand? Or? Which is to say, would someone take pity on the decimally challenged curious and state the value of 150 million Forint in words ? (I guess I could divide 150 million by 195, but what about the MMs...?) Thank you so much. Judy On Tue, 16 Jan 2007, fb wrote: Forte made more than 150 million Forint deficit in 2006. The new owners (from the 2005 liquidation) gave up. (Forint is the Hungarian money,1$ ~= 195 Forint) The work will stop about the end of February, all 150 workers become unemployed... Forte was founded in1922 as a subsidiary photopaper factory of the English Kodak in Vác, Hungary. (http://www.forte- photo.net/e/history.htm) They had some hopes after closing other producers (Agfa, etc.) about the better selling possibilities, but the market was fulfilled with the reminders of the products of the closed factorys. Forte cannot to wait to the end of the overfilling period because it need about 300 million Forint new capital for this, but there is no new investor. Bálint Flesch Hungary, Budapest
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