Rudolf (Rezsö) Totis (Totisz)

27.10.1881, Budapest -Buenos Aires

General Manager of Industria Lânii S.A. (Wool Industry) Belgian royal consul in Timisoara

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Rudolf (Rezsö) Totis (Totisz)

Industria Lânii S.A. (Wool Industry) Belgian royal consul in Timisoara

He graduated from a business school. He began his career in the Hatvanyi-Deutsch concern. In 1906, at the age of 25, he was appointed director of the " Industria Lânii S.A." Timişoara, an enterprise founded by the Singer family in 1905. In only 10 years, the weaving mill with 60 employees became an enterprise with 1,800 workers, the largest fabric factory in the region. In 1914 he became general manager of the I.L.S.A.

In the version of the mayor and author Josif Geml, "Industria Lânii (Wool Industry)" has a different history. In 1906, the "Prima fabrică maghiară de camgarn (First Hungarian Chamberlain Factory) S.A." (later called the "Industria Lânii S.A.") was established, which expanded dramatically in 1910 with the work of director Rudolf Totis, delegated by Ignatz Deutsch and Son. In 1917, the factory gained a lot by acquiring the enterprise "Prima Fabrică de Textile Timişoreană (The First Textile Factory in Timişoara) S.A.", founded at the beginning of 1906 by the descendants of Samuel Singer from Vienna.

Totis also set up other companies in the textile industry. He has been a member of the board of directors or in management in many companies; president of the Association of Textile Factories from Banat. At the age of 26, he became the youngest commercial adviser in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

He had particularly good relations with the Romanian royal family, especially with King Ferdinand I of Romania. Totis was awarded numerous orders and decorations for his merits in the development of the post-war Banat economy.

He has published specialized articles on economic topics in publications in Romania and abroad. In 1911 he gave a highly acclaimed conference at a congress of sugar manufacturers in Prague. He caused a sensation through the transactions he carried out on the sugar market, with which he made a fortune in 4 months.

He was an honorary member of the leadership of the Jewish Community of Timisoara. He participated in numerous charities. Among other things, he contributed a generous donation to the construction of the Hungarian House of Culture, A Magyar Ház, architect László Székely, inaugurated in 1930, where he was elected co-president with Sigismund Szana and others. Together with his wife, Stefania, b. Schnitzer, he founded the first nursery in Romania for the infants of the factory workers and a home for the elderly.

The imposing building from Ștefan cel Mare street no. 2 / Roman Square no. 1, "Municipal Report House", was built by the City Hall of the Royal Free City of Timişoara in 1908-1909, architect László Székely, so that the revenues brought by the rents could serve the "City Asylum". The building was sold in 1918 to Rudolf Totis, who gave it to his wife, Stefania, hence the name "Stefania Palace", under which he is known to the people of Timisoara. In the interwar period it was also called "Totis Palace".

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