Polimer, or more precisely Polimer Műanyag KTSz, a Hungarian industrial cooperative founded in 1954, was initially involved in the processing of plastics, including toys, then mastered the production of magnetic tapes on reels, and later became one of the main producers of compact cassettes in Hungary.
In the late 1960s, Polimer produced polyester-based magnetic tapes. Production of Ezermester polyester tape dates back to around 1968, and Polichor PE 129/360 tape to around 1970. By the end of the 1970s, the range of Polimer magnetic tapes was already quite wide - TP18LH, DP26 LH, DP26 LH-Super, LP35LH and other.
Compact cassette production began in the mid-1970s. Initially, the company collaborated with BASF. State-of-the-art injection molding machines and high-precision molds were sourced from Germany and Switzerland, while some of the plastic raw materials were Hungarian. This collaboration allowed Polimer to master the technology for mass-producing compact cassette cases. The partnership with BASF subsequently ended.
hifi mozaik 8, 1989.
The company served as a manufacturing partner for other companies. According to some reports, cassettes manufactured at Polimer as part of Western cooperation were exported without final labeling to Switzerland and Germany. There, they were then labeled with the trade names and markings of the respective markets.
Production facilities were constantly upgraded. In a later period, a semi-automated line was used, with a capacity of approximately 2,500 cassettes per hour. During its peak production, the company produced approximately 8 million cassettes per year, including blank and pre-recorded ones, and these products were sold not only to the domestic market but also for export.
After 1989, Polimer found itself in a difficult situation: the state-owned socialist economic system had disappeared, and the market quickly opened up to Western products. At the same time, the company's form changed: in 1993, POLIMER Ipari, Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Részvénytársaság (POLIMER Rt.) was registered. It later became POLIMER Zrt. In the 1990s, the cassette market remained significant, even in the face of increasing competition from imported brands. Polimer produced both its own cassettes and products for other customers, and a significant shift was made to the production of video cassettes alongside audio cassettes.
By the early 2000s, cassette production no longer had the economic significance it once had. Around 2006, Polimer shut down the injection molding machines and assembly lines used for cassette production. Around 2007–2008, the production lines for molding cassette cases and loading tapes were dismantled and sold. Some of the equipment was sold to other Hungarian manufacturers, while other lines continued to be used for the production of recorded cassettes.
After ceasing cassette production, the company continued to develop other activities, particularly the production of plastics and adhesive materials.