La Compagnie des Lampes
La Compagnie des Lampes was a name used by several French electrical-product companies, particularly manufacturers of lighting equipment and vacuum tubes.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
La Compagnie des Lampes, meaning “The Lamp Company,” was a name associated with several French businesses involved in electrical products, especially incandescent lighting and electronic vacuum tubes. The name does not describe one uninterrupted corporate entity with a single founding date. Instead, it was used by successive or related companies established at different times and in different industrial contexts. The earliest company identified with the name was established at Ivry-sur-Seine in 1888. Its plant was acquired by, or attached to, the Compagnie Générale d’Electricité in 1898. The Ivry facility later became historically significant and was classified as a historic monument. During the First World War, this operation became an early French producer of TM triodes, a military radio tube associated with “Télégraphie Militaire.” In 1915 it was reportedly the second French plant to manufacture these triodes, following E.C.&A. Grammont in Lyon. The factory subsequently produced vacuum tubes for domestic alternating-current transformer heating, including types marketed under the Métal-Secteur name. A separate company using the name was founded in 1911 by Paul Blavier as a light-bulb manufacturing workshop at Saint-Pierre-Montlimart, near Cholet. It changed its name in 1918 to Manufacture de lampes à incandescence, la Française, illustrating the way the La Compagnie des Lampes designation could function as a corporate name at one point and then disappear from the legal name at another. This business was associated with the Thomson group during the 1950s. In 1921, the Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston and the Compagnie Générale d’Electricité jointly created another Compagnie des Lampes. This later business became an important participant in the French lighting industry, notably through the MAZDA brand. Its activities extended beyond household and industrial bulbs into radio and electronic tubes. Examples included Mazda-branded tubes such as 6H8G, 3T100A1 and E1 in the late 1940s and early 1950s, followed by products marketed as Lampe Mazda during the 1950s and 1960s. From 1924 to 1939, the 1921 company was part of the Phoebus cartel, an international light-bulb industry arrangement that coordinated aspects of the market and promoted standardized product lifetimes. The cartel is frequently discussed in the history of planned obsolescence because its participating manufacturers agreed on a shorter target operating life for general-service incandescent lamps. This episode remains one of the most consequential controversies associated with the company’s historical activities. The brand and company history therefore spans several overlapping fields: electric lighting, incandescent lamps, radio valves, and early electronic components. Its industrial significance lies less in a currently marketed consumer identity than in its role in the development of French lamp manufacturing and vacuum-tube production, as well as in its connection to the MAZDA name and the Phoebus cartel. The available reference material does not establish a current operating company, present owner, headquarters, website, or continuing commercial brand status.
History
The name La Compagnie des Lampes was used by multiple French companies rather than representing one simple corporate lineage. The earliest documented operation began at Ivry-sur-Seine in 1888. In 1898, its plant was incorporated into the industrial orbit of the Compagnie Générale d’Electricité. The site later received historic-monument classification, reflecting its importance in the development of French electrical manufacturing. The Ivry operation was not limited to ordinary lighting. In 1915, during the First World War, it became the second French facility reported to manufacture TM triodes, vacuum tubes developed for military telegraphy and radio applications. E.C.&A. Grammont in Lyon had begun production earlier. The Ivry plant used the Métal brand for these triodes and later produced tubes designed for domestic alternating-current transformer heating, including the BW604 and BW1010 types under the Métal-Secteur designation. These activities place the company among France’s early industrial manufacturers of thermionic valves. Another company bearing the name was founded in 1911 by Paul Blavier. It operated as a light-bulb workshop at Saint-Pierre-Montlimart near Cholet. In 1918 it adopted the name Manufacture de lampes à incandescence, la Française. The change demonstrates that the La Compagnie des Lampes name was not necessarily retained as the permanent legal identity of every business that used it. The Saint-Pierre-Montlimart operation later had an association with the Thomson group in the 1950s. A further Compagnie des Lampes was established in 1921 through a joint initiative by the Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston and the Compagnie Générale d’Electricité. This entity became a major participant in French lighting. Its best-known market identity was the MAZDA brand, under which it sold lamps and later vacuum tubes. The company’s scope thus covered both conventional illumination and the expanding radio and electronics industries. Between 1924 and 1939, the 1921 company participated in the Phoebus cartel. The cartel brought together major bulb manufacturers and coordinated elements of the incandescent-lamp market. It is particularly associated with an agreement to standardize the useful life of general-service bulbs at a level below the maximum technically achievable lifetime. Historians and commentators commonly cite this arrangement as an early and prominent example of planned obsolescence. The episode has shaped later interpretations of the economics and governance of the lighting industry. The company’s tube business continued after the Second World War. Examples associated with the MAZDA name include 6H8G in 1947, 3T100A1 in 1949, and E1 in 1950. From 1953, products were identified as LAMPE MAZDA, including types such as 2G21, 927, EL183, and EF816 introduced across the 1950s and early 1960s. Some tubes were also available through the Compagnie Industrielle Française des Tubes Electroniques under the Mazda-Belvu name, a designation connected with Société Radio Belvu and the earlier Grammont Fotos tradition. Taken together, these records show a historical French industrial name active across lighting and electronic components. They also explain why a single foundation year, owner, headquarters, or present status cannot safely be assigned to the subject as a whole. The reference material documents important historical operations and brands but does not establish a current standalone company operating under the name La Compagnie des Lampes.
- 1953
Products marketed as LAMPE MAZDA
[1]Later vacuum-tube products were marketed under the LAMPE MAZDA designation.
- 1950
MAZDA E1 tube listed
[1]The E1 vacuum tube was among the products associated with MAZDA.
- 1949
MAZDA 3T100A1 tube listed
[1]The 3T100A1 vacuum tube was among the products associated with MAZDA.
- 1947
MAZDA 6H8G tube listed
[1]A 6H8G vacuum tube was among the postwar products associated with the MAZDA name.
- 1939
Phoebus cartel period ended
[1]The documented period of the company’s participation in the Phoebus cartel concluded in 1939.
- 1924
Phoebus cartel participation began
[1]The 1921 company became part of the Phoebus cartel, which coordinated aspects of the international incandescent-lamp market.
- 1921
New joint Compagnie des Lampes created
[1]Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston and Compagnie Générale d’Electricité jointly created a new company using the name.
- 1918
Saint-Pierre-Montlimart company changed its name
[1]The 1911 workshop adopted the name Manufacture de lampes à incandescence, la Française.
- 1915
French TM triode production began at the Ivry operation
[1]The Ivry plant became the second French facility to manufacture TM military-telegraphy triodes, marketed under the Métal brand.
- 1911
Paul Blavier founded a separate lamp workshop
[1]Paul Blavier founded a light-bulb manufacturing workshop at Saint-Pierre-Montlimart near Cholet.
Products and positioning
Historically positioned as a French electrical-products manufacturer serving lighting, radio, and electronic-component markets, with particular prominence in incandescent lamps and MAZDA-branded products.
Lighting
Incandescent lamps
Incandescent bulbs were the core products associated with the company names used in 1888, 1911, and 1921. The later 1921 company became a significant participant in French lighting, particularly through the MAZDA brand. The available material does not specify individual consumer lamp models or technical ratings.
Vacuum tubes · 1915
TM triodes
TM, or Télégraphie Militaire, triodes were military radio and telegraphy tubes. The Ivry operation began manufacturing them in 1915 and marketed them under the Métal brand, making the facility an early French producer of this class of electronic component.
Vacuum tubes
Métal-Secteur tubes
The Métal-Secteur line included vacuum tubes intended for domestic alternating-current transformer heating. Examples cited in the historical record include BW604 and BW1010.
Vacuum tubes · 1947
MAZDA vacuum tubes
The 1921 company produced vacuum tubes under the MAZDA name in the postwar period. Documented examples include 6H8G, 3T100A1, and E1, followed by products marketed as LAMPE MAZDA, such as 2G21, 927, EL183, and EF816.
Vacuum tubes
Mazda-Belvu tubes
Some tubes associated with the company were also distributed through the Compagnie Industrielle Française des Tubes Electroniques under the Mazda-Belvu designation. The name reflected links with Société Radio Belvu and the Grammont Fotos tube tradition.
Controversies
1924
Participation in the Phoebus cartel
La Compagnie des Lampes was part of the Phoebus cartel from 1924 to 1939. The cartel coordinated major bulb manufacturers and is associated with an agreement to limit standardized incandescent-bulb lifetimes, making it a frequently cited historical example of planned obsolescence.
Brand decisions
1921
Creation of a joint lighting companyStrategyBackground
Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston and Compagnie Générale d’Electricité sought to establish a new company in the French lighting sector.
Action taken
The two groups jointly created a new Compagnie des Lampes, which later became a major French lighting business and used the MAZDA brand.
Aftermath
The company expanded beyond lamps into vacuum tubes and other electronic products, becoming one of the important historical names in French lighting.
1915
Introduction of TM triode manufacturingProduct launchBackground
Military communications requirements during the First World War increased the importance of domestic radio-tube production.
Action taken
The Ivry operation began producing TM triodes under the Métal brand.
Aftermath
The facility became an early French producer of military vacuum tubes and later expanded into domestic tube applications.
Sources1 sources
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