Czech made

Today’s most important Czech manufacturer of car textiles is the company Fezko from Strakonice. But it was not always like this, there is a good deal of beret-making in it's history. The plant’s former assortment of products consisted of traditional fezzes when Jewish businessman Wolf Fürth began fez production in Strakonice in 1828.

The beginning of fez production in Strakonice is not quite clear. The story goes that Linz businessman Braun who was doing brisk trade with the Orient, visited the town in 1805. He stayed in the ale-house “U Bílé růže” and was looking for somebody who could make a fez. The innkeeper brought in expert knitter Jan Petráš, Braun explained the process of fez production to him. The result was said to be better than expected, that is why the businessman decided to conclude a long term contract with the knitter. Petráš did really well and very soon he had so many orders that he was unable to meet them himself. Of course, other knitters noticed his success and production of fezzes expanded rapidly.

The real break point came with mechanisation. Jewish businessman Wolf Fürth got the first fez production certificate in 1828. He laid the foundations of industry making the town famous in many countries.

 

DREAM OF STRAKONICE

The history of the company starts in 1812 when Wolf Fürth was awarded a licence for the cloth, wool and dye trade. This businessman from Strakonice was thirty years old at the time. He had two sons and a small amount of capital of 150 guldens. He could only sell on the outskirts of Bezdekov, but soon expanded and began with fez production. In time, he got into several friends involved in the business and production expanded rapidly. But he still had to rely only on the small town of Bezdekov. To get closer to the centre of town, Fürth had to find a partner among the important townsmen of Strakonice. The first was Hischmann, the hatter, who offered a house with dye-works, and Votruba, the hosier, was the next one. Together they applied for a permit to establish a fez production company, but there were many objections to their actions. The Regional office in Pisek considered their case and finally complied with their application. The company of Hischmann-Votruba-Fürth was established in 1827.

Fürth applied for the production license the same year and justified his request by business success and good sales. Once again his proposal was received with mixed feelings, but approved in 1828.

 

STRUGGLE WITH COMPETITORS

The Fürth company already had 174 looms and approximately 900 people worked for the company in 1829, but it was not a typical plant as yet. Most of knitters worked at home, but the company expanded very quickly to other houses and properties. It was not until 1832 that Fürth was allowed to buy a family house in town when he got the municipal license for production as well. The company was renamed Fürth & Comp.

Another thirty fez manufacturers worked in Strakonice at the time and it was difficult to develop the business. The struggle between competitors culminated in 1835, when a group of loom-masters lodged a complaint against Fürth to the emperor. However their efforts were in vain.

Two events of the 1830s favoured the further development of company: the establishment of the steam navigation company Austrian Lloyd and an order of the Turkish sultan to use fezzes instead of turbans with military uniforms.

The company from Strakonice achieved record-breaking sales and demand for its products increased rapidly.

 

VIENNESE MANAGEMENT

Wolf Fürth died in 1850 and his three sons took over the company’s management. Josef Fürth contributed the most to the further development and complete mechanization of operations. Fezzes from Strakonice were exported to Egypt, India or the Near East besides Turkey at the time.

After tens of years without change, the turning point came in 1899 with the establishment of the joint-stock company Austrian Fez Plants in Vienna. All manufacturers from Strakonice and Pisek were joined and integrated in this company from now on.

After the First World War the management came back to Strakonice and production diversified to include blankets and woollen cloths. Some loss of production came in 1925 when Turkish leader Mustafa Kamal Atatürk forbade the wearing of fezzes in his country. But businessmen from Strakonice solved this problem by launching the

production of berets, which became very popular, within and outside Czechslovakia.

 

END OF FEZZES

In 1937 joint stock company of fez plants employed 3000 workers altogether, but was occupied by the Germans at the beginning of war and some operation shops were used to repair aircraft engines. Traditional production started again in 1945 when the company was nationalized.

New premises were built in 1966 – 1973 for the production of knitted fabrics, interior textiles and headgear..1986 proved to be an important year for further development, because the production of car textiles for the car company Škoda from Mlada Boleslav began.

After 1989 the plant was transformed into the joint-stock company Fezko and was privatized. A group of European and American investors has been the majority owner since 1998 when it started its restructuring. The result was the establishment of two independent plants – one for car textile production and one for the production of headgear. All the changes came to an end in 2001 when the plant for the production of headgear was transferred to the company Tonak from Novy Jicin already controlled by Fezko. Now the traditional fez merely forms a part of the company’s logo, but still, Czech berets are exported worldwide and hold a very good name. Many berets sold in the United States and Canada are Czech made.