Schlottenhof porcelain factory

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The Porzellanfabrik Schlottenhof GmbH was a porcelain factory producing until 1964 in the municipality of Schlottenhof, which today belongs to the town of Arzberg in the district of Wunsiedel in the Fichtelgebirge in Upper Franconia .

precursor

The ceramic factory Christian Friedrich Seltmann

The first forerunner of the later Seltmann Schlottenhof porcelain factory can be found in 1854 by Christian Friedrich Seltmann (1824–1901) and his wife Margaretha Barbara nee. Menzel (1836–1909) founded ceramic factory.

It served Seltmann, who came from the Ore Mountains and was hired as an artificial meadow builder (in today's parlance, agricultural hydraulic engineer ) by the municipality of Schlottenhof in order to improve the agricultural areas, as a manufacturing facility for the ceramic pipes required for soil drainage .

Three of their nine children joined the company in the following years: Johann Matthäus (1856–1921), Karl August (1858–1927) and Christian Wilhelm (1870–1821). Johann and Christian later founded their own porcelain factories elsewhere: Johann the company Johann Seltmann Vohenstrauss in Vohenstrauss and Christian the company Seltmann Weiden in Weiden in the Upper Palatinate ; Karl stayed in Schlottenhof.

The porcelain factory L. Künzel (1895 to 1897)

Founded in 1895 by L. Künzel, it was the first large porcelain factory in Schlottenhof. In the absence of a rail connection, Bohemian lignite and the kaolin required for porcelain production had to be fetched from the train station in Arzberg by horse and cart, and all products packed in boxes and transported there. It was not a great commercial success, so it was sold in 1897 and was acquired by Karl Seltmann, the third of Christian Friedrich Seltmann's six sons.

Ceramic and porcelain factory Karl Seltmann (1897 to 1934)

The Karl Seltmann ceramic and porcelain factory became the fourth large porcelain factory in the Arzberg region around 1900. Karl Seltmann saw an opportunity here to use his knowledge and experience to set up his own company for fine porcelain. He successfully concentrated production on table and coffee sets, which quickly gained a good reputation due to their quality. The trade tax paid by the factory rose thirty-fold between 1900 and 1906. In 1904 he employed around 100 people, in 1909 by 150.

Four ring furnaces were in operation in the mid-twenties .

During the stock market crash of 1929 , the company, like many other companies in the porcelain industry, fell into a crisis, and exports fell by a third by 1931. In the summer of 1932, a total of 57 porcelain factories with 12,000 workers were shut down, and Schlottenhof was also temporarily closed in early 1932. As a creditor bank, Sparkasse Thierheim initially transferred management and shares to Fritz Hilburger and Alois Greger on June 1, 1932, who had previously worked in the Bavaria Ullersricht porcelain factory, which was closed in 1931 . In 1934 they acquired the entire company.

The Schlottenhof GmbH porcelain factory (1934 to 1964)

From 1934 under the new owners or, after their death, their families, the factory operated as "Porzellanfabrik Schlottenhof GmbH". They expanded the production range, which had previously consisted of table and coffee porcelain, to include decorative porcelain and fine ceramics for sales and kitchen containers , so that the business stabilized financially within a few years. In the 1930s, about half of the production was exported, mainly to the Netherlands , Italy , Yugoslavia and Sweden . Company apartments were built in the community of Schlottenhof .

In 1949, Seltmann Schlottenhof employed around 155 people, in 1954 around 200. In the late 1950s, internal differences and a lack of investment in technical systems began to show their consequences; There was not enough capital for the construction of modern, efficient tunnel kilns . As a result, the company lost its competitiveness , so that the closure of the plant was announced in September 1964.

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