Květná Glassworks won a prestigious contract for furnishing Rolls-Royce car interiors. It supplies a set of vehicles consisting of a bottle and a bourbon glass, as well as a champagne glass. The contract worth hundreds of thousands of crowns is valid for the whole of this year. The glassworks ships about a hundred sets a month, its director Marek Mikláš said.
“It’s an honor for us. We do a lot for carmakers, we produce for Volkswagen, for Mercedes, for Bugatti. But Rolls-Royce is always such a matter of the heart. We equip their car interiors. So when someone buys Rolls-Royce in the Czech Republic, will have Czech glass in the car, “said Mikláš. According to him, the glassworks last supplied a drinking glass for Rolls-Royce 17 years ago.
Handmade glasses from Květná will also appear at this year’s World Expo, which should start on October 1 in Dubai. “We are now equipping a restaurant in the Czech pavilion, so whoever goes to the Expo exhibition will definitely drink from our glass,” said Mikláš.
The company supplies glass to the market under the Květná 1794 brand. The glassworks recently launched e-shops in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and this week it will open online stores for Austria and Germany. “E-shops and associated advertising are absolutely crucial for the glassworks because they acquaint the general public with the fact that nice and original glass is produced here in Bohemia and Moravia. It also brings associated contacts to the business sphere, it even helps us find interesting partners. Thanks to advertising on e-shops, we gained, for example, a customer from Singapore who was looking for Central European glass, “Lubor Cerva, the owner of the glassworks, told ČTK today.
According to him, direct sales to end customers will make it possible to eliminate the services of commercial intermediaries. “The direct sales path is a recent trend not only in our country but also in global companies. We have set our fixed range and we do not do things so-called custom, we do not make another design that is not ours. We have a fixed product with a fixed price and de facto force traders to accepted what we offer, “added Cerva.
The glassworks in Květná, which is part of the village of Strání, exports its products to more than 50 countries. According to Mikláš, about 90 percent, in some months even 95 percent of products, are exported. A substantial part of the production goes to Austria and Germany. However, glass from the Moravian-Slovak border is available in most European countries and, for example, in the USA.
Last year, the glassworks’ business was significantly reduced by measures related to the coronavirus pandemic. “We were closed for almost four months. We used this time to build a new furnace and tried to fix everything. The situation turned around completely this year. The orders started and the demand for our hand glass was high. So we already “Today, we more or less choose what we will do and for whom. The time when we had to take everything at all costs will probably not be the same,” said Mikláš.
The glassworks in Květná was founded at the end of the 18th century by Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. During its existence, it changed many owners. At its peak, it employed 550 people and now has 85 employees. “But we are trying to hire more glassmakers,” Mikláš added. Since 2018, the glassworks has been owned by Cerva Bohemia.