The Rise and Fall of Zalakerámia: A Tile Tale
Oh, what a tangled web Zalakerámia weaves, when first it starts to decimate its factories! Yes, folks, you heard it right: the beloved Hungarian tile manufacturer is turning its Romhány factory into a shiny, new logistics base. I can hear the tile enthusiasts weeping from here! It’s like watching your favorite childhood store transform into another bland convenience store. Can someone please pass the tissues?
As of October 16, 2024, things have gone a bit sour in the land of ceramics. Zalakerámia, that grand stalwart of Hungarian tiles, has decided to disassemble its factory in Romhány because, apparently, it’s *not* as chic as a shiny new facility in Cluj, Romania. Who knew tiles could have such an adventurous life? One moment they’re nestled in a cozy factory, and the next they’re being uprooted, tossed into a van, and whisked off to a new home. You’d think they were auditioning for an episode of “Extreme Makeover: Factory Edition!”
The reason for all this hullabaloo? The construction industry is taking a needed siesta—let’s be honest, the whole sector has been slumping more than a drunk at a wedding. As a result, Zalakerámia has been forced to “optimize” its operations. Translation: let’s pack our bags and flee the country! Honestly, folks, if I had a tile for every time a company blamed external factors for their mismanagement, I’d be able to tile my entire house and have enough left over for an avant-garde coffee table made of… well, tiles, obviously!
The company’s Tófej unit—ah, Tófej, you started strong, but now you’ve been reduced to a mere memory. Initially, it was a bustling hub, but since May last year, it’s been more of a “farewell tour” for its workforce, with nearly 90% of its employees bidding adieu. It’s like the end of a sad reality show season: “And in this episode, we’ll be letting go of the remaining emotional support tiles!”
What’s worse, the Tófej facility had a brief comeback this year, only to plunge back into the abyss of inactivity in August. It’s the resurrection of a phoenix, if the phoenix was just a little too lazy to fly. They won’t even be back in production until February. It’s as if they’re on a permanent vacation, sipping piña coladas instead of molding tiles.
Meanwhile, over in Romhány, the situation is much more precarious. Those tiles once represented a beacon of technological prowess, but now, they’re being slowly stripped of their pride like an old car at a junkyard. Reports indicate that there are no group layoffs—oh no, the workers *moved away voluntarily*. You know what that sounds like? That sounds suspiciously like “creative downsizing.” Fancy that!
So, what’s next for the Romhány plant? Well, it’s transitioning into a logistics base instead of keeping those artistic tiles on the production radar. It’s an unfortunate fate for a factory that recently underwent a significant modernization effort, akin to putting a fresh coat of paint on a sinking ship.
Meanwhile, the brave new world awaits in Cluj, where the Lasselsberger group is swooping in for the save! With a shiny new industrial park on the horizon, they’re gearing up to launch new products as early as 2025. It’s like the factory is moving—without actually physically moving—like it’s decided to take its talents on the road!
In summary, the future of Zalakerámia paints a picture as promising as it is puzzling. As they pack their bags for Romania, we’re left to ask: will Hungarian tiles ever shine like they used to? Or will they be relegated to quaint folklore, whispered about by nostalgic grandparents who remember when tiles could be shared like childhood stories? Let’s hope for happier days ahead in our tiled future! Or at least some good marketing for this moving saga.
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October 16, 2024 – 2:16 p.m
Zalakerámia’s factory in Romhány is being dismantled, and the Tófej unit has not been producing since August, i.e. the company’s production in Hungary has practically stopped completely. writes HVG. The paper knows that the patina Hungarian tile manufacturer is moving the technology of the Romhány factory to Cluj.
We contacted Zalakerámia because of the article, and the company confirmed to our questions that due to the general decline of the construction industry for years, the Lasselsberger group of companies decided to optimize products, for this reason some elements of the Romhány unit will indeed be taken over by the group’s foreign production units, while other parts are planned for the factory in Tófej relocate. As they write, the Lasselsberger investment taking place in Romania (Cluj) can also be considered partly as an investment by Zalakerámia.
In May last year, the company announced that it was implementing collective downsizing at its plant in Tófej, Zala county, and nearly 90 percent of the more than 200 people working there were dismissed. The HVG writes that production restarted at Tófej this year, but the plant was shut down again in August and will certainly not produce until February.
The future of the Romhány plant is an important issue because it represents the higher technological quality of the two factories, and a few years ago they made a major investment in order to modernize production. HVG was informed that there was no group downsizing here, people “moved away on a voluntary basis, bit by bit”, according to one of their sources, who knows that the Romhány site will function as a logistics base from now on. Zalakerámia’s parent company Lasselsberger’s interest in Romania, Sanex, is based in Cluj: according to HVG, with the arrival of the new production equipment, the plant will move to an industrial park located next to the city, and the production of the new products can be expected to start as early as 2025.
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