A pioneer in kitchen appliances MORA MORAVIA

A PIONEER IN

KITCHEN APPLIANCES

MORA MORAVIA has been active in the Czech white goods market for almost two hundred years. Today it is part of the Gorenje holding group and this year it is due to make a major increase in capacity.

MORA MORAVIA, s.r.o., headquartered in Mariánské Údolí, was founded in 1825. The MORA brand name itself is one of the oldest original white goods brands not only in the Czech Republic, but worldwide. From its very beginnings the company specialised in manufacturing household goods. The first household gas cooker dates back to 1919, to be followed in later years by appliances not only for cooking for also for heating, in particular gas boilers and continuous-flow heaters.

Beginning in 1989 the company underwent extensive restructuring of its various manufacturing programmes and later the principal part of the factory, producing white goods, became part of the Gorenje company. The company went through extensive changes arising not only from the need to integrate it into the new parent company’s manufacturing operations, but also as a result of strengthening and

extending the technical and technological manufacturing base.

In 2011, a new fifth-generation integrated cooker was launched and has since become the best-selling cooker from the company. Last year it also succeeded in launching full production of fume extractors, which was important for the expansion of the Mariánské Údolí factory manufacturing portfolio.

MORA MORAVIA today employs some 600 staff, with the exact number being influenced by production levels and appliance deliveries, as well as by customer requirements. Full capacity is generally achieved in the final five months of each year, when there is globally the greatest demand for cooking appliances.

Something for everyone

The product range manufactured in Mariánské Údolí is made up of built-in ceramic glass hobs, heaters, fume extractors and especially free-standing cookers in 50, 55, 60 and 70cm widths. The company manufactures more than 400 types of appliances in various variants – nowadays, stainless steel versions are increasingly popular.

“Within the holding company, our firm continues to work on the development of our various appliances, not just in Mariánské Údolí, but also through joint projects with our parent company, a design studio in Velenje and a division developing electronic control systems,” says company manager and executive director Vítězslav Růžička.

The most recent joint project is the IQcook project, an intelligent sensor located on cooking utensil lids to maintain optimum cooking conditions (a function built into the hob), including fume extraction by the builtin fume extractor.

“Today’s customers are more and more demanding, so our work on appliances is based mainly on their increasing demands for ease of use, cleanability, low electricity and gas usage. This trend leads inexorably to more efficient appliances using modern component technologies and, as a consequence, savings for our customer’s pockets”, the director explains. All of these steps are reflected in the high quality of the appliances, which today is the fundamental characteristic of products supplied under the holding company’s various brands.

Increasing capacity

All heating product production is based at Mariánské Údolí, situated in a picturesque valley with several villages, with the river Bystřice running close by. The company is spread across both banks of the river and nearly 12 hectares of additional land will be sufficient for the company’s further development, now under consideration.

Last year the holding company implemented an extensive project to relocate the production of free-standing cookers from its factory in Lahti (Finland) to Mariánské Údolí. The production technology was transferred in its entirety over three weeks, and cooker assembly began on the line in the Czech Republic within five weeks of production terminating in Finland.

“From the technical and logistical points of view it was a very demanding operation, but in spite of this we demonstrated that our people can cope, even with a change as difficult as this one,” says Vítězslav Růžička. The completion of this project increased the resulting capacity of the company by 15 per cent.

Investment in development

Exports are the core of the company’s business, arising from its role as a production unit within the Gorenje holding group. More than 80 per cent of output ends up in the markets of the group’s sales networks throughout Europe, Asia and in other countries. “Our products are sold under the MORA, GORENJE, KÖRTING, SIDEX,

ASKO, UPO brand names and also the brand names of our trading partners,” the director explains, adding that in recent years the holding company has grown particularly in eastern markets. “For us, of course, other markets where we sell the MORA brand are key, such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and in particular our domestic market,” he says.

After expanding production capacity in recent years the company will now apply investment to improving manufacturing efficiency, installing more energy-efficient equipment, environment and other technologies.

Part of each year’s investment goes into development projects and innovation. “This part of our investment is invariable and cannot be interrupted without the risk of losing competitiveness. Further projects are in preparation and contracts are being signed even now with tooling companies to make new tools and with suppliers of new production units,” says the director.

New trends, new directions

And what does the domestic appliance market look like right now? What are the customer’s preferences? Vítězslav Růžička explains that the trend is progressively towards greater demand for built-in appliances, which is a reflection of changing living styles and greater variability in the way kitchens are set up. “In terms of appliance technical design we can say that in general there is increasing interest in cooking by induction. These trends indicate the direction of development which the company tries to reflect in its new products, innovations and models in order to better meet our customers’ expectations.“

He adds that further growth of the factory in Mariánské Údolí is based on the Gorenje holding company’s long-term development plan for production sites. The company will specialise mainly in the growth of its four production areas – built-in hobs, heaters, fume extractors and especially in further development of free-standing cookers.

The continuous growth in production capacity and expansion of the range only confirms the company’s position within the Gorenje holding company and the continued tradition of high-quality appliance manufacture in Mariánské Údolí. “After all, in just six years we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first gas cooker,” the director concludes. n