Made in Poland: The Famous Manufactories You Didn’t Know Were Here

serwis_kawowy_fot-ceramika-boleslawiec-pl.jpg, default, Coffee service crafted in Bolesławiec decorated with the famous peacock pattern, photo: ceramika-boleslawiec.pl

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Did you know some of the best and biggest design brands have or have had their manufacturing sites in Poland? Many of these companies were founded by Poles, but on the other hand, there are brands that were not founded by Poles but whose manufacturing sites are or were located in this country. These boost the Polish design and manufacturing sectors and strengthen the country’s economy.

Below, we explore the histories and legacies of several of these brands, whose products range from furniture to textiles.

Thonet

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Thonet factory in Radomsko around 1905, photo: Facebook / Radomsko Historyczne Zdjęcia 1243 - 2014

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Thonet chairs are known worldwide for their iconic and historically significant design. Founded in the mid-19th century in Vienna by Michael Thonet, Gebrüder Thonet was later run jointly with his sons. The most famous model, the No. 14 chair from 1859, brought the company international recognition. It showcased an innovative technique for bending solid beechwood on an industrial scale, resulting in furniture that was inexpensive, durable and easy to assemble and disassemble for shipping. Thonet pioneered assembly-line furniture production and successfully achieved mass manufacturing.

As the business grew and its customer base expanded globally, the company also increased its network of regional manufacturing sites. While the first workshop was established in Vienna, Gebrüder Thonet opened factories in Koryčany in 1856, Bystřice pod Hostýnem in 1861, Vel’ké Uherce in 1866, Vsetín and Halenkov in 1867, and Radomsko in 1880. The latter holds particular significance for Poland.

The Thonet sons purchased a property in Radomsko – located in central Poland, then still under Russian partition – that included a steam mill, which they adapted for furniture production. At its peak, the factory produced around 50,000 chairs per month, one-third of which were exported to destinations that included England, the United States and Italy. The Thonet manufactory contributed to the development of Radomsko as a major centre of furniture making.

The subsequent history of the Radomsko furniture site was marked by numerous changes. In 1922, Gebrüder Thonet merged with its competitor Mundus, becoming the world’s largest furniture manufacturer. After 1945, the factory came under new management and was fully nationalised in 1948. Around the same time, construction began on a new facility, Radomszczańskie Zakłady Mebli Giętych ‘Fameg’ (Fameg Bentwood Furniture Plants, Radomsko, named after Fabryka Mebli Giętych [Bentwood Furniture Factory]), which opened in 1960. Today, Fameg continues the legacy established by the Thonet family in the late 19th century and remains one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of bentwood chairs, as well as being a global leader in the field.

Bolesławiec

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Tea set, Ceramic Works ‘Bolesławiec’, photo by Piotr Haftarczyk

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Located in southwestern Poland in the Silesia region, Bolesławiec has a long tradition of pottery making. Archaeological evidence suggests that pottery production in the area dates to 6000 BCE, but the history of Bolesławiec as a town begins around 1202, when the German settlement of Bunslau was established. Over the centuries, it endured numerous wars and border changes, passing through Bohemia, Prussia, Germany, and finally becoming part of Poland in 1945.

The first pottery guild was formed in 1511, and local artisans were crafting pieces for royalty by the mid-17th century. Early stamped designs applied by hand with brushes or sponges appeared during this period and remain a hallmark of Bolesławiec pottery. In the 19th century, new production techniques and factories allowed for larger-scale production while preserving traditional hand-painted methods. Early pottery in the region was often brown, but Johann Gottlieb Altman, a master potter, introduced stoneware clay, reusable moulds and colourful decorative motifs, shaping the aesthetic recognised today.

Zawodowa Szkoła Ceramiczna (the Professional School of Ceramics) was founded in Bolesławiec in 1897. Among its most famous designs is the peacock pattern, featuring blue circular motifs inspired by the bird’s symbolism of wealth and royalty, originally created to attract royal patrons.

After World War I, in 1936, a cooperative of six ceramic workshops called Bunzlauer Braunzeug was founded, further spreading the fame of Bolesławiec pottery. In 1950, after Bolesławiec became part of Poland, the newly established Cepelia (Centrala Przemysłu Ludowego i Artystycznego [Centre of Folk and Artistic Industry]) nationalised and revived pottery production from this region, promoting the craft and re-establishing the town as a centre of Polish ceramics.

Today, Bolesławiec hosts numerous workshops that celebrate traditional patterns while experimenting with contemporary designs and collaborations, including projects with Coca-Cola. A recent commission even included wares for the American CIA. Bolesławiec pottery is exported worldwide, including to the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea, and remains a symbol of Polish craftsmanship.

Krosno

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Manufacturing process in the Krosno glassworks, mid-20th century, photo: miastoszkla.pl; Krosno glass product selection, photo: instagram.com/krosnoglass

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The history of Krosno glass dates to 1923, when construction of the first glassworks began, followed by the release of its first products a year later. Krosno, both the brand name and the city in which it is located, has specialised for over a century in glassware and crystalware, particularly crafting glass accessories and vessels. You may even have unknowingly used a Krosno glass item, as the company exports its products to over 60 countries, both under its own brand and as a supplier for other brands.

The glassworks continued its production steadily until the Second World War, when it was halted, but it soon resumed under German occupation. In 1944, the Nazis withdrew from Krosno, destroying the factory and removing its inventory. A year later, the modernised glassworks reopened, quickly expanding production and gaining clients abroad in England, Brazil and Canada.

In 1958, the Polish government established the state-owned enterprise Krośnieńskie Huty Szkła (Krosno Glassworks), introducing a paint shop, an in-house glass working school, new facilities and additional glassworks. With such a large manufacturing capacity, Krosno products became widely used in Polish households. Their pieces were also supplied internationally, reaching royalty, including Queen Elizabeth II, the Empress of Japan and the King of Spain.

At the turn of the century, the company was privatised as Krosno Glassworks KROSNO S.A., and in 2001, the Krosno Group was established, encompassing Krosno Glassworks together with nearby Jasło and Tarnów glassworks (the Tarnów site has since closed).

Today, Krosno glass is regarded as one of the most important ambassadors of Polish design, blending traditional glassblowing craftsmanship with modern aesthetics. Its wares are used worldwide, including by LOT Polish Airlines.

Izrael Poznański’s textile manufactory

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Izrael Poznański’s factory mill complex in a photo by Bronisław Wilkoszewski from 1896, photo: Wikipedia

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Considered the ‘Polish Manchester’, Łódź was the centre of the Industrial Revolution in Poland. Innovations in steam power and electricity transformed global industry, and Łódź became the largest textile centre in the Kingdom of Poland and the second largest in the Russian Empire after Moscow. This rapid development was largely driven by Izrael Poznański, a Polish-Jewish industrialist. Known as one of the city’s three ‘Kings of Cotton’ (alongside Karol Scheibler and Ludwik Geyer), Poznański built an extensive industrial complex specialising in cotton production.

Poznański had humble beginnings, but his professional career took off in 1852 when he took over the textile business of his father, Kalman Poznański. Over the following decades, he gradually expanded operations, and in 1872, he opened his first factory: a high-capacity cotton mill equipped with 200 mechanical looms imported from England. Further expansions continued in the decades that followed.

Poznański’s multi-departmental complex made a complete production cycle possible, from sourcing raw cotton from his own plantations in Central Asia to selling finished goods through a network of company warehouses and shops in Poland and Russia. In less than fifty years, by 1900, the initial 2,150 roubles he inherited grew to 11 million. By 1906, his company, then operating as a joint-stock enterprise, employed around 6,800 workers.

From the 1920s, the company’s financial situation began to decline due to political, social and economic factors. By 1923, a controlling stake had been taken over by the Italian holding company Sicmat, and in the 1930s it passed to Banca Commerciale Italiana. Poznański’s descendants never regained ownership. After the Second World War, the company was nationalised and transformed into Poltex, which became one of the largest textile factories in Łódź during the Polish People’s Republic.

Poltex ceased operations in the 1990s due to political and economic changes in Poland. Over the following years, the vast factory complex was revitalised and transformed into Manufaktura, a multi-functional shopping and entertainment centre. Today, the site features a shopping centre, cinema, modern art museum, luxury hotel and a public square, blending industrial heritage with contemporary urban life.

With histories dating back millennia, Poland has a rich tradition of crafts. Whether in furniture, ceramics, glass or textiles, the Polish lands – and often Polish creative minds – have much to be proud of. While some of the companies discussed above no longer exist or no longer operate in this country, their legacies endure and have helped shape contemporary Poland as we know it today.

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