The history of Kerkotherm started at the beginning of 1992 when works were launched within the Ceramic Plant of Košice on introduction of production in a new plant called KACHLE (STOVE TILES) Košice. At that time the company had more than 30-year experience in production of ceramics.
Stove tiles were produced from fireproof stoneware by manual moulding into plaster moulds, after-touch, drying, glazing and single-burning.
In 1965, as a part of Košice Ceramic Works, we have started production of expanded perlite in a new plant in Košice Barca.
| 1992 |
beginning of production using the technology of stove tile moulding by means of presses |
| 1993 |
stove tile calibration, significant improvement of dimensional accuracy |
| 1994 |
reduction of the range of products to three basic patterns of moulded pieces resulted in the increase of productivity |
| 1995 |
strengthening of our position on the domestic market and expansion to markets in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and the Ukraine |
| 1996 |
as the first company in Slovakia we started to produce round quoin pieces that helped the company to get a solid position on the market and further major customers |
| 1997 |
fusion of plants producing stove tiles and perlite |
| 1998 |
partially automated glazing in production |
| 1999 |
establishment of an independent joint-stock company Kerkotherm covering the production of stove tiles, perlite and insulating boards for metallurgical industry |
| 2000 |
launched production of stove tiles using a new technology of drain casting |
| 2001 |
a new shop of stove tiles and materials for construction of stoves opened |
| 2002 |
strong demand resulted in full use of production capacities |
| 2003 |
use of a new moulding material enabled the use of identical glazing on cast as well as moulded wares and improved the flexibility of the range of products |
| 2004 |
the company significantly increased its marketing support, made a decision for a new logo, new corporate identity, new price and discount policy that helped to keep the leading position on the market |
| 2005 |
investments into technical equipment of laboratories and production capacities resulting in better quality of stove tiles |
| 2006 |
enlargement of production capacities due to heavy demand |
| 2007 |
beginning production of large size stove tiles Grande and Bambus in modern design |
| 2008 |
we provide delivery to place around Slovakia included in price |
| 2009 |
thanks to sales success we enlarged production of large size ceramic Max, launched production of stove tiles using technology of drawing |
| 2010 |
changes in price policy, we canceled some surcharges to make our stove tiles more affordable |
| 2011 |
start of production of multilayer glazes, cooperation with next large producers of stoves in Czech Republic |
| 2012 |
installation of muffle kiln in production of stove tiles, so we can produce new types of glazes |
| 2013 |
finalization of investment in new line for production of perlite, reconstruction of next hall for stove tiles casting, new design of stove tiles Atlantik and Lamela were added in assortment |
| 2014 |
launching of new pipeline system in production of casted stove tiles, new design of stove tiles Quatro were added in assortment |
| 2015 |
releasing of new catalog of ceramic tiles and logo "Handmade in Slovakia" |
| 2016 |
significant expansion of the range of multi-layered glazes with hand applied additional layers |
| 2017 |
end of regular production of insulating boards for metallurgy industry |
| 2018 |
expansion of the range of ceramic stove tiles with new design and new glazes |
| 2019 |
we started cooperation with new industrial customers in Poland and Hungary |
| 2020 |
we managed the complications caused by the Covid pandemic and production continues at full capacity |
| 2021 |
we started the reconstruction of the halls for the production of ceramic stove tiles in Barca |
| 2022 |
we successfully completed the reconstruction of the halls and installed a new kiln, the demand for ceramic stoves and fireplaces is breaking historical records |
