History
In 1876 a
young man under thirty, Josef Hradecký a qualified coppersmith trained in
Vienna came to Pacov. Together with his brother Eduard they found this little
town a suitable place for their business plans. On 8th September 1876 Josef
Hradecký applies for a trade licence, to be able to manufacture boilers. With
this he bel
ongs to people who helped to lay foundations of the Czech industry.
At that time
the number of agricultural distilleries grew and the factory of Josef Hradecký
had lots of orders, not only in the region, but he became well-known in the
whole Austrian-
Hungarian Empire. Coppersmith and boiler trade flourished at that time and the good
financial results reflected in the social sphere of Josef Hradecký's employees.
They got fully paid health insurance and the apprentices got pocket money.
Another important factor helped the positive development - the regular
industrial exhibitions which took place in Pacov from 1906.
In the
twenties the town of Pacov was electrified which helped to increase the level
of technologies and to improve the machinery.
Before WW II
the factory employed 80 people. The products enjoyed good reputation and were
able to compete both in the quality and the price. Between 1876 and 1936 the
factory produced facilities for 376 distilleries. The good quality of the
products can be proved by the fact that even today, machines with JHP trade
mark can be found, and they are in operation!
The war and
the forties brought a shortage of copper and non-ferrous metals. The factory
manufactured mostly spare parts for SKODA Pilsen, heat exchangers, water
heaters, etc.
After the
war the original production range was restored. Unfortunately the generally
known political development in the country brought the nationalization -
expropriation of the factory in 1948.
A very sad
event in the history of the factory is that the family Hradecký was moved from
their house to a village of Leskovice and the owner of the factory was framed
and sentenced to prison. After 1989 Ing. Josef Hradecký was rehabilitated in
memoriam.
After the
nationalization the factory went through many reorganizations. In 1957 a new
factory in Nádražní Street was built which was integrated into the Strojobal
Group.
In 1992, the descendants of the owner of the firm acquired back their
dwelling, administration and production areas in restitution. It was necessary
to invest a lot into the outworn and neglected buildings. On July 31, 1993, the
descendants of the Hradecký family, together with other partners, renewed the
tradition by the establishment of J. HRADECKÝ, spol. s r.o. and launched
the manufacture of machines and equipment for spirit, food and pharmaceutical
industries with the same logo: JHP. Empty workshops and offices had to be
equipped gradually with machines, tools and furniture. The firm was successful
and was employing seven permanent workers after one year of its restored
operation. The production was specialized in the equipment made of stainless
steel, copper and carbon steel, mostly for spirit industry.
In 1994, the firm gained the
confidence of the Municipal Authority in Pacov and experienced craftsmen –
coppersmiths – manufactured a new copper dome for the tower of the St. Michal’s
church in Pacov.
On October 13, 1997, Mr.
Dalibor Brázda, one of five founders of the renewed firm, purchased the
ownership interests from the other partners on the proposal of the other
partners and became the sole owner and director of the company.
In 1994 – 1998, the
overwhelming part of the production capacity was engaged in the manufacture of
spirit equipment nearly for all distilleries in the Czech Republic. The largest
deliveries by volume were carried out for Grain Distillery in Kralupy,
Distillery in Chrudim, ZEVAR Distillery in Větrný Jeníkov, Distillery in
Křižanov, Distillery in Budeč, Distillery in Bojanov, Distillery in Markvarec,
Distillery in Smíchov, Distillery in Kolín, etc.
In 1998, J.
HRADECKÝ, spol. s r.o. delivered and put into operation the first
single-body still with the rectification extension in the Czech Republic in
Stonařov in the Jihlava region. This original, modern and economical solution
started a new epoch of stills in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. Stills for
fruit-growers became the bearing production schedule of the firm with more than
one hundred successful implementations both inland and abroad in the next six
years.
On December 8, 2003, Mr. Dalibor Brázda, the author of the success of the
renewed firm, died suddenly. With the aim to maintain the production and the
job for the employees, Mrs. Květoslava Brázdová took charge of the firm
management immediately. She became the owner and the director of the firm after
the inheritance proceedings.
At present, the firm disposes of the team of experienced workers; the number of
employees is maintained up to 25 persons. It breaks into new prospective
branches as chemical production (oxy-celluloses, carbodiamides) and
environmental protection (equipment for air waste washing). Large investment
deliveries for Synthesia Semtín, “bio-ethanol distillery” of Agroethanol TTD
a.s. Dobrovice – first in the Czech Republic, and “bio-ethanol distillery” of PLP
a.s. Trmice are the pride of the firm in the past years. The firm prospers; it
reached the record-breaking turnover amounting to approx. 32 million CZK in
2007, invests into new progressive production technologies – CNC folding brake
of 200 tons, four-roll bending machine of metal sheets and cones, digital TIG
welding machines, digital MIG splash-free welding machine, etc. The firm bought
a new Renault Traffic delivery van for servicing and assembly and a DESTA
field forklift stacker of the bearing capacity of 3.2 tons. New benefits have
been introduced for the employees. The equipment of our company has been
delivered by us or through various engineering and trading companies into the
following countries of the world: Slovakia, Austria, FRG, Canada, USA,
Luxemburg, Mongolia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Isle of Mauritius, Poland,
Ukraine, Hungary, Island, Vietnam, Israel, Norway, Lithuania, Ethiopia, and
Venezuela. The firm maintains its excellent reputation and it is the guarantee
of quality, stability and respectability under advantageous conditions for its
partners thanks to the tradition and the quantity of successfully carried out
deliveries.