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History
The oldest provable textile professions are dated in Svitavy to the year 1516. There is cited the name of the first cloth maker in the chronicles. The count of profession masters was still grown and there were already so many masters in the town about 1760, they could not earn a living. Because old profession rules were restraining from business activities, the textile field was setting apart profession production at times of the first manufactures in 1773 and became to the free occupation. Heinrich Klinger asked the district authorities in Moravská Třebová for permission buying and manufacturing of flax fabrics. He founded the first textile production in Svitavy in 1866 – branch of his Viennese firm. Another from founders of Svitavy´s textile industry Julius Preussfreund put up the mechanical jute mill. He left the town in 1881 and Heinrich Klinger joined the mill to his company. It was founded k. k. Leinenwaarenfabrik.
Important data:
- 1855 – the first operation qualification for production of wool ware, which Johann Sigmund got at – another from big persons of Svitavy’s textile history
- 1866 – the year of foundation of Svitavy´s branch Heinrich Klinger´s Viennese company – precursor of our company
- 1881 – Heinrich Klinger joined the mechanical jute mill to his company, founded k. k. Leinenwaarenfabrik
- 1890 – total count of employees was 2400, Svitavy had 7800 inhabitants in this time. Product range was eminently big – from technical fabrics and ready-made goods, waterproofed tissue, to rubber tubes and impregnated tissues, working clothing, train valances and towels. Military production was important too.
- 1919 - was founded branch in Moravská Třebová
- 1931 – company enlarged about new-developed fabric halls of mill and preparation
- 1938 – K. H. Barthel garbled the biggest and richest company in Svitavy as a Jewish property after occupation of Austria. 1400 employees worked in fabric halls this year and the company was still getting richer. Over 40% of production was exported – to the USA, France, Germany, Poland or to Balkan. After Aryanising became the company name of United textile factories K. H. Barthel & Co.
- 1939 - 1945 – the production re-orientated on war production in the II. World War time. There were „totally deployments“, war captive and prisoners and people of different nationalities working in the factory during the occupation.
- 1945 – on 24th. of October – the company was established by Czechoslovakia and became a part of United factories and technical fabrics – national company in Lomnice nad Popelkou. New production program started with 750 employees.
- 1949 – this state stayed to the 3rd. of October 1949, when was established a new national company Svitap with branches in Hlinsko, Golčův Jeníkov and Mor. Krumlov. Production program formed canvases and cotton transport fabrics for mines and rubber industry
- 1958 – break year, the factories in Svitavy, Hlinsko and Golčův Jeníkov became part of national company Technolen in Lomnice nad Popelkou. Its production was localized on heavier sorts of fabrics and ready-made goods, mainly heavy chafer of cotton and synthetic fibre and their combination, flax canvases, big bags, PE canvases, halls and non-woven textiles
- 1990 – SVITAP was re-established after communist regime fall on the 1st. of December this year, as a state property
- 1991 – Jan Heřmanský, Eng. became the director of the state company SVITAP Svitavy
- 1992 - Company SVITAP J.H.J. Ltd. Svitavy was founded by Jan Heřmanský, Eng. and Jiří Janíček
- 1993 – SVITAP J.H.J. Ltd. bought the state company Svitap Svitavy by privatization on the 1st. of October
- 1996 – Jan Heřmanský, Eng. became the sole owner and general director of SVITAP J.H.J. Ltd.
- 1999 – the company enlarged about VIGONA KLASIK plants with blanket production, technical fabrics production, furniture and decorative fabrics. This factory has a long tradition and history, which reaches to the beginning of 19th century.
- 2000 – another part of VIGONA a. s. was bought on the 1st. of May 2000 – non-woven textiles, spinning mill and FHP mops
- 2002 – there were about 945 employees working at SVITAP J.H.J. Ltd.
- 2003 – SVITAP J.H.J. Ltd. celebrated 10 years of privatization
- 2004 – SVITP J.H.J. Ltd. bought a Slovak company Texilan Ltd. Kežmarok, earlier known as
- 2008 – Svitap J.H.J. enlarged its portfolio with artificial leathers by purchasing production plant in Chropyně (former part of Fatra).
- 2009 – Svitap J.H.J. started with the production of PET strapping band, with the trade name SVITAPET.
- 2008 – Svitap J.H.J. Ltd. buyed part of the Fatra a.s., the production of artificial leathers, which became our Division 5.
- 2009 – Svitap J.H.J. Ltd. started with the production of the PET strapping band under the trade name SVITAPET. Our strap is produced from recycled PET bottles on production technology from SIMA.
Our company has a wide product range at present, which forms technical fabrics production (tent fabrics and canvases, flax fabrics, filter and blend fabrics) and technical ready-made goods, PE canvases, non-woven textiles, furniture fabrics and blankets, working clothes materials, cleaning textiles and modified t. (impregnation), than tablecloths, towels, bedclothes, geotextiles etc.
