Roots &
history
A family business with French roots – to this day.
In 1790, Nicolas-Henri Jacoby and two business partners founded the “Faienceries de Sarreguemines” in Lorraine during the French Revolution. In the geopolitical context of the time, the entrepreneurs faced difficulties sourcing raw materials. The turbulent times and strong competition from English competitors ultimately forced the owners to sell their factory to Paul Utzschneider in 1799.
1799
Paul Utzschneider quickly achieved great success with the French manufactory. One of his most prestigious customers was Emperor Napoleon I.
The Bavarian acquired the French manufactory in 1799.
Pauline Utzschneider and Alexander von Geiger had three children. Paul von Geiger (1837–1913) followed in his father's footsteps and took over management of the faience manufacturer. Elisa von Geiger (1846–1926) married Hippolyte Boulenger (1836–1892), who came from a dynasty of ceramic industrialists. He was the owner and director of the “Faïenceries de Choisyle-Roi”.
In 1871, Germany annexed Alsace-Lorraine and Moselle. Until 1919, the factory employed up to 3,200 people. During the Second World War, the company was placed under compulsory administration and Villeroy & Boch took over its commercial management.
In 1978, the company was taken over by a French consortium, which completely converted production. The company survived two centuries.
The origins of the Zahna tile works
The sons of Paul Utzschneider, Charles Joseph and Maximilian Joseph, together with Edouard Jaunez, left the faience manufactory and founded the “Utzschneider & Edouard Jaunez” tile factory in Sarreguemines—the first factory for slabs, mosaics, friezes and tiles.
Tile factory in Sarreguemines
1834-1916
From 1873 onward, the business grew so rapidly that seven new production sites were established. One of them was the strategically chosen site in Zahna-Elster, close to the growing city of Berlin and surrounded by clay deposits. The sites in Sarreguemines, Wasserbillig, Zahna and Birkenfeld-Neubrücke formed the “Utzschneider & Edouard Jaunez” group.
In 1936, more than 600 people worked in Zahna
Company director Erich Roeber led the reconstruction of the factory with admirable determination. In 1944, the plant suffered heavy bombing again. In 1946, the ZAHNA plant came under Russian administration. Amid these turbulent times, Dr. Ing. Heinrich Titze took over plant management after the executive office had been relocated to Boizenburg. In 1949, the dismantled company was nationalised by the GDR.
Under its new leadership, the company continued to develop. In 1969, the state-owned company was named “VEB Fliesenwerk ZAHNA”. Another milestone was reached in 1970, when the state-owned company was renamed “VEB Fliesenwerke · Kurt Bürger Boizenburg, Kombinat Baukeramik, Werk ZAHNA”, establishing it as a large-scale operation.
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End of the planned economy
The new market-economy environment and the loss of state subsidies initially caused turnover to stagnate. Production came to a standstill. Businessman Guy Muller, who had married into the von Grafenstein family, negotiated the reprivatisation of the tile works with the Treuhand as its majority shareholder.
Following the companies’ restructuring plan in 1993, the plant was renamed “ZAHNA-Fliesen GmbH” in 1994. A fast-firing kiln was commissioned in 2001. This world first enabled faster production with consistent quality.
This brought the company into profit in 2004, which was then invested in roller kilns. In 2008, ZAHNA-Fliesen received the “Top Employer” seal and was named one of the 100 best medium-sized employers in Germany.
2011
Adrienne Muller (direct descendant of M. J. Utzschneider) took over management in the fifth generation.
In the same year, the company was certified for environmental management under ISO 14025 and had around:
Different tile types produced
2016
Zahna-Fliesen establishes itself as a leading quality brand for manufactory and industrial porcelain stoneware tiles and receives the following awards:
2021
Managing Director Maxime Fischer (left) and plant manager Marco Wissing (right)
Maxime Fischer (son of Adrienne Muller) took over the complete management of the company as managing director in the sixth generation. A success story in German-French company history.
The company has around 100 employees.
