The Remoska® electric baking dish is well known and very popular in our market. Its production started around 1957. Soon after it found great popularity in Czech households because of its versatility in preparing all kinds of food combined with its long life and easy operation and maintenance. Remoska is in the hands of two Czech owners, one is Ing. Petr Vaněček, the other is Zdenek Sartoris, with whom we talked about the company’s vision and the new production hall.

Mr Sartoris, the first Remoska saw theworld exactly 65 years ago. Today, this purely Czech product can be found in homes all over the world. What do you think is the reason for your success?

Remoska has secured its success by its originality, simplicity and quality of food preparation. They say that the best things are often the simplest, and this is particularly true with the Remoska® baking dish. The simple principle of heating from the top, which provides perfect heat distribution over the entire surface of the aluminium bowl, is the guarantee of perfectly cooked food and, in fact, the magic behind our success.

The chefs in the UK discovered this magic already back in 2001. Back then, our biggest rival was the microwave. Today, the situation is a little more complicated and the microwave has been joined by many other competitors like multicookers, rice cookers and bread ovens. Entering other markets is much more complicated today, yet our company has managed to grow not only in the Czech Republic and the UK, but also in Poland, Germany and even as far away as Australia.

Last year you welcomed several new products to the family. Remoska Dua, a hot air fryer, a contact grill and stainless steel cookware. How does creating a new product work, where do the ideas come from?

Five years ago, we decided to change our entire strategy. Our aim is now to change the perception of the word ‘REMOSKA’ from a synonym for a baking dish to a brand, and thus open up greater possibilities for the development of the entire company. The cornerstone of the new strategy was to add new product lines. Our baking dish was the first one. After much discussion, we came to the conclusion that the baking lid itself was a stroke of genius. So we started down the path of adding more lids. The goal was to transform a ‘single-purpose’ baking dish into a multifunctional kitchen appliance. The first addition to the family was the Remoska® Tria, which can bake, cook and stew. In addition, last year we answered customer demand for a ‘no non-stick’ version and launched the new Remoska Dua, which combines baking with cooking. We also want to expand into other popular home appliances which is why we added the first hot air fryers and a contact grill to our portfolio.

You are building a new production hall in Kopřivnice for approximately CZK 150 million CZK. The same amount will be spent on technological equipment. By how much percent will your production expand thanks to the new acquisition and what else will the hall bring?

Our production capacity will increase approximately five times. However, we will not only be producing baking pans, but the majority of our production is to be filled with cookware. Clients will soon see this cookware on the shelves not only under the Remoska® brand, as we also want to attract other domestic and foreign brands to move production back to Europe.

Our plan is to build a new research and development centre in Kopřivnice. In this centre we should develop new products that will meet the high standards of today‘s customers.

Personally, I am also looking forward to the opening of a culinary centre. We want to raise awareness in the region that everything from our traditional brand is produced just below the Beskid Mountains and at the same time make people develop their culinary skills through interesting courses. 

Mr Sartoris, thank you for the interview.