How was written the history of Kornfeil

Kornfeil has been in the bakery oven market for more than three decades. What were their beginnings in the field of the baking industry, or how do they compare to other countries? The history will be explained to us by its founder, Karl Kornfeil.

What year was Kornfeil founded?

In 1991. It was not until this year that it was possible to start a free business.

Did you have any experience in the baking industry when you started the company?

In my previous job, I worked on a project for electric baking ovens, but they never made it into production and remained on paper.

What was your job before you dove into baking technology?

I worked as an agricultural production engineer.

How many employees did your company have in the beginning?

In the beginning, we were about ten co-workers, and compared to today's situation, business was very easy.

A lot of European bakery equipment companies have their roots in the early 20th century, some even earlier. In our country, due to the social situation, free enterprise was not possible until 1989. Was it difficult to fit in with competitors who had been in the industry for many years longer?

Honestly, it's still challenging now. Despite our company not having a long history, because it simply couldn't have such a long history, we are full competitors of all German manufacturers, and we are very pleased about that.

Did you immediately set your sights on the foreign market as well, or was your business initially focused only on the Czech Republic?

No, we started in the Czech Republic, then in Slovakia and gradually in the countries of Eastern Europe, but today we sell mainly to the West, to the United States and Australia.

Do you specialize only in industrial bakeries, or do artisan bakeries with smaller production also choose from your range?

Small artisan bakeries looking for quality technology focused on the baking industry can also choose from our range.

To which countries does Kornfeil currently distribute its products?

Our products can be found in 30 countries around the world.

Ecology and environmentally friendly production are a big topic nowadays. Is Kornfeil responding in any way to this pressing issue?

Kornfeil was the first to introduce the EkoBlok product, which enables the use of waste energy from ovens. Thanks to this product, we can save bakers up to 40% of the input energy, while we have long experience with BioTherm thermo-oil boilers. To heat them, bakeries do not need fossil energy sources and can become a so-called green bakery. Last year we introduced the Deodorant, a unique device for harnessing the energy of exhaust steam, but you can read more about that in the following pages.

Do you manufacture your product range entirely in the Czech Republic?

Yes, and we are proud of that.

In recent years, the situation has not been favorable for anyone and for entrepreneurs in particular, has the covid pandemic affected the baking industry in any way?

Yes, the situation has not been easy for anyone, but in any crisis, investment and a proactive approach is the only cure.

How do you think the Czech bakery industry is doing compared to other countries?

Czech bakers have long been struggling with traditionally low bread and pastry prices, hopefully they will manage to change this situation, but the current energy crisis is unfortunately not helping with this.

What are Kornfeil's plans for the future, can you tell us some of them?

To make life easier for bakers and to find an easier way to produce quality bakery products together with them.

Thank you very much for the interview and I will finish by asking you what is your favorite bakery product? Bread, of course.