Dražice

about company

Dražice is the largest manufacturer of water heaters in the Czech Republic, known throughout Europe. It exports its products to 25 countries around the world. Water heaters of the Dražice brand are in great demand among Czech customers, as evidenced by their dominant market share of 50%. The basic activity of DZ Dražice is the production and sale of water heaters. These are vertical, horizontal, stationary, electric and combined models in volumes from 5 l to 1000 l. Next, indirect heating stationary water tanks (exchangers) with volumes from 100 l to 1000 l. No less important activity is the production of water tanks with indirect heating for the manufacturer of gas boilers.

The goal of DZ Dražice is to strengthen its leading position on the market in the Czech Republic and to rank among the best European companies in the field. Therefore, the solid foundation is the excellent tradition and quality of our products, responsible and perfect customer service, and the reputation of a company responsible for the environment.

History
1900

The creation of a future cooperative enterprise: the widow Marie Kyselová invests a grain mill in the company's assets, thereby creating a limited liability company called "Grain warehouse, artistic roller mill and bakery" in Dražice nad Jizerou.

1910–1917

The new management, headed by Václav Čančík, on the recommendation of the Prague technology professor ing. Karel Novák is turning to the very promising production and distribution of electricity. In 1910, a hydroelectric plant with two 300 HP turbines was built. In 1917, 69 villages with 8,111 consumers were connected to the Dražice power plant.

1926–1939

The enterprise reaches its peak in the second half of the twenties. It employs 220 workers and owns 8 hydropower plants on the Jizera River, a steam power plant, 2 mills and a distribution network to which 383 municipalities with 24,080 users are connected. The turnover for the year 1930 amounted to a respectable three-quarters of a billion CZK at the time.

1948

After the forced sale of distribution networks and the subsequent nationalization of a significant part of the cooperative's assets, the company reoriented itself to products and services for the population, with a focus on household and sports use.

1956

One of the programs was the custom production of water heaters under the leadership of former entrepreneur Mr. Křovák.

1972–1989

During 1972, the development of the combined water heater was completed and its introduction into series production. At the end of the 1980s, the Družice Cooperative Plant produced around 13,000 combined water heaters per year and employed around 50 workers in this area.

1989–1992

After the change in the political situation in 1989, the cooperative was split into separate business companies. One of these companies is the private company Družstevní závody Dražice–strojírna, s.r.o., which took over the production of water heaters.

1992–2003

During this period, there is a rapid development of the production of water heaters. There is an expansion of the product range, modernization of technologies and constant increase in production. Fundamental modernization took place at the end of 1997 with the construction of a new enameling line. The company becomes the largest seller of water heaters in the country, and since 1994, the expansion of exports begins. The company exports to 16 countries throughout Europe. In 2003, the company produced 95 thousand heaters and the number of workers was 190.

2004–2005

In 2004, a new hall was built in preparation for the construction of a new enamel kiln. This furnace was then built in the summer of 2005, and enabled the company to increase the capacity of the enamel plant, and also enabled a better enameling process. In 2005, the product range was also expanded to include storage tanks, and at the end of the year, new types of square D-LUX water heaters were prepared. Over the past year, the company produced 115,000 water heaters and employed 210 workers. Even in the future, a further increase in production capacity, expansion of the product range and modernization of the existing product range are expected.

2006

In 2006, 100% of the shares of Družstevní závody Dražice – strojírna s.r.o. were transferred. to the Swedish company NIBE Industrier AB, which thus became the sole owner of DZ Dražice.

2007–2009

During the summer, there was an expansion to two assembly lines and thus the production capacity increased to 150,000 pieces per year. The company DZ Dražice also started offering heat pumps of the NIBE brand.

2011

In 2011, a hybrid heater with the option of connecting to photovoltaic panels was added to the product range. The OKHE SMART heater with intelligent control and many functions was also presented.

2014

In September 2014, a new model of the OKHE SMART EVO 3 boiler was presented at the FOR THERM trade fair, with the option of controlling it using a smartphone.

2016

Since 2016, we have been producing a new line of OKHE and OKCE heaters, and the OKHE SMART functions are being further improved.

2018

The range of electric heaters was extended by a flat version - OKHE ONE. Its depth reaches only 30 mm and is therefore suitable for placement in confined spaces or places with limited installation depth.

2020

This year was marked by new small-volume TO heaters in models 5.1 and 10.1. They won 2 gold medals in the competition of the Czech Product Association.

Research & Development
In 2016, the company reported research and development costs of PLN 1,079,000. CZK. After the successful launch of a new generation of OKHE SMART electric water heaters with electronic regulation into series production in the second half of 2015, DZD had an important start-up in research and development in 2016 and the launch of a new generation of electric OKCE into series production, which was achieved during the spring months of 2016. Water heaters of the OKCE series represent roughly 50% of the entire production.

In the near future, it is expected to complete the development of completely new flat heaters and start their serial production. Another priority in the field of research and development in 2017 is the completion of the development of storage vessels of higher volumes. Both of these activities will lead to the expansion of DZD's product portfolio.