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This article is about the Polish tile manufacturer. For the town of the same name, see Opoczno.

Opoczno is a Polish tile manufacturer. Established in 1883 in a Polish town of the same name by Jan Dziewulski with his brothers Józef and Władysław Lange.

History

In 1883, Jan Dziewulski and his brothers brothers Józef and Władysław Lange founded a ceramics factory on Staromiejska Street in Opoczno. The factory initially produced red bricks and other ceramic products; it did not begin producing tiles until later. The tiles produced by the company, originally called “Dziewulski and Lange”, won several awards in the first decade of the 20th century.

The company's growth was stopped by the outbreak of World War I; production did not resume until 1924. The company modernized and built a second plant during this time, but growth was again disrupted, this time by the Great Depression. Production contained during World War II, when it produced refractory products such as tiles, acid-resistance clinker, and a small number of stoneware tiles.

Following the arrival of Soviet forces in Poland, the company began to be nationalized on October 27, 1945. Its name was changed from the “Dziewulski and Lange” Ceramic Joint-Stock Company to OPOCZNO Terracotta Products Factory. On March 14, 1950, the company was fully nationalized and renamed once more, to Opoczno Stoneware Tiles Works.