Siceram

Just a kilometer from our office was found an oven for burned artisanal vessels of soil, dating back in the year 300, the oven will be exposed in the near future at SICERAM. About industrial processing of big clay deposits in the area we can speak only from the beginning of the 20th century, when on the current location of SICERAM begins the produc... tion of two bricks and tiles factories, first in 1907, owner Hans Letz, and the second in 1912, owner William Low, the owner of the mechanical cotton mills - Sighisoara. Initially, the production was seasonal, the bricks and tiles were dried in the open air. During 1915-1918, the factory was closed due to the war and also due to the lack of markets for the products, and reopened in 1919. Between 1926-1934 the factory was stoped several times, in 1932 was its financial collapse, due to bank loans, which could not be returned on time. The financial crisis in the years 1931-1933 also had an impact, because the construction materials weren't bought anymore and the banks weren't lending money. In 1928, feeling the need of glazed tiles, the company built a small oven for burning such tiles, which operated until 1942, also producing on market demand glazed clay pots. On July 4, 1935, the brick factory owner, Hans Letz, due to the lack of finance, signs a lease contract of the factory to the "HERCULES" Târnaveni company, for a 17 years period. On March 31, 1945, the tile factory was also leased to "Hercules" Târnaveni, which is taking over the majority of shares from William Low. Therefore, the "Hercules" company, taking the factory control from Hans Letz in 1935 and the majority of the W. Low shares in 1945, has established a branch in Sighisoara as "HERCULES Tarnaveni SA, Sighisoara Branch." On June 11, 1948, both factories became state-owned factories, under the title: The first brick and tiles factory "7 Noiembrie", Sighisoara, being then registered to the Ministry of Finance. From the date of transition to state ownership of production, lands, buildings and industrial ...Read More