The demolition of the six production halls was a symbolic end to the OP Prostějov company

Prague - The demolition of six production halls of the bankrupt Clothing Enterprise (OP) in Prostějov on June 28, 2014, became a symbolic end to the operation of what was once the largest Czech textile factory, which employed thousands of people at its peak. After 1989, the enterprise underwent privatization, including coupon privatization, but failed to succeed in the new conditions, partly due to competition from cheaper Asian production. In recent years, new spaces for logistics and light manufacturing have been developed on the site where the OP halls once stood.

The demolition, which was observed by hundreds of people on site in June 2014, had been planned in the city for three months. The demolition experts used 2,404 non-electric and 856 electric charges, totaling 1,193 kilograms of dynamite. "It involved hundreds of drill holes into heavily reinforced columns, which sometimes could not even be drilled and had to be blasted. Loading and detonating were a joy, the preparation was the worst part," said demolition expert Zdeněk Šobíšek. Due to the demolition, during which two people were injured, a fine was ultimately imposed in December 2014. The last symbol of the factory, a 110-meter-high chimney, fell in September 2016.

The Clothing Enterprise Prostějov built on a long-standing tradition of clothing manufacturing in Prostějov, which became one of the largest centers for ready-made clothing production in Europe, thanks to dozens of local companies. In 1858, Maier Mandl established the first factory for ready-made clothing in Europe here, later dominated by local manufacturers Arnošt Rolný and Jan Nehera. After the nationalization of local companies after World War II, a company was established that later bore the name Garment Industry Jiří Wolker, later renamed to Garment Industry Prostějov.

This clothing manufacturer accounted for 80 percent of clothing production in Czechoslovakia and was a significant exporter. In 1991, the Garment Industry transformed from a state-owned enterprise into a joint-stock company, and a year later, it was privatized by its management. The privatization was completed in the second wave of coupon privatization in 1994. However, a decade later, clouds began to gather over the enterprise. In May 2010, a court first declared bankruptcy for the Clothing Enterprise Prostějov, and in August 2010, the company ceased serial clothing production.

The company then only produced so-called custom garments, i.e., tailored clothing. In March 2010, the court had still allowed the company to reorganize, but the enterprise did not have enough money for operations and gave up on its reorganization plans. At that time, the company employed only 900 people. After the company's collapse, which was also investigated by the police, most of the trademarks were successfully sold, and in 2014, Astria Group became the winner of the tender for the main area of OP in Prostějov, acquiring the properties valued at an estimated 180 million for 58 million crowns.