The Egyptian German Porcelain
Company's origins are interwoven with the
artistic activities of Fathi Mahmoud. For an
entire decade (1942 – 1952), the famous Egyptian
sculptor oscillated between Art and
Industrialization of the Art. Fathi Mahmoud
lived precisely in the time when the
industrialization of the art became essential
for an artist's in order to maintain control
over his/her own art.
His need to maintain artistic freedom and his
desire to popularize Art gradually turned him to
mass production, and industrialization of his
art. This signified an interest for Applied
Arts, and the major step towards this direction
was taken in 1955 with the establishment of a
factory in Shubra, Cairo. Despite its limited
possibilities, that factory was the rightful
pride of its time, and the production was
exclusively ceramic earthenware. The early
production involved mostly vases, decorative
panels, and related artistic work. At the same
time, Fathi Mahmoud developed other companies
specialized in artistic decoration and
furniture.
A second circle of expansion was initiated with
the dynamics created by the new investment laws
passed in the 70s. In this phase, Fathi Mahmoud
developed a business plan that could help
generate a new booming phase and thus propel the
company to a leading position in the local
markets. Following the purchase of land in the
then new Alexandria industrial zone (1980), an
entirely new factory was built and fully
equipped with the latest technological
infrastructure.
After Fathi Mahmoud passed away (1982), his
youngest son, Sayed Fathy Mahmoud, took over the
still small but fast expanding family business.
By that moment, the Alexandrian factory project
was not completed, the purchased land was still
a swamp, and the company was heavily indebted.
It took great stamina to go through all the
related issues and comprehensively effectuate
the transfer and the transformation of the
earthenware factory of Cairo to the Alexandria
Porcelain plant in 1986.
As a young, determined and resourceful
businessman with a vision for the local and
regional porcelain markets, Sayed Fathy Mahmoud
realized early that the transfer was just a new
beginning in a very long journey. He thus
managed to turn a small local company to a
regional player, which ushered a new era in the
company life. Over the past 22 years, the
company underwent two further phases of major
expansion, namely 1998 – 9 and 2005 – 7. The
latter business booming consolidated the
company, preparing it for the next stage.
As the company had to become export-oriented,
since the early 90s, the management focalized
its efforts on positioning the company in the
local and regional markets. The early success in
Italy, France, Spain and England (1998 - 1999)
demonstrated the need for a permanent local
distribution in Europe; consequently, a few
years later, the company established a sales
point in Paris to cover the European market.
Furthermore, since the mid 90s, the company
started taking active part in key exhibitions of
the porcelain sector, notably in Tendence and
Ambiente (both in Germany), the Hotel Show (in
Dubai), etc. In addition, the company
participated occasionally in exhibitions in
Chicago, Tunisia and Egypt.
The rise in the number of the workers reflected
the steady and sound expansion of the company.
From ca. 50 workers in the late 50s, the factory
had a 700-strong workforce in 1994, and reached
the level of ca. 1400 workers in the turn of the
millennium; by mid-2008, the company human
resources amounted to more than 1800 posts.
Improvements in the technological infrastructure
and updates have ceaselessly been the concern of
the management. On the other hand, a great part
of interest has been given to environmental
issues; water treatment facilities have been
setup, and at the same time, the shift from
light gas to natural gas consisted in another
key measure.
During the same period, Sayed Fathy Mahmoud took
the initiative of implementing new
state-of-the-art technologies, notably the
robotic systems that enable the production of
irregular shape porcelain. In doing so, he was
among the very few in the world to invest in
these technologies that have by now been adopted
worldwide.
This bold entrepreneurial approach contributed
greatly in repositioning the company in the
local and regional markets, and strengthened its
competitive edge in the global markets, which is
the present challenge for the Egyptian German
Porcelain Company.
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