Roots: We are Kornfeil
Born to be hot

Karel studied agricultural mechanization, worked as a mechanic at the Čejč agricultural cooperative, and in the 1980s was involved in setting up a small bakery with a proofing room and a German deck oven. At a time when the country mainly produced conveyor belt lines, this bothered him greatly.

In 1991, he decided to go for it. He bought half of the cooperative's premises, pulled out his own drawings, and founded a company. From the beginning, he wanted to build ovens that made sense: robust, reliable, and thought out down to the last detail. Gradually, he added development, construction, the first automatic baking machines, and later also thermal oil systems, his own patents, and original solutions.

Karel is the kind of person who has always been concerned with making things work. The company is a personal matter for him. After thirty years of building it into a local leader in the field, he handed it over to his daughters Martina and Karolína. But he is still involved – in the workshop, in development, in every detail.

Her first photos are on a baking oven. As a child, she rode on the conveyor belt instead of the merry-go-round. Kornfeil was never just a company to her, but a family and a home.

Taking over a successful business from your own father is not easy. But Martina went for it wholeheartedly. Not by changing everything, but by giving it a new direction. She started her career in advertising, working for agencies and creating brands for others. Today, she is building her own brand – firmly, with perspective and great ambition.

Since 2024, she has held a majority stake in the company and clearly states where she is headed: to the top of the world. She believes in technologies that make sense and in a company where it's not just about performance, but also about relationships. Not only with customers, but also with each other.

Karolína is the type of person who does not seek attention, but when she says something, it counts. She studied law at Charles University and, since 2024, has been the managing director of the company together with her sister and father.

While Martina speaks loudly and outwardly, Karolína focuses inwardly. She knows how to get things done, set things up, and keep them running. The two sisters are different, and that's why it works. They run the company successfully together.

Her role includes ensuring compliance with legal regulations and internal rules, which is key to the stable functioning of the company. Karolína believes that even in a company with more than 120 employees, it is possible to work efficiently and with respect. 

He became familiar with baking ovens at the age of fifteen, when he began accompanying his father on service calls throughout the country. His father worked at Kornfeil as a technician for an incredible thirty years, and thanks to this, Štefan got to know every oven down to the last screw.

He himself has now been with Kornfeil for more than twenty years. He has held various positions and gradually built up strong expertise in both sales and technology. He understands not only the products, but also the people who use them every day.

Since the end of 2023, he has held the position of Sales Director. He is responsible for the company's sales strategy, customer relations, and new market development. And just like his father, he knows that it's not just about selling – it's about really understanding your customers. 

Marek studied engineering technology and industrial management at VŠB and joined Kornfeil as a construction engineer. He drew his first designs and gradually absorbed the essence of the company – how our machines, operations, and the people who build them work. Today, he heads the entire technical department and designs lines precisely according to what the customer needs, not according to a predetermined template.

He is proof that if you have passion, fairness, and technical drive, you can work your way up to a key position at Kornfeil. It is precisely this kind of experience from the field that gives the company's management a solid foundation. Together with Marek, we are moving towards technologies that are thought out in detail, tailor-made, and ready to withstand even the toughest operations. Because that is exactly what our goal looks like—to produce baking solutions that make sense. Economically, technologically, and humanly.

As a proper CFO, Dáša lives in a world of numbers. Accounting has been her domain throughout her professional life — she started out at an auditing firm, where she got to know dozens of manufacturing companies, and later headed the accounting center of one of the largest Czechoslovak holding companies. At Kornfeil, she now manages finances in such a way that it is clear where the company is headed and what it can afford.

Fortunately, she has never lost the humanity and empathy that are so typical of her. She believes that good accounting is not just about numbers, but mainly about the ability to advise, explain, and lead the company with perspective. She brings to Kornfeil a system, balance, and an emphasis on long-term economic sustainability — as well as patience and respect in leading the team.

She is the ideal person to manage finances in a leading engineering company, where the smell of bread is in the air, but calculations are made with precision and accuracy.