living craftsmanship

Production at Arzberg

Not all porcelain is the same. And quality comes above all from know-how, craftsmanship and love of the product. Despite state-of-the-art technology, porcelain production is still a complex and time-consuming process. Porcelain production one of the most exciting and varied production processes. And it’s our passion.

100 per cent "Made in Germany"

Good porcelain lives. Every hand involved in its production, every hand that uses it, gives it an individual touch. You may not notice it at first sight, you might not feel it at the first touch – and yet: people take note of good porcelain by how it’s been handled. “It takes a hundred hands to produce porcelain” – so say the “porcelain creators”. These are the people who design, produce and sell porcelain. And many of whose families have worked for generations in the porcelain sector.

Authentic and genuine

Arzberg porcelain makers create products by applying a high degree of artisan expertise – products which have successfully served the market over many years, and others which have become classics. But this can only happen with a design that is “so good it’s worth reproducing a thousand times over” as Heinrich Löffelhardt said back in the sixties. Today, the people at Arzberg craft many such designs which are worth duplicating – applying their own sensitive empathy towards materials and design to create different lines. The “Made in Germany” label has become far more than a technical seal of approval: today, it describes not just the high technological standard of manufacture, it stands equally for authenticity and genuineness – at every stage of the process.

Craftsmanship meets manufacturing

The best technology is worth nothing if no one understands the craftsmanship. It’s particularly true when manufacturing high quality porcelain which involves many small, and not so small, steps. Because in spite of all the modernisation and automation, a large part of the process is still completed by hand. And that’s about to change: every step in production – the design, drying, bisque firing, glazing, gloss firing, decorating and decorating firing – all demand specialist artisan and technical expertise. Porcelain production is one of the industrial manufacturing processes with the highest levels of vertical integration!

A brief insight into the production area where a lid for a Form 1382 pot is being made highlights this perfectly: place the mould on the potter’s wheel, fill with liquid mass, form the cast, pour out the plaster moulds, dry the casts, lift off the cast cover, cut out the hole in the lid, open the plaster mould, take out the cast, place it on one side, put the casting mould together for the next casting, transfer the cast lid on a trolley to the drying room, work on it further in the cleaning room the next day: this is where the seams and sharp edges of the hole in the lid are scraped away using a knife and the lines cut out, cut off and contoured according to the specification, then the lid is wiped with a damp sponge and all traces of seams and processing smoothed out by hand, and then it’s time for drying, baking, glazing, decorating – with the necessary part-processes and steps in-between, and – depending on the level of finish – up to six quality controls!

Technology and design

As a successful manufacturer, we are continuously investing both in the skills of our staff, and in modernising our production plants: our sophisticated white goods production plant, for example, consists of a fully automated fast firing tunnel kiln and as well as automated storage. Which means we are able to manufacture 20,000 plates and 20,000 pots every day – more than ten million a year – all checked by hand!. And as an international design brand, we set the benchmark in porcelain design. Well-known designers and fresh new talent create Arzberg designs and collections – which time and again are honoured with the most prestigious design awards.

In production, we generally use only lead-and cadmium-free raw materials. Decorated items are all tested and meet all known limit standards: Certificate of Conformity

Manufacturing & production

The collections are made at the factories Rosenthal am Rothbühl in Selb and Thomas am Kulm in Speicherersdorf. These production facilities are world leaders in the porcelain industry and, thanks to future-focused investments, manufacture products sustainably and resource-efficiently. Rosenthal GmbH has become one of the first companies in the fine ceramics industry to be TÜV-SÜD-certified, thanks to the successful implementation of an energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001:2011 at its sites in Selb and Speicherersdorf.


Below is an overview of the certifications of Rosenthal GmbH:

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