Manufacturer · Czechoslovakia · Žilina · est. 1954
Pokrok Zilina
Pokrok Žilina – Slovak production cooperative from Žilina (est. 1954), known for lamps with sintered plastic-granulate shades designed by Pavol Košťan.
About the manufacturer
- Years active
- est. 1954
- Country
- Czechoslovakia
- Location
- Žilina
The Pokrok production cooperative (výrobné družstvo) has operated since 10 October 1954; from 1964, it carried out full production in Žilina. It manufactured residential lighting, metal furniture, lamps for rail vehicles, medical equipment and the Elektronik construction set for children; it was also the only manufacturer of the Fatran air purifier in ČSSR.
At the end of the 1960s, when glass shades from Czech suppliers were unavailable, it began forming shades from sintered plastic granulate – thin-walled and lightweight, with geometric forms based on a sphere, cuboid and cylinder. They became a distinguishing feature of its table and wall lamps. The lamps were designed by Pavol Košťan, head of the development department, while the metal furniture was designed by architect Júlia Kunovská.
After 1989, demand fell, and residential lighting production ended in 1997; the cooperative switched to heating equipment. Lamps of types 06-03/1, 06-04 and 06-07 are held in the collection of the Museum of Design of the Slovak Design Centre.
