the manufacturer of wine glasses . for surnames see riedel surname . this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . march 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message riedel pronounced ree d l crystal is a glassware manufacturer based in kufstein austria best known for its glassware designed to enhance different types of wines . established in bohemia in 1756 the company is managed by georg riedel and maximilian riedel . contents 1 history 2 television and film appearances 3 criticism 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit josef riedel the elder josef riedel the elder sixth generation 1816 1894 was born in the time of the industrial revolution . he owned eight glassworks in 1858 to include two textile factories and coalmines . his glassworks produced glass jewellery beads and chandelier parts and in 1873 they began producing luxury hollow glass products too . he received many accolades for his achievements he was awarded the grand prix at the world fair in vienna in 1873 honorary citizenship by local authorities in franzesbad and wiesenthal and he was awarded an order by the pope . through hard work and diligence he was a contemporary model for success in business . his employees respectfully addressed him as mr. father and his contemporaries referred to him as the glass king of the iser mountains . josef riedel dedicated his life to building an empire with solid foundations . he did not discount prices on the contrary he offered only quality products and customers appreciated this . in addition josef was an extensive landowner a well known banker and financier in the mountainous region . he helped businesses that needed capital provided loans at 6 % interest and even assisted them financially to find export markets . it was his financial support in 1861 for example which allowed the company gebr der feix in albrechtsdorf to get started which went on to become one of the largest manufacturers of buttons black fashion jewellery and crystal wares in the land . it was in this company where daniel swarovski later began his career . the riedel company operated retail warehouses in all major manufacturing locations around gablonz . the owners of these companies regularly informed the riedels about current demand competition and big orders that exporters then forwarded to their suppliers for production . josef riedel was also respected as a glass expert in his own right . the industrial magnate josef schreiber head of vienna s big glass company josef schreiber & neffen even called him the greatest expert on glassmaking in bohemia . josef was known as the glass king of the jizera mountains 1844 94 . shortly after his death josef s sons registered the first riedel logo in 1895 . the beginning building a solid foundation after franz riedel s fifth generation 1786 1844 death his son in law josef and daughter marie anna moved into the manor house in antoniwald and josef took over the reins of the klein iser and antoniwald works . however he did not own any share of his wife s businesses . in 1840 the glassworks in antoniwald produced an annual 761 tons of clear and coloured glass small bottles chandelier trimmings and glass rods . antoniwald also saw the birth of the couple s sons hugo 1848 1883 wilhelm 1849 1929 and otto 1853 1901 . the klein iser works were left in the capable hands of his kinsman karl kittel . kittel retired in 1853 and was replaced by johann bengler a bookkeeper from christiansthal who headed up the works for nearly forty years . begler invented a number of coloured glass types including jet black lily yellow antimony ruby marble like variations and the venetian aventurine . he was awarded the empire s golden service cross as a tribute to his glassmaking skills . in the early 1850s two long pulling rooms were added to the glassworks . these were used to stretch glass to make tubes for the six faceted cut and polished seed beads then in demand . on 6 march 1849 josef riedel bought a new glassworks with his own money from ignaz friedrich a textile entrepreneur and glass trader . the new glassworks was based in polaun near klein iser and had a wood burning furnace . it was perfectly located in 1847 a main road was laid through the giant mountains between reichenberg gablonz and trautenau . this road finally created a connection between iser and the giant mountains with a central bohemian road network . under josef s contract friedrich was unable to build a new glass factory for ten years ; he agreed to purchase glass solely from josef ; and gave josef the first right of refusal on any eventual sale of lands in the vicinity of the foundry . after five years josef riedel wanted to update the newly acquired glassworks in polaun to meet expectations of modern jewellery component production facilities . he rebuilt in 1854 56 and added a second furnace and pulling facility in 1858 . in 1855 his wife marie anna died at the early age of thirty five leaving josef as the sole heir . the widowed josef riedel and his children remained in antoniwald until the lease to the works ran out . only in 1858 did he move his family to polaun where he settled in house number 358 which still stands . this house also formerly belonged to ignaz friedrich . for seven years josef riedel had been travelling from antoniwald to polaun at least three times a week to oversee the rebuilding and later to run the glassworks . he paid the craftsmen suppliers and glassmakers with his own funds during each trip . in the next decade the craft of glassmaking turned into an industry and the impoverished region became the austrian empire s california and gablonz goods became a commodity known to traders in the remotest corners of the world . in 1859 josef riedel married johanna neuwinger 1836 1920 the daughter of the clam gallas s chief forester from ruppersdorf near reichenberg . it was an advantageous marriage since josef s glassworks were located on the count s lands and he sourced his timber for polaun from the count s forests . expansion at the beginning of the century the iser mountains had also become an important hub for the bohemian textile industry with the mills ranking among the largest in the empire . josef wanted to be involved in textiles in 1858 he began to build a modern cotton mill on the main giant mountain road at gr nthal on the iser river . the mill was fully operational in 1862 and continued to expand as business was good ; 5 000 spindles of cotton were produced here annually . in 1868 the mill was rebuilt again and production doubled to 10 000 spindles per annum . some of the equipment came from a mill in polaun which josef riedel had bought at auction in the previous year from none other than ignaz friedrich . on 1 september 1863 josef registered his company under the name of josef riedel at the regional court of reichenberg . the second half of the 1860s saw the biggest boom in the history of gablonz glass bead jewellery . glass was the new gold and demand was high . the capacity of local glassworks became inadequate and it was time for investment . josef riedel who was fully self sufficient understood the need to invest . in 1865 he added a second and third furnace to his glassworks in klein iser . in 1866 he built a completely modern glassworks in stone with two furnaces . in 1867 josef established another works with two furnaces in gr nthal . the gr nthal works specialised in the production of chandelier trimmings and glass jewellery rods . in 1868 and 1869 josef modernised the furnaces at the neuwiese and polaun glassworks they were no longer heated by wood and switched to wood gas . josef was the first to incorporate the groundbreaking regenerative flue gas heat recovery system first with wood later on using coal to heat his glass furnaces . this new technology was invented by german engineer friedrich siemens between 1856 and 1861 and translated into an incredible saving of 30 50 % . in 1878 a competitive but similar system from siebert patented in 1878 was incorporated in riedel s factories . production primarily consisted of jewellery and small glassware . these were purchased in the 1860s and 70s by the large gablonz trading companies josef pfeiffer eduard dressler and wilhelm klaar as well as smaller businesses in the iser mountains . josef supplied blown hollow glass small bottles and chandelier trimmings to steinsch nau and haida in the b hmisch leipa region with key customers including the well known steinsch nau chandelier factory owned by elias palme . steinsch nau and haida were known as the home of chandelier making . however the chandelier components came primarily from the riedel glassworks in the iser mountains . josef donated a huge chandelier to the franciscan church in haindorf in 1853 ; it had been assembled in steinsch nau by josef helzel & co. but its parts came from the josef riedel glassworks . this was true for similar gifts until josef established his own factory in polaun which could assemble chandeliers . before that the polaun glass factory mainly supplied its hollow glass jewellery and small glass goods to customers in london vienna berlin constantinople paris and amsterdam . overcoming the global crisis investment the 1870s was defined by the first global economic crisis . dreams of endless economic growth suddenly ended and were replaced by an unprecedented deep depression . josef rode the storm with aplomb and even expanded his empire thanks to a solid business foundation . he did not rest on his laurels and survived the crisis by making successful investments . josef riedel always made sure that his companies ran efficiently and never hesitated in investing large amounts for factory modernisation or the installation of new technology . he understood that one of the foundations of successful industrial management was inexpensive energy . he therefore decided to opt for the newly available coal gas to heat his furnaces . on 23 february 1870 he bought mining rights in hostomitz in the teplitz region and set up mines on the land between 1874 and 1875 . on 29 september 1876 josef also purchased the nearby coalmines from the saxo austrian brown coal mining company . josef built a branch line from the nearby station in tannwald in order to easily transport the coal from hostomitz to his works in polaun . the railway line was completed in 1874 and ran from tannwald to eisenbrod which in turn was connected to the main bohemian railway network . however the quality of coal that arrived was disappointing as such the main customers for the hostomitz mines weren t the riedel factories at all but a chemical factory in aussig and several others in saxony for which coal was delivered down the elbe river . josef riedel s fondness for spas and modern medical treatments did not go unsatisfied . in 1870 he bought a spa in wurzelsdorf and installed peat bath treatments . the spa under the management of the bad wurzelsdorf mills opened its doors in 1872 and catered for patients suffering from rheumatism neuralgia and anaemia . regardless of these other business ventures josef riedel continued to focus primarily on glass . in 1871 a third furnace was installed in polaun and the lands surrounding the glassworks changed hands from the clam gallas family to