Kahla

Corporate brand

KAHLA is a German porcelain brand and manufacturer offering tableware and related porcelain products for households, hospitality and corporate customers.

Last updated October 30, 2026

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Overview

KAHLA is a German porcelain brand associated with the town of Kahla in Thuringia. Its official site describes the brand as having a history dating to 1844, when Christian Eckardt founded the business. The present manufacturer, Porzellanmanufaktur Kahla/Thüringen GmbH, makes fine hard porcelain in Kahla, Germany. The company describes production processes that include casting, turning and isostatic pressing, followed by shaping, glazing and firing; decoration may be added by screen printing, painting or airbrushing. It also offers porcelain with its touch! soft-feel surface treatment. The brand serves household consumers as well as hotels, restaurants and corporate customers seeking individually customized promotional porcelain. KAHLA’s current online assortment includes tableware services and sets, plates, bowls, platters, jugs, children’s sets, coffee and tea-related wares, and portable drinkware. Named collections and designs featured on its site include Update, Five Senses, Aronda, Pronto, Blau Saks, Wildblume, Kids, cupit To Go and touch!. The assortment spans plain and decorated porcelain, with both classic and contemporary patterns. KAHLA describes its products as made in Germany and highlights multifunctional household products. Its official brand page states that customers in 60 countries value its products. The company was re-established after German reunification following the former manufacturer’s trust-agency takeover and insolvency. Günther Raithel led the rebuilding of the business as KAHLA/Thüringen Porzellan GmbH, with designer Barbara Schmidt contributing to the renewal of the brand and its porcelain designs. The available official information does not specify the current ultimate owner or a current executive team. Kahla/Thüringen Porzellan GmbH is a German porcelain manufacturer whose consumer-facing brand is KAHLA. The company traces its origins to a porcelain factory founded in Kahla by Christian Eckardt in 1844. Based in Kahla, Thuringia, it presents its porcelain as made in Germany and produces fine hard-paste porcelain at its local manufactory. KAHLA's range is centered on household tableware and related serving and drinkware products. The current online shop features dinnerware and service sets, plates, bowls, cups, mugs, jugs, and other pieces, offered through collections including Five Senses, Update, Aronda, Pronto, Homestyle, and Wildblume. The brand also offers products for children, portable cup products, and individualized promotional porcelain for business customers. Its official company page describes customers in 60 countries and names household use, hotels and hospitality, and corporate promotional porcelain as key customer areas. The company combines traditional porcelain production with modern manufacturing techniques. Its official description says porcelain is shaped by casting, turning, and isostatic pressing, then glazed and fired; decoration can be applied by screen printing, painting, or airbrush. It also highlights KAHLA touch!, a soft-feel surface treatment used on some products. The manufacturer has a history shaped by major political and economic changes in Germany. After nationalization following the Second World War, it became a state-owned enterprise in 1952. Following German reunification, the business underwent a trust administration process. In 1994, former Rosenthal manager Günther Raithel rebuilt the company as Kahla/Thüringen Porzellan GmbH, working with designer Barbara Schmidt on product and design renewal. The official site describes the business as a family enterprise and identifies the Raithel family's acquisition of the remaining state-held shares in 2000 as part of its post-reunification ownership history.

History

KAHLA traces its history to 1844, when Christian Eckardt founded the porcelain business in Kahla, Thuringia. The brand’s official account presents it as a long-established German porcelain name, while identifying Porzellanmanufaktur Kahla/Thüringen GmbH as the manufacturer of its fine hard porcelain. Production takes place in Kahla and uses both skilled manual work and machinery, including modern robotics. The described process includes casting, turning and isostatic pressing, then shaping, glazing and two firings. Decoration may be applied through screen printing, painting or airbrushing and fixed in an additional firing. The manufacturer also describes its touch! surface as a soft-feel finish combined with porcelain. A significant break in the company’s history came after German reunification. According to KAHLA’s account, the traditional manufacturer was taken over by the Treuhand agency and became insolvent, leaving it close to closure. Günther Raithel, described as a former Rosenthal manager, then rebuilt the business as KAHLA/Thüringen Porzellan GmbH. Designer Barbara Schmidt worked with him as part of an effort to renew the company’s approach to porcelain and contemporary table culture. The official page marks 25 years since this post-reunification relaunch in 2019, placing the relaunch in the mid-1990s. KAHLA’s product development has encompassed functional household porcelain and designs for varied eating habits, as reflected in current ranges such as Update and Five Senses. The company also serves hotels and restaurants and supplies individually customized promotional porcelain for business customers. Its assortment includes complete table services, coordinated sets, children’s tableware, decorated porcelain and portable drinkware. The brand’s official materials state that customers in 60 countries value its multifunctional products. In 2019, KAHLA marked both 175 years since its original founding and 25 years since the company’s post-reunification relaunch. The supplied official information identifies the manufacturer and its history but does not establish the present ultimate owner, current leadership team or a listing status. Christian Eckardt founded a porcelain factory in Kahla in 1844. The business grew into one of Germany's important porcelain manufacturers before the First World War. Following the Second World War, the factory was nationalized and operated first as a Soviet joint-stock company in the context of war reparations, then as a Volkseigener Betrieb (state-owned enterprise) from 1952. Modern production facilities were established in 1961. By the late 1970s, the factory was organized in a combine with 17 other production units; the French-language historical account states that the combine employed 18,000 people in 1979 and that more than half of the production was exported. After German reunification, the company went through trust administration in 1991. In 1994, former Rosenthal manager Günther Raithel took charge and rebuilt the manufacturer as Kahla/Thüringen Porzellan GmbH. The company's official account describes Raithel as leading a renewal effort, supported by designer Barbara Schmidt, intended to modernize the traditional material and refresh German table culture. In 2000, the Raithel family acquired the remaining shares held by the State of Thuringia. KAHLA marked 175 years since the 1844 founding and 25 years since the company's post-reunification re-establishment in 2019. The current company presents itself as a manufacturer of fine hard-paste porcelain made in Kahla, Thuringia. Its stated production methods include casting, turning, and isostatic pressing, followed by glazing and firing; decoration may be added by screen printing, painting, or airbrush. The company serves household customers, hotels and gastronomy businesses, and corporate customers seeking customized promotional porcelain. Its official site states that customers in 60 countries value its multifunctional products.

2019
175 years of company history and 25 years since relaunch
2019
175th founding anniversary
2000
Raithel family acquired remaining state-held shares
1994
Post-reunification company relaunch
1994
Günther Raithel rebuilt the company as Kahla/Thüringen Porzellan GmbH
1991
Trust administration after reunification
1961
Modern production facilities established
1952
Became a state-owned enterprise
1844
Christian Eckardt founds the porcelain business in Kahla
1844
Porcelain factory founded in Kahla

Products and positioning

A German-made porcelain brand that pairs a long manufacturing heritage with contemporary tableware design, functional collections, surface innovation, and products for household, hospitality, and business customers.

Tableware services and sets
The online assortment includes table services and combination services across collections such as Aronda, Update, Five Senses, Pronto and Wildblume.
KAHLA Kids
Children's porcelain sets are listed in the official shop with themed designs.
KAHLA touch!
A porcelain range featuring the brand's soft-feel surface treatment, including customizable maxi mugs. A surface treatment described by the company as having a soft, velvety feel.
cupit To Go
A portable drinkware offering presented by KAHLA as mobile, individual and ecological.
Five Senses
A KAHLA collection offered in dinnerware and service sets, including decorated Wildblume variants.
Update
A tableware collection described on the official shop as porcelain for contemporary ways of eating.

Brand decisions

Rebuilding the company after insolvencyOther

Sources7 sources

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