The Ouhrabek Brothers’ Factory,
Today LODOS

The brothers Josef (1887–1950), a carpenter, and Vincenc–Čeněk (1893–1970), a machine assembler, decided after World War I to try working in Lomnice nad Popelkou, a small town in northern Czechoslovakia near the German border, to resume the production of coffee grinders.
Their predecessor was Jan Václavík, who, starting in 1870, handcrafted affordable and practical coffee grinders for domestic weavers who traveled to sell their products.
He later exported his coffee grinders throughout Austria-Hungary.
However, his business ceased to exist during World War I.

The Ouhrabek brothers seized the opportunity, as in Czechoslovakia—formed after World War I from the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—coffee grinders were either imported or produced by the German company Leinbrock in Teplice.
The Ouhrabkové Brothers company was founded in 1923 in a barn in Karlov that belonged to their family.
It was the only Czech company in Czechoslovakia to begin machine-based production of coffee grinders.
Josef handled the carpentry side of production, while Čeněk mainly worked on the grinding mechanisms.

The initial production of wooden coffee grinders was later expanded to include TRAMP travel grinders, wall-mounted grinders, wall grinders with split grinding for coffee and rye (a patented company innovation), and spice grinders.
These products, under the BO GARANTIE brand, quickly became a first-class trademark recognized not only across Europe but also overseas.
The production expansion was accompanied by the construction of a production hall facing what is now Poděbradova Street.

During World War II, the company was required to produce 80% of its output for the Wehrmacht (wooden first-aid kits and field cots), while the remaining 20% could still be used to produce TRAMP grinders and wall-mounted grinders for split grinding, due to a shortage of coffee.
Čeněk was arrested by the Gestapo in 1940 for his resistance activities, along with other “falcons” from Lomnice, and was imprisoned until the spring of 1944, when he returned home.
His memories of the concentration camps are recorded in the 1945 Town Chronicle, which is preserved in the town museum.


After the war, the company fully resumed operations, producing up to 50 types of coffee and spice grinders and employing about 70 workers.
It exported half of its production abroad.
The production premises were also expanded with an extension leading to today’s J. Kábrt Street.
However, the company’s promising post-war development was halted by the political changes after 1948.

The company was nationalized in 1950 and incorporated into MEVA Roudnice nad Labem, later becoming part of Orlické strojírny, which took over the company’s documentation and began producing coffee grinders independently.
Since 1959, the factory has been under the control of Kovozávody Semily.
After nationalization, a variety of products were made here—from fruit crates to baby scales—but from the 1970s onward, the production of TRAMP travel grinders, 1925 model grinders (mainly for Tuzex), spice grinders, garlic presses, and pasta cutters resumed. The Lomnice plant employed about 40 people.

The family tradition of the Ouhrabek brothers was revived in 1991 by their grandchildren, who founded the company LODOS s.r.o. (LOmnické DOmácí Strojky).
In the 1990s, the new owners gradually renovated and expanded the production facilities: they added an upper floor extension to both buildings, bought a corner house which was then demolished, and in its place built offices connecting the two company buildings.
Today, the production focuses on the traditional manufacture of coffee grinders, made using machines from the First Republic era, and has expanded to include kitchen tools (garlic presses, nutcrackers, graters, can openers, etc.).
Today, the LODOS brand can certainly boast the same quality and good reputation as its predecessor, BO GARANTIE.

Source: Website of the town of Lomnice nad Popelkou
https://www.lomnicenadpopelkou.cz/tovarna-firmy-bratri-ouhrabkove-dnes-lodos/d-9305