Wood Factory will support the Czech participation at EXPO 2025. The wooden pens will be used, for instance, to sign important contracts
On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, the founder of Wood Factory, Filip Štěpnička, and the Commissioner General of the Czech participation in EXPO 2025, Ondřej Soška, officially signed a partnership agreement at the Senate of the Czech Republic. The small family-owned company from the Jizera Mountains handcrafts unique wooden pens, which are used by many Czech personalities, including the current First Lady Eva Pavlová and President Petr Pavel, Zdeněk Svěrák, Miroslav Donutil, Leoš Mareš and former President Václav Klaus.
The oldest pen the company has produced so far comes from oak, which is dated to be 8,600 years old. But they have much older wooden pieces in stock, some as old as 50 to 100 thousand years - these pieces are still waiting for their chance. But the much younger pens have already served well - the cooperation agreement signed by Ondřej Soška, the general commissioner of the Czech participation, and Kazunori Murao, president of the general contractor, the Japanese construction company Daisue.
The production of a single pen takes a few hours and begins with the hand-finishing of carefully selected wood to ensure that a unique original reaches the hands of the customer. This is followed by a combination of traditional hand craftsmanship and modern technology in the form of precise measuring, drilling, and gluing. The final finish includes sanding and oiling to bring out the texture and detail of the wood and ensure its longevity. Each product is then fitted with the appropriate mechanics, which are carefully selected to ensure the pen serves its future owner perfectly.
"The partnership with Wood Factory is a great example of how Czech participation in EXPO 2025 can help small local companies establish relationships in foreign markets, specifically in Japan and the Indo-Pacific. Their products not only represent Czech craftsmanship but are a great example of the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in simplicity, imperfection, the naturalness of natural materials, and the visible trace of time. Moreover, precision woodworking has a long tradition in art, architecture, and design in Japan," says Ondřej Soška, General Commissioner of the Czech participation in the EXPO.
The founder and CEO of Wood Factory, Filip Štěpnička, is looking forward to the opportunities that EXPO 2025 will bring: "It is a great honor for us to participate in EXPO 2025. We are a small family business that is still de facto at the beginning and we do not have much experience with foreign markets or with finding and dealing with partners. We need help with this and we believe that this cooperation will open the door to new business opportunities. Our pens are not only beautiful and functional, but they also tell the story of a family business and the love of wood."
A multifunctional auditorium, business lounge, or meeting room will be used in the Czech National Pavilion just for networking purposes. Partners will be able to use them during the 26 EXPO, when the pavilion will host several business and professional events, including workshops for smaller groups and events for existing or potential customers. A list of individual conferences can be found in the Business Events Calendar. Companies can still express their interest in EXPO 2025 by, among other things, filling in this questionnaire on the Czech participation website or by contacting by e-mail - partnership@expo2025czechia.com.
About Wood Factory
Wood Factory is a small family-owned company from the Jizera Mountains in Northern Bohemia, specializing in the production of original fountain and ballpoint pens, including cases and various accessories. The company prides itself on a precise and very careful approach to its clients, products, and materials used in production. In addition to the classic elm, beech, cherry, oak, or walnut, Wood Factory also works with exotic woods such as purple amaranth, red padauk or rare rosewood, king-wood, cocobolo, or desert ironwood. For special unrepeatable editions, they seek out rare subfossil woods that are up to ten thousand years old, have already begun the process of fossilization, and can usually be found in limited quantities.
About Czech participation at EXPO 2025
The upcoming World Expo will be held from 13 April to 13 October 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in one of Japan's most important economic centres, the city of Osaka.
Czechia as an independent state will participate in the World EXPO for the sixth time. Ondřej Soška, who won the tender of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic last spring with his concept and theme "Talent and Creativity for Life", has been the Commissioner General since September 2022. Czechia should present itself in Osaka not only with what the Japanese know very well and have long admired, such as Czech glass and classical music, but especially with Czech innovations, nanotechnologies, promising start-ups, and regional talents. The Czech National Pavilion will be in the shape of a glass spiral, the supporting structure of the building will consist of modern wooden panels, and the facade will be made of art glass, which has been a tradition in Czechia for several centuries. The pavilion will house a permanent exhibition, a multifunctional auditorium, facilities for business meetings, a restaurant, a business lounge, and a relaxation area in front of the pavilion with a view of the sea.