The post-WWII period in Hungary saw an unprecedented and phenomenal boom in the glass industry. Although most of the glass factories were products of the 19th century industrial revolution, after 1945 they grew into huge factories, becoming the driving force behind the development of the surrounding areas. By 1990, 16 glass factories provided jobs for more than 10,000 workers all over the country. Everything from packaging material to decorative lead crystal and architectural glass was produced to a high standard in Hungary, which also led to the boom in Hungarian glass art and design.

After the Second World War, the glassmaker families were herded into the nationalised factories and the privately owned glassworks were closed down. The Parád Glass Manufactory remained a manufactory only in its name, as it became one of the largest glass factories in Hungary, alongside those in Salgótarján and Ajka. György Szokup, a local villager, also founded the largest glass factory in Hungary, the one in Orosháza.

The political turmoil around the change of regime in 1989 and the economic processes that started in the 2000s sealed the fate of a flourishing industry, of which almost nothing remains today. But knowledge is not lost, it is transformed. In the depths of the small factories, in the factories that are being set up one after the other, lies the potential for the Hungarian glass industry to create miracles once again, and for the former ecosystem to be rebuilt ̶ if not in its former form in terms of size, then in terms of quality and creativity. At this table we salute the greatest achievements of the Hungarian glass industry and look for new ways of innovation for the future.