OPT OnDemand

We started 25 years ago as a small T-shirt printing company based in Prague. Today, we partner with many big names abroad, and foreign orders make up the most of our half a billion CZK turnover. We have licenses for MARVEL, STAR WARS, DISNEY, and PIXAR products. We print garments for RedBubble and EMP, Europe’s largest fan merchandise distributor. For UNIVERSAL MUSIC, we print T-shirts for top bands. When AC/DC tours, we send their T-shirts directly to concert cities. It's quite an honor when you're a big fan of Nirvana and now you get to print their T-shirts and other merchandise. This requires an ultra-high level of quality. Luckily, our capacity in Hrbovice has room to grow, and exciting partnerships await Ondra and his company. So OPT won't be bored in the future.

When asked why they have been with the company for several years, many OPT employees simply answer that it's because of the people. You will find plenty of employee-fans who have grown to love this company. They enjoy and respect the work culture established by the company owner Ondra, the management and the production supervisors. All this contributes greatly to their work satisfaction. OPT has a relaxed, collaborative and very friendly atmosphere. We know how to help each other and we all support one another as a team. There are so many little things that are different at OPT compared to other companies. Overall, there is a huge difference between OPT and a traditional manufacturing or trading company. That's why a lot of people love it here and why they have no reason to go elsewhere.

We see our future in expanding production, focusing on technology, and developing our own tools to enable greater on-demand manufacturing. We believe that through additional global partnerships, our production will continue to grow. The aim is not to expand through cheap prices, as is sometimes the case with production in the Czech Republic, but rather through quality and reliability. What will set us apart from the competition is not price, but a partnerships partnership approach, top-notch quality, and advanced technology. The limits to our growth are boundless. It will depend solely on our ambitions and the hard work of everyone at OPT. It will be crucial for us to maintain our friendly atmosphere, support our people, and retain those who want to grow with OPT.

The second aspect of our future development is a bet on technologies that will lead a revolution in fashion production. ON DEMAND REVOLUTION is our technology division, perhaps you could even say our own disruptive start-up. It is now developing a virtual warehouse with virtual products that are only produced at the moment the end customer places their order. We've already got digital avatar technology ready, so you won't have to worry about ordering something that doesn't fit. When you order, we'll know your measurements: we won't send you a size L shirt when a size M might fit you better for a particular brand. The result will be far fewer returns. This technology that we are now developing will be available to other e-tailers and manufacturers.

Another effect of our ON DEMAND REVOLUTION concept is that we will be able to connect small T-shirt producers to the big platforms we partner with. So your T-shirt will be sold on Zalando or in Kaufland’s e-shop. This represents a great opportunity to spread our sustainable fashion philosophy while supporting the growth of small creative teams.

Our partners don't have to have warehouses; they don't have to worry about shipping. T-shirts are made the moment the customer orders them and we have global logistics under control. 

And we'll teach you the rest here. OPT has always been about people who enjoy their work and care about the workplace and their colleagues. We are two groups in Prague and Hrbovice, but we share an interest in the company, team success, and overall results. People work here because they want to be part of OPT, and few are here just for the job and salary. Many in management advanced from manufacturing roles. They know what an operator's job entails, so someone is always there to help, advise, and teach you. At OPT, it's important to be someone who’s not afraid to get their hands dirty and work hard. You need an eye for detail to ensure our work is top-notch. Join us, and who knows where your journey from production will take you.

We decided to move away from mainstream production methods and shift to on-demand solutions. Our goal is to reduce mass production and mass stocks of unused clothing or unsold garments. We want to reduce the carbon footprint and the unnecessary burden on the planet created by transporting products from one end of the globe to the other. We want T-shirts to be printed and shipped only when the customer orders them. Thanks to our partners, we are able to ship them anywhere.

You can already find a collection of Henry Tiger T-shirts on major fashion portals like Zalando. This is simply a digital catalogue and listed products are only printed once ordered. Ecology and sustainability are issues that have made sense to us for many years. We were one of the first companies in our region to start offering T-shirts made from certified organic cotton. Today, we have certifications for use of organic yarns, adhesives and inks. We only buy T-shirts from companies that practice ethical production. Plus, we think about how to use the waste we produce. We want to inspire other companies to do the same.  

OPT is unlike any manufacturing company you've encountered before. It's not boring; it's bustling. We're a team-based company working in small production teams of three or four people who set their own pace and decide when to take breaks. There's a strong sense of solidarity here. If it's someone's birthday, we bake a cake and have coffee together. When someone has a baby, we pool resources to buy a present. At OPT, there's no harassment, fistfights, or turnstiles. There's a lot of freedom, which leads to minimal employee turnover. This creates a space where people know each other and their jobs, contributing to our success and growth.

Sometimes work at OPT, ironically speaking, can be quite a drag. Despite our half a billion CZK turnover, we still operate like a start-up.  We don't have a corporate mother company or investors dictating our direction or funding useless projects with useless people. We do what makes sense to us. Every decision is quick. At any moment, we can rethink the direction our business is headed and perhaps change it quickly. Because of how fast we work and how flat our administrative hierarchy is, there's no one hiding behind an excel spreadsheet. Everyone is seen and expected to deliver real results: not speeches and presentations. We are not a company hiding in some corporate ivory tower. On the contrary, we thrive on working in a dynamic, productive workspace and on the need to adapt and look at reality in a broader context.

OPT is above all a very people-driven company, run by managers who don't like to play corporate boss. OPT’s management is very open and interested in the company as a whole. Ondra Parpel remains an owner that people trust: they have confidence in his vision and aspirations. On the flip side, he trusts his teams to do the best they can. Olda, who is behind the development of the Hrbovice site and its production, is a person who will listen, advise or help you.

This approach has built a company full of great people who know exactly why they chose to pursue a career here. Employees don't patronize one another; there are no backroom games or issues involving corporate politics. OPT has a direct environment that makes people enjoy coming to work every day. 

Many people in the company are also friends outside of work. They deal with each other straightforwardly, handling any problem immediately so that no issues are left unresolved. In the evenings, we go to the pub together. It's refreshing to sort out work matters personally and quickly. Sometimes we don't fix things right away because it takes time to find a solution. But we don’t keep problems to ourselves, hold grudges, or gossip.

We don't want a factory where people just come to work. We value employees being happy and interacting fairly, which leads to better work. OPT has a laid-back, friendly environment that runs on "common sense".

At OPT, there is a lot of trust in people and their work. There is freedom with a minimum number of rules. Employees have to take on a large degree of personal responsibility. A strong work ethic and a willingness to work together are what we look for in newcomers. In order to keep up the pace needed and not have to put a lot of strict processes in place, we expect our people to be able to work independently and not need someone constantly telling them what to do or monitoring them. We are lucky to have minimal employee turnover. People like it here and appreciate our approach. This means they have a high level of loyalty and think not only about their personal gain, but also about making a difference for the company. 

One-third of the company is located in Prague and two-thirds in Ústí nad Labem - Hrbovice. The headquarters (IT, finance, graphic designers and our CEO Ondra Parpel) are all based in Prague. For our employees from Hrbovice, it's a world they may have never visited and only meet their colleagues from Prague during special events. This is one of the small inconveniences that makes our life a bit more complicated. It's just two locations, two groups and two worlds. Of course, it would be nice for everyone to be all in one place.

What you'll never experience at OPT is one crew disrespecting the other. We're all part of one company, one story. When we have a high-order season, it's standard for people from the office go to help in production: not only people from Hrbovice, but also people from Prague. OPT operates based on solidarity, support and help. 

Our Prague offices are located in Holešovice near the Libeň Bridge. We have an entire floor to ourselves that has great lighting, a large terrace and plenty of space. There is good access to the office by car or public transport, and you can find plenty of great restaurants, bistros or cafés in the neighbourhood. Plus, the future revitalization of the entire Holešovice market area will definitely add to the level of well-being in our Prague office experience.

Three years ago we moved to a modern production site where we have plenty of space, great facilities and the opportunity to grow. It's a great advantage when you can provide people with a production environment that is welcoming, spacious and modern.

Many of us have been here for over 5 years, some even longer. We still enjoy it because we have the opportunity to advance and change the scope of our work. This doesn't happen quickly, but if you challenge yourself and focus on your goals, we'll help you meet them. We love it when employees grow with us and continue to enjoy their work. OPT’s management is open to such discussions. They welcome them because every company needs the right people in the right roles. Often, the right people are those who want to do a particular job well. These people drive the company forward. As we grow, opportunities to be part of our story are increasing for both existing and new employees.