Saunas made in Taurage also travel to the Klaipėda region

Sauna manufacturer Ieva Kiršė emphasizes that a good sauna is part of our cultural heritage. It is also a source of leisure, recreation, and most importantly, health. Karolis and Ieva Kiršiai, who make saunas in the village of Dargaičiai in Tauragė district, are happy to nurture their family business in the village. Their products travel to the installation site on wheels and are exported to Germany.
Opened up new opportunities
Ieva is open – she wouldn’t imagine her life any other way today, even though they go 15 kilometers to work every day. They also have to bring their own workers, and when they run out of building materials or tools, they go to the city. But working in the countryside is good and fun. A spacious 1,000-square-meter workshop inherited from parents, the ordinary place gives it its own charm. Asphalted roads and convenient transportation do not make business difficult. “We grew slowly until the production of saunas. As the demand for furniture decreased, an order was received to make a sauna for the German market. One successful order changed the nature of the activity”, says Ieva Kiršė, director of UAB “Pirtys ir ne tik”. The young woman did not hide that, after taking over the wooden furniture manufacturing company from her parents, it was the interviewee’s husband Karolis who realized that new niches and different areas of activity should be searched for in business every time. The successfully executed order brought new customers from both Lithuania and Germany, opened up new business opportunities, and the production of wooden furniture gave way to saunas. Tauragiški also has customers in the Klaipėda region.
Production of saunas is a family business nurtured by Ieva and Karolis, which, according to the interviewees, has no seasonality. The products are delivered to the site almost assembled, so the weather does not affect the construction of the saunas. Business did not stop even during the pandemic. Because people locked in their homes were looking for health opportunities without leaving their yard. The pandemic has helped the sauna manufacturing business to skyrocket.
Germans are much more modest
The chain of orders that poured in increased business potential, individual activities were replaced by the established company, and more employees appeared. Today, most of the production made in the village of Dargaičiai goes to Germany. Standard products, small saunas, whose delivery is overseen by a manager, are sent there. And in the Lithuanian market, each customer is treated individually. “We go after the sauna ourselves, we build it, we check that everything works perfectly and that even the smallest shutters are properly attached”, the sauna manufacturers did not hide the specifics of their work. Ieva and Karolis notice that Germans are much more modest than our compatriots. They are satisfied with a small two-and-a-half-square-meter sauna, while Lithuanians need a spacious sauna with a large sauna and an ante-room suitable for receiving guests. For the people of our region, it is important to spend time not only with family, but also with friends. Interest in wood and frame buildings helped to find new, most suitable solutions for customers, to cultivate projects that satisfy even the most sophisticated taste.
Purpose strengthens the family
Ieva, who works together with her husband, did not hide that everything happens when working and living together. You have to get angry because you bought the wrong glue, but common goals bring the family even closer. After all, young people built their wealth and business through hard work, without counting the hours. “The secret of the success of our business is maintaining a relationship with the customer. Individual orders are made here, not assembly line products. Together with the customer, we choose the size, material, exterior colors of the sauna. We ensure the quality ourselves, we come to the place, we install everything. If there is a problem, we almost always answer the phone. We don’t care if it’s early morning, weekend or late night. This helps to earn people’s trust and favor”, said Ieva, director of UAB Pirtys ir ne tik, about her recipe for business success. The interviewer did not hide that the family is currently dreaming of business development, orientation towards even bigger projects – they aim to produce faster, more, and in the future they plan to develop woodworking, planing or construction of modular buildings, so every corner of the workshop is extremely expensive.
Dana LUKAUSKIENĖ
Personal archive photo.