Vinyl Production at GZ Media Is Built on Expertise, Technology and a Good Team

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Among the distinctive speakers at the Trends in Automotive Logistics (TAL) 2025 conference was GZ Media’s Chief Executive Officer Michal Štěrba. This company from Loděnice, a small town near Prague, has an inspiring story: since its founding in 1951, it has seen a number of changes that have led it into the ranks of the world leaders in vinyl record manufacturing. One of this firm’s key innovations in recent years is the logistics and manufacturing automation project that it launched in 2023.

Vinyl: an experience that evokes emotions

In his presentation, Michal Štěrba first presented GZ Media and its place as a stable manufacturer with an equally stable ownership structure. Back in 1993, this company produced a mere 364 thousand records. Today, it produces one in three vinyl records worldwide. As Štěrba notes, vinyl isn’t just a medium today – it’s an experience. People who love music want to fully experience it, support their favourite artist and have something tangible at home. That makes each vinyl record a design artefact with a place both in turntables and in home interiors.

GZ Media is a company built on rules and processes, but its real strength lies in its ability to adapt. Precisely that ability has enabled it not only to survive, but also to grow and succeed in the dynamic world of the music industry. Whether it's expansion into the USA, Canada, and France, or the various awards it receives for its products – such as the Grammy Award for the unique MIND GAMES product by John Lennon.

What does automation look like in the world of music?

As Michal Štěrba noted, the path to automation began with the search for possible solutions to the challenges the company was facing. One of them was a shortage of workforce. Precisely this moment is what spurred GZ Media to automate its simplest and most frequently repeated operations. It also built up its own team of experts. This logistics automation project was a fundamental milestone; it began in 2023 and is still being developed. Its first phase brought more efficient operations. The return on investment is estimated at 4.5 years. This project is currently in its second phase, whose goal is to automate the movement of finished products – from palletisation to loading onto trucks. The planned return on investment for this part of the investment is three years.

During its implementation, the management confirmed that the key to success lies in having not just technologies, but above all people who are fired up for a project. Michal Štěrba’s recommendation is therefore clear: a competent and motivated team is the foundation. It is essential to trust your people, give them decision-making authority and support them so that they present their own creative ideas forward without fear of making mistakes.

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