The Bata Company and its Engineering Achievements (1903-1945)

Abstract

Tomas Bata's decision to enter into the production of machinery in Zlin was all tied up with a need to ensure efficient shoe manufacture. This required that spare parts and the necessary equipment for making parts for shoes be made, and that maintenance be carried out. Tomas Bata did not intend to extend into other industrial fields. Despite this, the need for modern machines and a lack of financial resources to purchase them, encouraged Tomas Bata to set up an engineering workshop as far back as 1903. With the introduction of a shorter break period in the 1920s, expansion in the manufacture of machine tools took place. In fact, during the ten years following World War I, it became possible for the engineering plants to produce all the machinery the Bata company required for shoemaking. The year 1934 turned out to be a turning point, when preparations were underway to manufacture machine tools, which began in Zlin soon afterwards and continue to the present day. In 1939, construction commenced on an engineering factory in Sezimovo Usti, where some production lines were moved to subsequently. During the war years, an innovative relationship between the engineering plant in Zlin and artists was brought about. That is why the design of machine tools was significantly influenced by the sculptor Vincenc Makovsky and his disciple Zdenek Kovar.