BATA INDUSTRIALS HISTORY

On the 12th of July, Tomas Bat’a dies when his private jet crashed near his own factory complex. Tomas Jr. inherits the majority of the Bata business and establishes the holding company ‘Bata Shoe Organisation’.

After the success in Czechoslovakia, Bata started to build factories in other countries, like the Netherlands. Bata buys land from the municipality to build a manufacturing complex and Batavillage (in Dutch Batadorp), which is a replica of the company headquarters in Zlín.

In the countryside labor is available in abundance. The factory’s location is also favorable, in spite of the fact that it is situated on rugged and inexpensive heath (a ‘dime’ per m²), and is located a fair distance outside of town. It is also situated at an intersection where the railway and a canal meet. The factory has its own branch line, connecting it to the railway.

Bata builds Batavillage in Holland near the factory so that the employees could live near the factory. The neighborhood comprises 130 homes and has its own school, medical center, football club, and tennis club. Working, living, school, and leisure time: it was all Bata. Batavillage was fairly isolated from the rest of the town due to the lack of a bridge over the canal. This contributed to the creation of a close-knit Bata community. You can still see a few of these Bata houses, across from the Bata Industrials head office and factory in the Netherlands. They are recognizable by their typical flat roofs.

A wage explosion occurred in Western Europe during the 1960s. As a result, the labor-intensive shoe industry is relocated to the low-wage countries. In the late 1970s, Bata in the Netherlands started to specialize in the production of professional footwear. The step from consumer to industry as a customer base has been taken.

Bata no longer needs the entire large manufacturing complex, and in 1978, it sold part of its land, vacant buildings, and Bata village to the growing municipality of Best.

Did you know? Bata was the first business to place large advertising signs at its points of sale, to advertise in magazines, and to ensure that the prices end with the number 9.

Bata Industrials invests in the further automation and robotization of the machinery and equipment, and the production line.

The son of Bata’s founder, Thomas J. Bata (1914-2008), was the recipient of the first Lifetime Achievement Award of 2007 for his accomplishments as a responsible capitalist. He won this award thanks to his special degree of social responsibility, and dedication to the Bata family business, contributing to the company’s worldwide reputation.

In September 2008, Thomas J. Bata passes away in Toronto (Canada), right before his 94th birthday. He will be remembered for his warmth and respect.

Bata Industrials starts with the ‘lean’ production of safety shoes.

Introduction of the Improving Working Lives goal. Committed to improving working lives all over the world and investing in making safety accessible for all working people, by creating high-quality safety footwear for a fair price.