Škoda Transportation
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Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech engineering company that continues the legacy of
Škoda Works The Škoda Works ( cs, Škodovy závody, ) was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century, founded by Czech engineer Emil Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire. It is the predece ...
' rolling stock manufacturing that started at the end of 19th century in
Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...
. Following the first world war, the Works commenced locomotive production in a separate factory dedicated to that purpose. This factory became a separate company in the 1990s. Today, Škoda Transportation develops and manufactures electric rail vehicles for urban and railway transport. Škoda Transportation fully or partially owns a number of other companies active in the field of development and manufacturing of rolling stock, electric motors and related products in several European countries. In April 2018, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
cleared purchase of the group by PPF, a financial and investment group incorporated in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. Škoda Transportation group of companies is among the world's largest manufacturers of trams and propulsion units for trolleybuses and a significant regional producer of railway vehicles.


History


Škoda Works

Count Waldstein established a metallurgical factory in Plzeň in 1859. Starting with 100 employees, the factory was making products for breweries, sugar mills, mines, as well as steam engines and railway products. The factory was bought by its chief engineer Emil Škoda in 1869. By the end of the century, Škoda Works became one of the largest enterprises in Europe, focusing mainly on the production of heavy arms and heavy ship components. Apart from military production, the Works were also producing a number of rolling stock components by the end of the 19th century: wheels, axles, hoops and steam engines. During the first world war the company started refurbishing
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s. By 1918, the company had 35.000 employees and a debilitating debt accrued due to unpaid military deliveries to the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
as well as unpaid pre-war loan that the company provided to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.Diestler Radek: Příběh zapomenutého průmyslníka: Život a doba Karla Loevensteina, generálního ředitele Škodových závodů, Grada Publishing 2010, p. 20


Locomotive factory

As a part of its shift towards non-military production, the Works earmarked a portion of its facilities for manufacturing of locomotives. The production started following an order for 30 locomotives for Czechoslovakia. The first Škoda locomotive left the factory on 11 June 1920. Meanwhile, Škoda gained a major contract for production of 80 and refurbishment of 500 locomotives for Romania. Due to the Romanian order Škoda regained banks' confidence which provided the company with financing to survive through the immediate post-war years. The locomotive factory became one of the company's main pillars. File:Osoblaha, nádraží, U 57.001 (2).jpg, 1930s Škoda locomotive File:JinghanRy-22.jpg, 1930s locomotive exported to China File:Class 19D 2640 on the turntable at Knysna, September 2004 (7864083904).jpg, 1938 Class 19D in South Africa File:Škoda I GSP Beograd 81.jpg, Škoda pre-WWII tram of Belgrade, Serbia, now in museum File:Tr3.jpg, 1941 Škoda 3Tr trolleybus File:Кузнецк_Памятник_Паровоз.jpg, 1949 Кч4 in Russia The company produced its 100th locomotive on 13 September 1921. In 1927 Škoda produced its first express
electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
which was followed by the introduction of electric freight locomotives. While electric locomotives were used on electrified lines within Prague, the company further produced electric locomotives with batteries for use within factory areas. Also in 1927, Škoda started production of
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s and diesel express trains. In the 1930s, the locomotive factory was producing on average 3 locomotives a month with third of the production for export. Meanwhile in another factory building situated in Plzeň, Škoda started producing electrical propulsion units for
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s in the early 1920s. In 1936 the company started producing
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
es. Production of locomotives as well as trolleybuses continued during the company's period of nationalization after the WW2. After fall of communism in 1989, Škoda Works were transformed into a joint stock company, the assets of which were later diversified into several separate entities, among them also Škoda Dopravní Technika s. r. o. which included the rolling stock factory in Plzeň and which was renamed to Škoda Transportation in 2004. In the early 1990s, the company started working also on refurbishment of trams, which was followed by introduction of its first own tram design in 1997, the low-floor
Škoda 03 T The Škoda 03 T (sold as Škoda Astra, later Škoda Anitra (''Asynchronní nízkopodlažní tramvaj''; Asynchronous Low-floor Tram)) is a three-section low-floor tram developed by Škoda Transportation and Inekon Group. The design was introduced i ...
.


Škoda Transportation

The Czech Republic sold Škoda Transportation to private owners in 2002. While in private hands, the company extended its reach by purchasing stock in other companies that are active in production and R&D of rolling stock in Europe. Today, Škoda Transportation group of companies is one of the world's largest manufacturers of trams and propulsion units for trolleybuses as well as a significant regional producer of locomotives and electric trains. SanFran 14TrSF trolleybus 5592 (cropped).jpg, 14TrSF - San Francisco Trolleybus Portland_streetcar.jpg,
Portland Streetcar The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. The NS Line runs from Northwest Portland to the South Waterfront via Downtown and the Pearl District. The L ...
Riga, Škoda 15T.jpg,
Škoda 15 T Škoda 15T (also known as Škoda ForCity Alfa) is a 100% low-floor multiple-unit tram developed by VUKV a.s. and built by Škoda Transportation in Pilsen for the Prague tram network. It was a successor to the Škoda 14 T, featuring articulated ...
tram in Riga EJ 575.JPG,
LG Class 575 LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...
in Lithuania 14-08-11-tampere-RalfR-32.jpg,
VR Class Dm12 The Dm12 is a diesel railcar operated by VR Group. History VR was searching a diesel motor car to be used on low traffic regional services on non-electrified tracks years after the last of the earlier diesel motor car series had been decommis ...
diesel unit in Finland


Daughter and affiliate companies

Škoda Transportation a.s. daughter and affiliated companies The group of companies employed close to 5,600 people in 2015, with revenues reaching CZK 17 billion.


Products


Techmania Science Center

Škoda Transportation and the
University of West Bohemia The University of West Bohemia ( cs, Západočeská univerzita v Plzni, ZČU) is a university in Plzeň, Czech Republic. It was founded in 1991 and consists of nine faculties. History The university was formed by the merger of the ''College of Me ...
run
Techmania Science Center Techmania Science Center is one of the first science centers in the Czech Republic and an important institution of informal education. The project was established in 2005 by the Škoda Transportation joint-stock company and the University of ...
in Plzeň. The exhibition is annually visited by tens of thousands of schoolchildren and students who learn about various principles of mathematics and physics in an engaging way. The science center also includes a number of historical Škoda rolling stock products.Techmania poučí i pobaví. Plzeňský deník, 14. 3. 2007.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skoda Transportation
Transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
Bus manufacturers of the Czech Republic Locomotive manufacturers of the Czech Republic Electric vehicle manufacturers of the Czech Republic Tram manufacturers Trolleybus manufacturers Czech brands Companies established in 1995