Škoda (mechanical engineering)

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Škoda as

logo
legal form Akciová společnost
founding 1859
resolution August 17, 2001
Reason for dissolution broken down into divisions
Seat Pilsen (Plzeň), Czech Republic
Czech RepublicCzech Republic 
Branch mechanical engineering

Škoda (pronunciation: Schkodda , ˈʃkɔda , listen ? / I ) was founded in 1859 as a mechanical engineering company and developed into a diversified conglomerate . Škoda had its seat in Pilsen (Plzeň) in Bohemia . Audio file / audio sample

The original Škoda concern was privatized after the Velvet Revolution in 1993. Several divisions were spun off into independent companies and sold. Some of them still carry Škoda in their name. A remaining part of the company is now only active in the traffic technology division and operates under the name Škoda Transportation as. Today's automobile manufacturer Škoda Auto was taken over by the mechanical engineering company as Laurin & Klement in 1925 and that's how it got its name. This automotive division was spun off as a subsidiary shortly afterwards, in 1930. Name giver was the entrepreneur and engineer Emil von Škoda ,

history

Skodawerke AG share over 200 kroner from February 1, 1900
434.1100 , the first locomotive built by Škoda
Trolleybus of the type Skoda 9 Tr in Eberswalde
The “ London Eye ” with axes of rotation and supports from Škoda
Škoda 16 T tram car

Ernst Graf von Waldstein founded the factory in 1859 and, with over 100 employees, produced equipment for sugar factories , breweries and mines , as well as boilers , steam engines , bridges and various railway equipment . In 1866 Emil von Škoda became a senior engineer and in June 1869 Count Waldstein bought the company. Emil von Škoda thoroughly modernized the plant; in 1871 it was expanded to include a new foundry , in 1872 a new machine building hall, in 1882 a forge and in 1886 a new steelworks . In 1876 the first foreign agency was opened in Kiev , to which Škoda mainly supplied sugar factories. In addition to sugar factories, breweries and steam engines , Škoda increasingly turned to armaments technology. From 1886 cannon towers for battleships were manufactured in Pilsen , three years later the associated cannons. From the 1880s onwards, Škoda began building bridges . From 1890 a new armaments department worked, for which a new factory was built in 1896. In 1899 the company was converted into a joint stock company, Emil von Škoda retained the majority of the shares. Emil von Škoda died on August 8, 1900 while traveling by train to the spa town of Bad Gastein . At that time there were 3211 workers and around 250 administrative employees working in the company.

The special services at the turn of the century include components for the Niagara power station, for locks on the Suez Canal , for French and German merchant ships and for Japanese, Russian and South American battleships. Škoda specialized more and more in defense technology. Other business areas were spun off into the joint-stock company Spojené strojírny, formerly Škoda, Ruston, Bromovský, Ringhoffer , which was founded for this purpose . Škoda thus became a pure steel and armaments company. The factory rose to become the largest armory of the Habsburg monarchy Austria-Hungary. Among other things, it produced cannons of all sizes, including on-board cannons for the Austro-Hungarian Navy and mortars in caliber 380 mm. Škoda tried out new guns himself in the kuk artillery shooting school in Hajmáskér (near Veszprém ). In the years 1914 to 1918, the factory delivered 12,693 cannons to the Austro-Hungarian army . In 1914 there were around 10,000 employees at Škoda; in 1917 there were already 32,000. In May 1917 there was a serious accident in the ammunition factory in the Pilsen district of Bolevec , in which over 200 people were killed.

After the end of the war, Škoda was an oversized mammoth company oriented towards the arms industry. The financial resources required to change direction in the direction of civil industrial production came from the French armaments company Schneider & Cie . The first post-war products were locomotives. The food, tobacco, automotive and aircraft industries emerged. Škoda built sugar factories, mills, breweries, power plants, mines and slaughterhouses all over the world. In 1921, Škoda merged again with Spojené Strojírny . Companies in Hradec Králové and Prague were incorporated into the group, as well as two coal mines. From 1924 were licensed Lorraine-Dietrich - aircraft engines produced. Likewise from 1924 to 1935 the Sentinel , a utility vehicle with a steam engine. In 1925, Škoda merged with the car manufacturer Laurin & Klement from Mladá Boleslav - the plant is now owned by the car manufacturer Škoda Auto . The incorporation of the aircraft manufacturer Avia was completed in 1926, from 1927 Škoda had its own airline with the ČLS . In 1930 the group employed 36,000 people.

After the occupation by the German Reich in 1939, the majority of shares in Škoda and Waffenwerke Brno were acquired by the United Steelworks and Dresdner Bank as part of the Aryanization process and later sold to the Reichswerke Hermann Göring . During the Second World War , the holding company Waffen-Union Škoda-Brno was established in 1942, based in Berlin . A year before the end of the war, the Pilsen plant alone had 45,000 workers; the group as a whole had around 101,000. On April 25, 1945, the plant in Pilsen was badly damaged by a USAAF air raid .

After the Second World War, Škoda, like other economically important companies, was nationalized and some branches of light engineering were separated. The passenger car division (later Škoda Auto ) no longer belonged to the group since 1945 . In 1950 the group was divided into seven companies. The main plant in Pilsen then mainly dealt with heavy industrial goods , first steam and later electric locomotives, and turbines and equipment for power plants. As before, the company built turnkey industrial plants for foreign countries. A civil nuclear program was operated in Pilsen from the 1950s.

Pilsen from the bird's eye view: Škoda is in the lower, left part.

After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the group was converted into a stock corporation in 1990 . In the course of the developments, the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering decided in the same year to spin off the power plant construction company ( Závod výstavba elektráren Škoda ) from the concern , which became an independent state-owned company called "Škoda Praha". In 1993 the Škoda Group was privatized, so that several areas were spun off into subsidiaries. The stock corporation was converted into a holding company in 2000 .

At the end of the 1990s, the company manufactured a rotary axis and the supports for the London Eye, which was built in 1998/99 .

The subsidiaries ŠKODA, HUTĚ, Plzeň, sro ( smelting works ) and ŠKODA, KOVÁRNY, Plzeň, sro (forging) , established in 1993, belonged to the Škoda Holding until they were taken over by the Russian OMZ Group in 2004 . In 2007 both were combined in the ŠKODA STEEL consortium and later renamed 'Pilsen Steel'. The nuclear energy division Škoda JS was also sold to the Russian OMZ group in 2007 . In 2009 Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction bought the Škoda Power energy division for 450 million euros. Only the vehicle technology division (rail vehicles, trolleybuses) remained in the Škoda Holding.

The research institute, which was set up in 1907, was owned by Škoda and became the subsidiary ŠKODA VÝZKUM sro in the course of privatization. In 2006 it was sold to the Řež nuclear research institute and renamed Výzkumný a zkušební ústav Plzeň sro in 2011.

Logo development

  • The logo takes its current shape.

  • This logo was introduced at the beginning, but was discontinued shortly afterwards due to reproduction difficulties.

  • The blue Škoda arrow was introduced in 1926. The automotive division used this logo until 1990, and Škoda Pilsen uses it to this day.

Locomotive construction

Class 475.1 locomotive
Multi-system locomotive of the type ČD class 380

The first locomotive built (factory number 1/1920) comes from the Austrian series 270 and is part of the collection of the National Technical Museum in Prague . The locomotive, last named 434.1100, is used in the Czech Republic several times a year for special events. An in-house development was presented in 1923 with the 534.0 . The 387.0 followed in 1926 as a modern express locomotive. But also locomotives in wide and narrow gauge were built and delivered to Colombia, India and China. From 1927 railcars were also built. Škoda also started producing electric locomotives from 1927 . The ČSD E 424.001 and E 424.002 were the first locomotives here.

Although the plant was destroyed by bombing in April 1945, locomotives were repaired again from June 1945 and the first new locomotive left the plant in December 1945. In 1958 steam locomotive production was stopped after 3247 locomotives had been built.

After 1945, Škoda was to be the supplier of the electric locomotives needed for the electrification program in Czechoslovakia. In 1953 , licenses from Swiss manufacturers were still used to build the ČSD series E 499.0 , but electric locomotive construction at Škoda quickly found its own way. The locomotives of the ČSD series ES 499.0 presented in 1974 were the most powerful dual-system locomotives in the world at the time. In the same year, the construction of the high-speed locomotives of the SŽD series ЧС200 began , with which the scheduled passenger train service in the Soviet Union could be started at 200 km / h in 1984. In 1987, Škoda presented the prototype of a locomotive with three-phase drive, the 169 series . Škoda locomotives were exported to the Soviet Union, Bulgaria and Poland.

In the presence of the current group produces Škoda Transportation , the multi-system locomotive of type 109 E . The Czech railway company České dráhy received 20 locomotives of this type as class 380 for cross-border use from 2009 , the ZSSK received two locomotives in 2013 ( ZSSK class 381 ). The railway and railcar manufacturer Vagonka Studénka has been part of the Škoda Holding since 2005 .

In 2013, Deutsche Bahn and Škoda announced that from December 2016 , six Škoda double-decker trains including the 109E system locomotive will be in service on the Munich – Nuremberg railway line , which runs partly via Ingolstadt and partly via Treuchtlingen . With the purchase with a total value of 110 million euros, it apparently wants to stimulate competition among its suppliers.

Motor vehicles

Škoda Sentinel (truck with steam drive)

→ Main article: Škoda Auto

Before the merger with Laurin & Klement, the group manufactured various vehicles under license:

weapons

Škoda U (50 HP) 4x4 (Austro-Daimler), 1919 г. (Tractor for artillery pieces)
Panzerkampfwagen 35 (t)

The Škoda works were active as a weapons manufacturer with the development and production of various weapons. Noteworthy (individual information in the articles) are:

Nuclear technology

Dukovany nuclear power plant with Škoda turbo generators and nuclear reactors

Škoda participated heavily in the nuclear program of Czechoslovakia and produced nuclear reactors of the Soviet type VVER for nuclear power plants.

In 1957, Škoda was selected as the main contractor for the technological area of ​​the first Czechoslovakian nuclear power plant Bohunice A-1 . Škoda also produced the actual reactor. The KS-150 nuclear reactor used was developed by the Soviet Alichanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics. Škoda prepared the detailed planning documents with technical support from the Soviet planning office LOTEP .

In the years that followed, the group was heavily involved in the nuclear energy program of Czechoslovakia and the Eastern Bloc . The Power Engineering Plant ( Závod energetické strojírenství kp Škoda Plzeň ) manufactured the nuclear reactors and turbo sets and assembled them on site. The Power Plant Construction Company ( Závod výstavba elektráren ) assumed the role of the main contractor for the technological part of the construction project. Between 1980 and 1992, Škoda supplied 21 sets of VVER-440 / V213 reactors (four for units 1 to 4 of the Paks nuclear power plant , two for the V2 nuclear power plant in Bohunice, four each for the Dukovany and Żarnowiec nuclear power plants and three for blocks 5, 7 and 8 of the Greifswald nuclear power plant ). There were also three sets of VVER-1000 / V320 reactors (two for the Temelín nuclear power plant and one for the Belene nuclear power plant ). Several research reactors were also built. For development work, Škoda used the company's own research reactor ŠR-0 in Vochov near Pilsen .

Škoda was the development of the reactor VVER involved -1000 and developed a linear stepper motor for reactor control rods. The engine was originally designed for a further development of the heavy water reactor KS-150, where it was supposed to replace the relatively difficult and fragile parts of a rotary engine. The main Soviet developer of the reactors OKB Gidropress recommended that this engine be adapted for VVER-1000 reactors. Due to delays at Škoda, a Soviet variant was nevertheless manufactured in the Ischorskij factory. Because it had poorer properties, it was decided in 1980 to jointly develop a modernized engine. This cooperation between Škoda and Gidropress represented the highest level of participation by Czechoslovakia in the development of VVER technology to date.

Today's companies

Škoda Transportation as (Pilsen, Czech Republic)

Škoda Holding as was the actual successor of the Škoda Pilsen concern. The holding company based in Pilsen was founded in 2000 from Škoda as . After the privatization and outsourcing of several areas, the holding remained in the energy (power plants) divisions and after 2009 only the automotive engineering division (rail vehicles, trolley buses). In the field of vehicle technology, other companies were acquired, such as In 2005, for example, the traditional Czech railway and railcar manufacturer Vagonka Studénka. Today the group operates under the name Škoda Transportation as

Subsidiary company:

  • Škoda Electric as ( Pilsen / Czech Republic)
  • Škoda Vagonka as ( Ostrava / Czech Republic)
  • Transtech Ltd. ( Oulu / Finland)
  • Škoda City Service sro (Pilsen / Czech Republic)
  • Škoda TVC sro (Pilsen / Czech Republic)
  • Pars Nova as ( Šumperk / Czech Republic)
  • VÚKV as ( Prague / Czech Republic)
  • Poll, sro (Prague / Czech Republic)
  • Lokel sro (Ostrava / Czech Republic)
  • Škoda Transportation Deutschland GmbH ( Munich / Germany)
  • Ganz -Skoda Electric Ltd. ( Budapest / Hungary)
  • TRADING RS Sp. Z oo ( Warsaw / Poland)
  • OOO "Sibelektropriwod" ( Novosibirsk / Russia)
  • OOO "Sibir-Elektro" ( Moscow / Russia)

Former subsidiaries

Škoda Praha as

In 1953, the state-owned company Energostroj was founded, which was incorporated into the Škoda Group in 1959 as an assembly company for energy systems. 1978 has been operating for power plant construction Škoda (Škoda Závod výstavba elektráreň) with the construction of nuclear power plants with Soviet reactors of the type VVER commissioned. In 1990 the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering decided to spin off the Škoda Group into an independent state-owned company. In 1993 the company was privatized. It has been part of the ČEZ energy group since 2005 .

Škoda Praha as operates worldwide in the field of energy technology. The services mainly include plant construction and modernization of power plants.

Škoda JS as

Škoda JS is the former nuclear division of the Škoda concern. After 1993, the plant was spun off from the Škoda Group and the subsidiary Škoda Jaderné Strojírenství sro was created. In 1999, it was converted into today's stock corporation. In 2004, the Škoda Holding sold the subsidiary of the Russian OMZ Group.

Current services mainly include the modernization of nuclear power plants, services for nuclear power plants, the production of components for nuclear reactors and the production of nuclear waste containers for transport and storage. The company is based in Pilsen.

Škoda Power sro

In 2009, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction bought the Škoda Power energy division from Škoda Holding for 450 million euros. In particular, the company manufactures steam turbines, turbine machine houses, heat exchangers and condensers for power plants.

Web links

Commons : Škoda  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b D. Bechný u. a .: History a současnost podnikání na Plzeňsku . Městské knihy, Žehušice 2002, ISBN 80-86699-01-3
  2. ^ Lutz Hachmeister: Schleyer: a German story , CH Beck 2004, ISBN 3-406-51863-X , page 195 ff.
  3. ↑ http://www.398th.org : 398th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force ( Boeing B-17 )
  4. ↑ Pilsen Steel: History
  5. ↑ a b http://www.doosanskoda.com/live/cme65.htm. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010 ; Retrieved July 18, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Frank Barteld: The winged arrow is now moving to Western Europe. In: railway magazine . No. 12 , 2014, ISSN  0342-1902 .
  7. ^ Deutsche Bahn buys trains from Skoda. Competition for Siemens. In: Merkur Online . Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag GmbH & Co.KG, accessed on June 26, 2013 .
  8. ↑ Press release from Škoda from June 18, 2013: From 2016, Škoda high-speed locomotives will run in Bavaria ( Memento from July 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ FAZ: The train now runs Skoda
  10. ↑ Ján Tomčík: Historické aspekty JE A1 - Historic Aspects of A1 NPP. In: Dobroslav Dobák et al .: 50 rokov jadrových elektrární na Slovensku. Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť and Enel Slovenské elektrárne, 2007. pp. 32–55 ( PDF ( Memento of the original from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link accordingly Instructions and then remove this notice. ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.javys.sk
  11. ↑ AtomStroyExport.com: Complete projects: Bohunice NPP. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009 ; Retrieved July 18, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Škoda JS: Výstavba nových bloků VVER. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007 ; Retrieved July 18, 2015 .
  13. ^ Information from Josef Říha (Škoda JS as) on written request from user TZV
  14. ^ Karel Wagner, František Med: Lineární krokový motor. In: Shrnutí zkušeností z výstavby uvádění do provozu a stabilizace jaderné elektrárny Dukovany. Vol. 4. Praha: Čs. výbor pro energetiku a jadernou techniku ​​ČSVTS, 1987. pp. 191–198
  15. ↑ Karel Wagner: History účasti společnosti ŠKODA na jaderné energetice. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009 ; Retrieved July 18, 2015 .
  16. ↑ http://www.skoda.cz/de/kontakte/skoda-transportation-as/ (German), accessed on November 14, 2015
  17. ↑ Škoda Praha: History. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009 ; Retrieved July 18, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Škoda JS: Hlavní milníky historie. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009 ; Retrieved July 18, 2015 .
  19. ↑ Škoda JS: References. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009 ; Retrieved July 18, 2015 .