News > Bata: a firm foothold for 85 years

This year Bata Industrials is celebrating the fact that it has been active in the Netherlands for 85 years. The achievement of this milestone will be celebrated by the entire organisation in an appropriate manner together with business associates, customers and personnel. Bata has maintained a prominent presence in the Netherlands for 85 years: reason enough to cast a glance at the history, development and the future of one of the world’s largest shoe manufacturers. Czechoslovakia, 1894. The eighteen-year-old Thomas Bat’a started a small shoe factory under the name T&A Bat’a. He employed a new system within which his employees had fixed working hours, were paid on a fixed day, and had their own duties within the production process. The goal of all of this was not only to produce a good but mostly affordable shoe for the average man. On the basis of this clever entrepreneurship, mechanisation and competitive pricing, he was rapidly underway to becoming a success. A huge factory complex rose out of the ground in Zlín, including a complete city for the Bata employees. The growth The success in Czechoslovakia served as motivation for Bata to start construction of factories and shops in other countries as well. In 1922, the first Bata shop was opened in the Netherlands, a fact that accounts for the 85th year anniversary of Bata Nederland. Eleven years later, construction started on the first Bata shoe factory in the Netherlands. The import from Czechoslovakia ultimately became too expensive due to the economic crisis in Europe at the time. The factory was located in Best, in the Dutch province of Brabant, and is an exact copy of the production location in Zlín. The choice for Best was easily explained: there is an abundance of inexpensive and hard-working labourers in the Brabant countryside. In addition, the factory was ideally located at the intersection of the railway leading to Eindhoven and the Wilhelmina Canal located nearby. A town in Best Bata also had all of the divisions of shoe production in Best under its own management. Among other buildings, a rubber factory, a tannery and even its own energy facility were all built on the factory property. Under the previously mentioned motto ‘a good shoe for the average man', Bata's Best facility manufactured ladies', gents' and children's shoes, jackboots and sporting shoes, but also stockings and even automobile tyres. Just like the other locations throughout the world where Bata had set up a facility, a unique village was also built where Bata employees could make their homes, occurring simultaneously with the construction of the factory in Best. This was known as Batadorp. This Bata community comprised some 130 houses, all of which were equipped with the most modern facilities, such as a bathroom, running water and electricity. The village also had all sorts of other facilities, including schools, a medical service and a hair salon. Leisure activities were also part of the plan: various sporting clubs, a theatre group, a brass band and a volunteer fire brigade were also present in the village. From consumer to industry In the years that followed, Bata’s success led to the opening of a large number of Bata stores in the Netherlands. In 1933, there were 28 stores, and by 1961 this number had grown to 150. The sales of shoes and stockings were the focal point in all of the shops. In addition, certain locations also offered customers a shoe repair service, stocking repair department and even a pedicure department. Starting in the 1960s, these services disappeared slowly but surely. However, the shoe industry itself was losing ground as a result of production activities being increasingly shifted to low-wage countries. As a result, Bata sold Batadorp and part of the factory property in Best to the local municipality. From that time on, the production of a broad range of shoes was no longer profitable. In the late 1970s, under the name ‘Bata Industrials', Bata Best began to specialise increasingly more in the production of professional and safety shoes. The step from consumer to industry as customer base had been taken. An end also came to the Bata stores’ great success in the Netherlands. In 1996, the last shops were closed. At present, the only remaining retail outlet is the ‘Superstore’ located at the Bata factory in Best where shoes and socks from the company’s own factory, among other producers, are sold. Bata today Today, in the year 2007, Bata Industrials manufactures its products in an ultramodern production facility in Best, producing a broad range of functional and most of all, fashionable safety shoes and socks. Products which, as a strong duo, highlight the working man and which focus on the elements of safety, health, welfare and comfort of the worker on the work floor. Bata Industrials offers a suitable solution for every circumstance and type of work floor, solutions which satisfy the strictest safety standards. This solution was also born out of the broad expertise in terms of research and development and utilisation of the medical and biomechanical sciences. Next, via a well-thought out network of dealers and distributors, these products find their way to professional users, primarily within industry and construction. All of this has not only made Bata Industrials the market leader in the Benelux when it comes to safety shoes, it is also the only organisation which truly operates worldwide in this field. Bata Industrials: active worldwide Bata Industrials which also has its headquarters in Best is a part of the Bata Shoe Organization, active worldwide. Within this family conglomerate which employs a total staff of more than 40,000, the company is active in the sale of professional footwear on every continent. In addition to the activities in Europe, there are also Bata Industrials offices in South America (Chile and Mexico), Africa (South Africa and Kenya), Asia (India, China and Singapore), Australia and New Zealand. Within this collaboration managed and coordinated from the office in Best, the focus lies on sharing the specific and often market-related knowledge and know-how with one another. In addition, a high degree of effort is put into achieving far-reaching economies of scale. The advantages of this initiative are enormous, both for the Bata companies as well as the customer. As a result of this unique collaboration, a valuable source of knowledge is created from which all of the participating companies may draw, and with which they can assist one another to reach a continually higher level. However, it is primarily the customer who reaps the benefits of this collaboration. Bata Industrials places a high value on serving its customers, wherever in the world they may be. It offers them the advantages of the expertise present within the organisation and that obtained from the external knowledge institutes with which the company works intensively. By granting them access to this worldwide branched network and by offering them the advantages of economies of scale, the Bata organisation continues to offer its customers more and more. The company makes a welcome and well-founded contribution to the reduction of absences due to illness on the work floor. After all, this is where the company’s most important added value lies, a company that has had a firm foothold on Dutch soil for 85 years now. Bata to stay in Best The concept of fleeing to less expensive low-wage countries is lost on Bata Industrials. What’s more, the company firmly believes in the Dutch manufacturing industry. With its 160 employees, the company produces over 900.000 pairs of safety shoes annually and nearly 1 million pairs of socks. Worldwide, Bata Industrials sells more than 3 million pairs of leather safety shoes and nearly 3 million pairs of PVC and rubber boots. This places the worldwide organisation among the top producers of professional footwear. Harm Daems, general director of Bata Industrials and President of the Bata Branded Business Group, explains: “Not only is our head office located in Best, our production activities are also based here. And this situation will not change. Over the last three years, we have made substantial investments in our capital equipment in order to continue to supply one hundred percent quality and to be able to guarantee our flexible delivery times. We have completely renewed and further automated and robotised all of our machinery and the production design. This is a development which is perfectly aligned with our conviction that Bata Industrials has a clear added value in the Netherlands. We have great confidence in this company located on Brabant soil.”