4.10.2016 23:11
95th anniversary of the founding of Kovolit
On 10th of September 2016 Kovolit celebrated 95 years of its existence in Modřice.
Celebrations proceeded in magnificent style with life music, magical performances and a bubble show. The event was made even better by two charming moderators and warm, sunny weather. A “party town” was set up on the premises of Kovolit on the event day, and in addition to a celebration banquet, children fairy tale zone and the main stage, an exposition of Kovolit’s history was also presented along with an exhibition of Kovolit products, including some examples of their use represented by e.g. Audi, Mercedes and Volkswagen automobiles that were borrowed for this event. Significant amount of attention was drawn by a demonstration of manufacturing processes. Any celebration must include a cake, and the cake for this event weighed 100 kg.
The event was organized for employees of the company and their families as an expression of thanks for their hard and dedicated work without which Kovolit would never have become the company it is today. In addition to our employees, the event was attended also by many past employees who appreciated primarily the development of the company and innovation of technological equipment.
But let’s go back and remind ourselves how it all started. Kovolit, previously Koloferra, was founded in 1921 in Modřice. Maps from 19th century show that Modřice was originally made up only of streets around the today’s square. This situation changed at the turn of the 1930s and 1940s when Emperor Ferdinand’s Northern Railway private company started construction of railways for steam locomotives. This was a starting point of significant development in Modřice area. During the first years, the company was producing wagons for narrow gauge railways, e.g. for a sugar refinery in Židlochovice, and later also metal hoses and simple castings and forgings. The company gradually changed its name, its owners and products. For today’s Kovolit, a decision taken by the Department for Precision Engineering in 1956 to rebuild Kovolit into a large-scale production facility was very significant. In the following years, the facilities for foundry, forge, substations and others have been built transforming the company into its today’s form. An important turning point was the year 1995 when the Remet company became the majority shareholder and started to actively manage Kovolit, and also the year 2016 when Remet became 100% owner of Kovolit.
Kovolit is currently one of the most advanced Czech pressure die casting foundries featuring machining room with modern equipment, forge for non-ferrous metals, and is an important manufacturer of components for the automotive industry. During the past 20 years, more than CZK 1.5 billion has been invested into the development of the company, and over CZK 600 million has been spent on repairs, which makes the company a major local investor with Czech capital.
Kovolit has approximately 550 employees, and the company thinks about the future and about further development of the company, intends to face new challenges, and sets new ambitious targets so that after the next five years it can celebrate its 100th anniversary in full strength!