100 years is not enough - the history of the Czech battery brand

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The History of Bateria Slaný CZ

Bateria Slaný CZ has an extraordinarily long and interesting history. Behind its founding was a visionary, and its development was driven by countless talented and hardworking employees. Let's take a look at the beginning of battery production in the former Czechoslovakia and the company's development against the backdrop of modern history.

How It All Began

The company's roots go back to the very beginning of battery production in Bohemia, in 1919. At that time, the plant in Slaný opened its doors for the first time to its 50 employees. The founder was industrialist J. J. Pála, who also gave his name to the title of his general partnership - Pála & Co. Factory of Electric Cells and Batteries in Slaný. Pála followed his personal motto: Quality must be world-class, and the price Czech. And it paid off.

Within a year and a half, production had increased so much that the premises of the former sugar refinery, which Pála occupied, became insufficient. He therefore converted the general partnership into a joint-stock company. This provided enough funds to build a new modern factory, which was built under the direction of the renowned Slaný builder Vilibald Hieke. The main assortment of the then "Pálovka" were batteries, flashlights, and flashlight cases. Later, production expanded to include light bulbs and...

The symbol of the factory was a horse under a light bulb in a triangle. This animal represented tenacity, reliability, and conscientiousness - qualities that Pála demanded from his employees and himself.

The Interwar Era of the Company's Greatest Development

Quality was a priority for Pála's company from the beginning. In the spirit of his company motto, Pála established corporate laboratories responsible for the quality of the output material and further encouraged innovations in the plant. This step, which is common for us now, was revolutionary at the time. No competing company in the European market could boast quality control laboratories. The main products were "Normal" batteries for pocket flashlights and cylindrical cells, which resembled today's  AA. Back then, they were sold under the names Baterie dámské and Baterie Berlové.

To keep up with the times, the company began producing devices directly related to batteries. In 1932, Pála applied for a concession to manufacture radios, which, in addition to Czechoslovakia, also found their way to Hungary, Germany, and Great Britain. The production also expanded to non-battery products, including cleaning agents, adhesives, or a Czech version of cologne called Karmelitka. However, the mainstay of production remained batteries under the name Palaba. The most famous included Zlatá Palaba, Excelsior or Jupiter.

Nationalization in 1945

In May 1945, the founder and driving force of the company, J. J. Pála, was arrested, and his company, now renamed Palaba s. s., was taken over by national administration. At that time, Palaba was one of the most important factories, and its operations were not affected even by the Second World War. It still had enough qualified workers, equipment, and mastered know-how. In 1946, Palaba, under the name Bateria, Plants for Accumulators and Batteries based in Slaný, was incorporated as part of the General Directorate of the Czech Republic of metal workers in Prague. There were 15 similarly incorporated enterprises. The production of the original range was transferred to other plants, for example, batteries were taken over by Prague Accumulatorka Mladá Boleslav or radio components were taken over by Tesla Lanškroun. On the contrary, other production programs were integrated into the plant.

In 1954, the company changed its name again to Bateria Slaný, n. p. Slaný, which lasted until 1980. At that time, Bateria became a corporate enterprise, part of the TESLA Consumer Electronics Bratislava concern. During this period, Bateria produced 106 million cells annually.

During the 1960s and 1970s, several significant changes occurred at the plant. Among the most important was the construction of a new M2 hall and the purchase of new Vidor machines. Since more than 70% of the plant's employees were women, other corporate changes aimed to support them. In addition to establishing a corporate health center, a company nursery was also opened. During this time, the management also made efforts to train its own apprentices in the company's apprenticeship center in the fields mechanical locksmith, toolmaker and operational electrician.

The 1980s saw an extraordinary trend in the growth of consumer pocket batteries, leading to further production increases and modernization. In 1985, the company produced 144.5 million batteries, and the plan for the next five-year period was to produce 1 billion batteries.

The Pivotal Period of 1990

Like many other Czech companies, Bateria Slaný was forced to cope with an entirely new economic environment, the loss of traditional markets, and the loss of its monopoly position on the Czech market. As a result of small privatization, the company lost significant partners. Moreover, the production technology was significantly behind world brands. The way out of a practically liquidation situation was to join forces with a strategic partner. This became the American company Ralston Purina Overseas Comp., with which Bateria Slaný founded the first joint Czech-American enterprise in the republic Ralston/Bateria spol. s. r. o. This joint venture, after a complete modernization, began to produce the well-known product line of Wonder batteries.

Over the following years, several significant reconstructions had to take place. The assets and buildings were outdated, most new corporate activities were unsuccessful, and the company's losses continued to grow. The result was the sale of the company's shares. In 1996, Cetus became the new majority shareholder, which initiated its pragmatic strategy. The goal was to stabilize the company, get rid of debt, and, if possible, further develop it. These steps led to the establishment of the subsidiary Tool workshop PALABA s. r. o. and subsidiary company Bateria Slaný CZ s. r. o.

In the spring of 1998, the Bateria Slaný brand re-entered the primary pocket battery market in grand style. The return of the brand, represented by a horse under a light bulb, was accompanied by a large marketing campaign that attracted attention and brought the brand back to the consciousness of customers. After 2000, Bateria Slaný participated in many charitable and socio-cultural events to support not only a good cause but also brand awareness.

Bateria Slaný also began selling and distributing maintenance-free HAZE lead-acid batteries. This move was the company's response to the development of technology that requires this type of battery, such as UPS, backup power supplies for computers, and power for wheelchairs.

Milestone of 100 Years

Since Founding The joint-stock company PALABA a. s. and its subsidiaries Bateria Slaný CZ, s. r. o. and Nástrojárna PALABA s. r. o., are companies with a long tradition. We are proud of all the employees who have worked and are working here and have contributed to the company's growth and stabilization. We are immensely proud that despite all the adversities of fate and historical upheavals, we can continue to carry the torch of a long-standing tradition up to the centenary milestone. And hopefully further into the coming years.

- The Bateria Slaný CZ team