Despite the pandemic and worldwide decline in the automotive industry, the Kopřivnice-based Tatra Trucks have achieved their production goals and fulfilled their commitments to customers. In total, they delivered 1,186 trucks to their customers. In 2020, they also celebrated their 170th anniversary and won a major contract in Germany.
In 2020, Tatra Trucks A.S. won new orders together with partner companies and produced some unique vehicles. Above all, there was the delivery of 41 TATRA FORCE 4x4 special fire trucks, with an option for another 5 units for fire brigades of the federal state of Brandenburg, where TATRA cooperates with their long-term partner THT Polička. This is the first such large order for TATRA fire trucks in strongly competitive Germany. Already at the beginning of the year, TATRA cooperated with Excalibur Army and THT Polička to deliver the Fire and Rescue Service of the Czech Republic with two special fire trucks - a tanker-type rugged CZS 15 Triton fire truck and CV 40 large-volume tanker, which are unique in their categories.
In defense technology, representatives of TATRA EXPORT and Huta Stalowa Wola signed an agreement in September of last year at the MSPO defense fair in Kielce, Poland, to offer the Polish Army the TATRA 4x4 armoured vehicle project. Deliveries of TATRA trucks for the Army of the Czech Republic also continued as per contracts signed in previous years. TATRA also announced that they plan to expand in the Brazilian market. In addition to expanding their cooperation with the Brazilian defense industry, a production plant should be constructed directly in Brazil this year to manufactrure TATRA trucks intended primarily for the local civilian market.
2020 was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, which affected a large part of the economy of most countries around the world. The pandemic hit the automotive industry with a particularly hard impact. In this context, the vast majority of car and truck makers in Europe have suspended their production for some time and have had to deal with problems associated with it and with production declines. Tatra Trucks in Kopřivnice was one of the few companies that did not stop their production line. It ran at full speed throughout the year even while corporate management introduced strict hygiene and safety measures.
This allowed the truck maker to secure the protection of its employees' health and at the same time fulfill their commitments to their customers. "Despite not yet presenting our financial results, we can say that our well-established organizational arrangements and mutually friendly cooperation with all business partners have let us not only keep our production going without interruption, but also exceed our business and financial goals projected for 2020," said Miloslav Mahut, the Finance Director and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tatra Trucks A.S.
TATRA fulfilled their production plans and deliveries to customers even though they had to face certain difficulties. These arose mainly due to delays in the supply of components from a few subcontractors, where the pandemic and resulting restrictions caused manufacturing complications. The Tatra Trucks A.S. management solved the problems by regrouping its production plan and setting up a new sequence on the line. We also managed to provide full service and after-sales services to customers. In addition, the company set up a servicing package to support the operation of Tatra trucks used by the Emergency Service of the Czech Republic and the Army of the Czech Republic performing important tasks within the framework of government measures to protect the health of the population.
Due to the global pandemic, the Czech government declared a state of emergency in the first half of March. Most industrial enterprises in the Czech Republic and in Europe have responded to the spread of coronavirus by stopping or significantly reducing production. The effect of the coronavirus on the automobile industry is especially grave, since many automakers across Europe have declared temporary shutdowns and many have extended shutdowns beyond their original dates. Among the few exceptions is the Czech Tatra Trucks A.S., the Czech bus manufacturer SOR Libchavy and factories of Solaris company in Poland. However, Hyundai and Kia's factories in the Czechia and Slovakia resumed production in a limited mode a few days ago.
TATRA keeps running its production despite the quarantine, and its management does not plan to limit it now. The company also continues to provide services for its customers. Since the beginning of the state of emergency, one of the oldest worldwide vehicle manufacturers has also devoted extraordinary efforts to the protection of employees' health. Therefore, throughout the pandemic crisis, there has been no one infected with COVID-19.
Since the backbone of the Czech Army's and Czech Fire Rescue Service's logistics fleet is consisted of TATRA trucks, these trucks now help distribute the medical and other strategic material across the country. TATRA acknowledges the key role of Tatra vehicles in the times of pandemic. Therefore, its management has taken measures to support the operability of TATRA trucks used by the Czech Army and the Integrated Rescue System ot the Czech Republic (IRS CR) units. The manufacturer has set the highest priority for TATRA trucks used by the Army and IRS CR within the dealer and repair and maintenance service network, including the company service centre in Kopřivnice.
Regarding protection of employees' health, there is a set of protective measures in place. Employees are required to wear faces masks, and managers and office workers are asked to work from home as much as possible. There is also limited association in the TATRA premises, and excursions and external visits are prohibited. Tatra Trucks also withdrew its employees from abroad and most of them were put in quarantine for preventive reasons. Antibacterial and disinfectants are distributed on the premises of the company. Strict hygienic measures are also followed by employees of the catering department, and special rules apply to external suppliers when entering the TATRA premises.
However, even Tatra Trucks A.S. faces some challenges due to the unprecedented lockdown of the country: there are minor problems linked to the delays in components supplies from a couple of subcontractors. This has been resolved thanks to the management by regrouping the production plan for April (and if necessary, also for the following months), and by planning a new production schedule. TATRA has not yet experienced cancellations or deferrals of orders from business partners and vehicle buyers.
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