Stadler produces trains that meet even the most demanding customer needs. Bohumír Kráčmar is the Managing Director of Stadler Praha, the development and design office of the Central Europe division. Its portfolio includes the most modern rolling stock for both rail and public transport.
In 2024, you will celebrate 15 years on the Czech market. You are still a young company. How have you grown in that time?
We have been operating under the Stadler brand on the Czech market since 2009. But the history of our design office is almost 20 years older. In fact, our beginnings in the rolling stock industry date back to around 1989. At that time, the dynamic development of the entire current Stadler Group began in Switzerland after the entry of the new owner, Mr. Peter Spuhler. But we still had a long way to go before we met in the world of rolling stock. Some of us started before the Velvet Revolution with locomotives, trams, and the Prague underground produced by the thenmanufacturer ČKD. After Siemens’ subsequent capital injection into the company, we became involved in the process of building its design capabilities for the new markets of Central and Eastern Europe. It was a period of learning about reality, which confronted us harshly with its socialist past. Many other successful companies in the Czech Republic have certainly experienced this as well.
Unfortunately, the global economic crisis hit in 2008 and affected Siemens’ rail business, among other companies. The result was the closure of the Prague plant and the transfer of existing production technologies to Vienna. The decision to close the plant also affected engineering. At that time, however, we were already working in a consortium with Stadler to supply the first doubledecker trains for the Swiss state railway SBB. This was a turning point for our future. There were already mutual working and, above all, personal contacts that preceded our further destiny. And then, in the summer of 2009, an offer came from Switzerland that could not be refused. To create a Stadler design office in Prague. At that time, we started with a small team of thirty designers. That was the Swiss condition. To select the best. Today, our design office employs 180 qualified engineers primarily working on international projects throughout the Stadler Group. Their work can be found on railways all over Europe.
Swiss quality is a name in business. What management experience have you gained in implementing it in this environment?
Yes, Swiss quality is a name. And we were aware of it from the beginning. It helped us a lot that we already had some experience after almost eight years with Siemens. That kind of prepared us for what was to come. But we also had to start changing our overall approach to our tasks. Higher commitment and maximum consistency. The “it will fall into place” method does not work in the West.
And in Switzerland not at all. It took us several years to gain their trust. But when it comes, you are pleasantly surprised as you gradually become part of the team. Both professionally and personally. Professionalism and a responsible attitude are the most valued qualities. You are on board when you understand that and identify with that philosophy. Switzerland is a relatively small country. The hardworking nature of its people is what makes it where it is. After overcoming the initial distance, we have gained their trust. Our reward was that we were given complete freedom in further professional development. It is not about some management crash course. It is about working together with a common goal.
You carry out independent projects on the Czech market. Introduce them to our readers.
The first project of the Stadler Group on the Czech market was the Leo Expres project. Most of you are probably familiar with these elegant black and gold trains. Few people know that their construction is the work of our office. With this project, Stadler helped one of the emerging private carriers to join the Czech railways. Today, we can say that it was successful.
This was followed by RS1 units for regional transport around the cities of Liberec and Jihlava. Their supplier was the German plant in Berlin. Stadler Praha was mainly involved in commissioning and customer support. Five years ago, Stadler won a tender to deliver 40 trams for the Ostrava Transport Company. Its development was handled by our design office and expanded the existing tram portfolio of the entire Stadler Group. It is the first foreign tram on the Czech market.
And it already has its followers in Central Europe. Recently, our company has also established itself in Slovakia. After the delivery of new trainsets for the Tatra Electric Railway, new comfortable KISS double-decker units, which are again the work of the Prague design office, will start transporting Slovak passengers next year. Our eastern neighbours will thus be able to experience the comfort of travelling at a Swiss level for the first time.
Your products are mainly seen on the railways and the tracks of cities. What makes you unique?
You cannot say we are unique. We were just ready to seize the opportunity at the right time. And we made the most of it. We have not been the only ones in the Czech Republic. I remember the words of our owner, Mr. Spuhler, when we entered his empire. Where there is no risk, there is no profit. That was probably the main impulse that started us in the beginning. He made us leave calm waters and go on an adventure.
It took a bit of personal courage to change something in my professional life. It is all about people. When you have a good team, success comes with it. In our case, our foreign customers evaluate our products positively and do not make a difference whether they were made in the Czech Republic or Switzerland. And this is the best award for us.
Thank you for the interview.
