IMAGINATIVE DESIGN AND SUPERB QUALITY Bang & Olufsen is a manufacturing company from Denmark known worldwide for its very high quality consumer electronics. The company’s philosophy is to have the courage to examine everyday things and to turn them into unusual and lasting experiences, which in practice means constant innovation. In the UK Bang & Olufsen won 20th place in the Superbrands ranking, ahead of corporate giants such as Nike, Facebook and Microsoft.
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avel Merhout, manager of the company’s Czech subsidiary, begins: “Here in Kopřivnice we are the only factory in the world outside Denmark to which Bang & Olufsen has transferred work. The decision in favour of Kopřivnice was taken in 2003, thanks to its long industrial tradition. Here B&O has built a modern factory, opened in 2006 with an overall area of 12,500m2 (of which 6500m2 is manufacturing space). At present the Kopřivnice factory is the main producer of audio systems, and the complete portfolio 106 Industry Europe
of speakers, controllers and telephones for the Bang & Olufsen brand. In 2007 a new warehouse was built on and the distribution of spare parts added. From 2012 the Czech subsidiary has also been producing B&O acoustic lenses and speakers for the automotive sector. Our brand is known for its emphasis on quality in novel designs.” New export territories include Brazil, Russia and China. The company’s culture is based on teamwork. The Danish mother company has passed on to its Kopřivnice colleagues not
only their technical experience, but also their pride in their work and in the brand, a friendly working environment and excellent employee care standards. According to the manager, people in Bang & Olufsen have the possibility of personal growth, of developing their talents and achieving career success. The company in Kopřivnice is flexible on manufacturing times. New products are very much in demand and must be available for distribution very quickly. For this reason it operates an accumulated hours system here, where
