Liko stories 2 2014

2 2014 Since 1997

LIKO-Stories

Quarterly export issue of the company magazine

We are building a happy and green company

SUMMER BE PRAISED

LIKO-S INTERIORS EN ROUTE TO CONQUERING EUROPE!

WELDING IN AUSTERLITZ

LIKO-S DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

WHY THE CONNECTION OF LIKO-S AND ICYNENE®? • EVERY IDEA OR INITIATIVE IS WELCOME • ICYNENE® INTRODUCED OUR UNIQUE HALL SHEATHING TO THE WORLD

INTRODUCTION

SUMMER BE PRAISED For one word, our young colleagues!

For the past 12 years, my family‘s summers have been associated with sport and the travelling around the world that comes with it.

By sport I mean BikeTrial, which has given and taken a lot. Besides our son Jan‘s sporting success and, hopefully, a good influence on his habits, we had to give up our comfortable and quiet way of spending summer, for which I am grateful to my family. When Jan quit top level sport, our summers became less busy. Now, we finally have time to just travel around leisurely.

I have not yet lost touch with BikeTrial, though. Exactly ten years ago, representatives of 12 European countries founded the European BikeTrial Union and I was chosen as the first and so far the last president of this international organization. It is an entirely voluntary post which only costs me a little bit of time and money when I travel to European competitions. In ten years we organized 35 European Cup and European Championship BikeTrial events. The competitions were attended by hundreds of riders of age 6 and higher, including world champions and other professional athletes. I think we influenced a generation of young athletes in a way that they can, thanks to EBU, travel around Europe with a specific goal, to places they probably would not otherwise visit, and learn how people from different corners of Europe live and work. It is interesting to watch how travelling to such places for the first time affects Czech families. Considering these competitions take place away from tourist resorts, people used to different conditions are progressively changing their outlook. A beautiful transition. Travelling with a goal is a part of learning. It helps me a lot as well.

This year, BikeTrail brought us to the European Cup in northern Italy, to the town of Valgoglio. This is what I like about this sport.

It brings its „victims“ to places outside of general interest since it requires a location full of rocks, boulders, trees and such. This way we can stay in forgotten guest houses, small hotels, camping sites and observe the everyday work and habits of those wonderful people. Besides that, for two or three days, I also have the privilege to lead an international team of hosts and watch the different approaches of people from Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Spain in rather tense situations connected to the rivalry, mostly caused by mad parents, using their children to treat their own complexes, a flaw shared

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Giuliano Gualeni (right) with Libor Musil in front of a vehicle inside of which Daniele (back) hand-assembled an application technology. by people of all nationalities. However, that does not apply for everyone. Although such people make our organization profitable, making money is by no means our goal.

This year after the competition, I stayed in Italy a little longer and visited our new distributor of Smartisol® Daniele Gualeni from the town of Darfo Boario. Daniele is a former 22-year-old Italian BikeTrial rider who worked in our company for almost a year as an insulation foam applicator. Then we offered him a three-month training at ICYNENE®, the dealer in Kentucky, USA, where he broadened his professional experience.

It all culminated in him establishing a company, where he set up his own application technology that outperforms our equivalent in many regards. Recently he started selling our insulation in Lombardy (which is, by the way, a region of 15 million inhabitants). Dear readers, Daniele is a brilliant example of a young man full of energy, drive, enthusiasm, that is well-mannered, loyal, respectful and self-confident – a treat I would very much like to see in our company as well, as opposed to young, tired bodies that do not know what they want, which also appear in our company from time to time. Daniele is grateful for the opportunity to work, he does not mind sacrificing his time for the good of the business and, on top of that, he decided to bear a great risk by taking a big business loan at only 22 years of age. I wish him the best of luck and we will help him as much as possible. And he is very grateful for that.

Similarly, we help the young employees that start working in our company. In most cases they do not bring much and we have to teach them everything. That is just how it is and the reason lies within families and schools. We are not solving this issue, only fixing its outcome. The young people after graduating, however, nowadays feel that they need to change their employers often to gain as much experience as possible. That is a bad habit, superficial, simple and thus inefficient like all other simple ways. This habit could be applied in the past era of almost no unemployment when companies hired employees to meet deadlines. While travelling with young athletes I see how this approach has changed in Spain, Italy, Germany ... For our young generation, it is more difficult to wade through the company structure year after year, have energy to convince the older, more experienced co-workers of their ideas and finally become a valuable expert. We,

The new Italian colleague of Smartisol® Daniele Gualeni inside the vehicle for the application of Icynene® spray foam insulation.

OUR DEVELOPMENT

the managers, make mistakes as well, when we are putting millions every year into new employee training, only to see them leave later to seek a new job. When we ask: „What new job?“ – They say: „I don‘t know, I‘ll see.“ This is a matter of approach to life, to responsibility to the people that surround me, to those that taught me and expected I would repay them for their efforts. I suppose we cannot make people in their late twenties change this attitude. It is a matter of their personal approach to life and values.

I see what conditions the employees of other companies and in other countries have. At LIKO-S we create good working conditions, but we also want something in exchange.

When these „wanderers“ suddenly decide to leave us, we cannot stop them, but we have to ask them for something after all. Something more than just the minimum set by law.

We also offer our people more than the law requires us to. The law sets the minimum limit and that should apply to everyone, be that in our firm or in life in general.

To both employers and employees. Upon being handed a notice, we often hear ridiculous assurances like this: „But I will keep working here for another two months!“ That means: „Even though you as an employer provided me with more than just the minimum required by law, you should be glad I will keep the law. It is, in fact, common to leave even before those two months pass.

Goodbye!“ The only thing we can do is to give the wanderers this assurance: „Our company invested a lot of money and energy into you to make you a proper employee of a top-notch European company. We hate to see you go but have no option other than to respect your decision, even though we do not think it is a good one. Give your team at least a chance to fill the hole you are leaving behind. Train your successor the way we trained you. The law, however, does not require you to do so, but we kindly ask you to do it anyway. That is what polite people would do, and we want to remember you as a polite person and further spread this reference.“ Anyway, back to „my“ BikeTrial – seeing how difficult life is in certain parts of Europe and the world, I am convinced that Bohemia and Moravia are currently among the best places to live. Today‘s young generation grows up in affluent circumstances thinking it will stay like that forever. It will not. Staying on top requires hard work and ubiquitous competitors will always gladly fill the spots we leave. We need to use the prosperity to prepare for tough times, to fortify our positions in companies and markets. The wanderers cost companies a lot of money, which then eventually lacks in the global competition. And we do not want to play second fiddle!

Libor Musil, Chairman of the Board

TIME FOR DETAIL

Connection of the partition and ceiling without compromise

Nowadays in administrative buildings there is a big emphasis on both acoustics and design. Therefore we must be able to offer to the architects and developers a solution without any compromises. The newly developed profile by LIKO-S called Time For Detail (P97) results in a faultless transition of a partition to a suspended ceiling, ensures perfect stability of the connection and improves the system in terms of acoustics. Additionally it creates a seamless design and the emphasis on suppressing the visible profiles.

Our new Time For Detail (TFD) solution can be used for all the LIKOform® systems. Its advantages include the possibility to use it for both new and current suspended ceiling and a simpler installation of the acoustic barrier.

Also the variability of the system is improved since the space created by uninstallation can be closed with a cover and everything is ready for a repeated use without further intervention into the interiors.

The P97 profile is hung from the ceiling construction with Nonius suspenders in a maximum distance of 1.2 metres. The suspenders allow for soft rectification of the ceiling unevenness and ensure a sufficient stability of the suspension. In case of connecting the profile on a vertical structure, we can stabilise it with steel squares.

Radovan Cek, Designer of the development

Profile P97, agriKomp, Střelice

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OUR DEVELOPMENT

LIKO-S DEVELOPMENT CENTRE and knowledge of water treating.

Project visualization (view from the west).

The final preparation for the modern development centre is currently under way, a place dedicated to the development of our core products. There will also be an environmental and an anechoic chamber. The anechoic chamber will be used for the measurement of acoustic parameters of interior particles connected to various structures.

This will allow simulation of a real building situation and to achieve the best possible sound insulation parameters of modern interior segments. We will thus be the only company of its kind conducting such tests on real sites, as opposed to optimal laboratory conditions. The customers will, therefore, be provided with the maximum assistance in solving of their problems and needs. The environmental chamber will be used to develop modern Smartisol® constructions for the most demanding conditions and structures.

It will also allow us to conduct cyclic loading testing on products that affects the product lifespan, helping our company offer the best that can be bought in a given segment, which has always been our primary objective.

The facility will also contain a training centre, where young technicians will be provided with training for future construction experience. They will actively participate in the development of our products and in the extending of our cooperation with foreign companies, investors and research institutes. As a result, we will be able to keep track of all modern technologies, which will then be implemented in our products. For instance, it will be possible to project a building plan on a movable wall and to mark changes and details on it, while everything is recor-

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ded and projected on the wall of a cooperating architect or builder in any other part of the world. Our products will thus help investors easily connect their business with foreign markets, enabling their companies to grow dynamically.

The building itself will be unique from the structural point of view and its operation will be completely independent of the power and water supply. The roof of the building will contain a water filtration system, also used for cooling of the building surface in the summer months. The building will be also shaded by a green facade consisting of plants, mitigating the temperature changes affecting the building. Everything will be connected to a surrounding lake functioning as a water reservoir. This development centre will also serve as a real model for modern commercial buildings that our company will hopefully build for our clients in the future.

A part of the facility will be a children‘s area designated for the children of the employees, since our company has always based on the three solid pillars important for good life: work, family and hobby.

We can all imagine an autonomous family house, but what about an industrial building that will operate independently, manufacture products and thus generate profit? All in balance with nature, which the humanity has already devastated to a substantial degree by its actions. We have to start repaying the debt we owe to the environment, to preserve it for future generations!

Project visualization (view from the north).

Lukáš Kovařík, Technical director, Energy

Lukáš Kovařík (left) presenting the development centre project to Ivan Bureš.

INTERVIEW

PROF. ING. ARCH.

ZDENĚK FRÁNEK:

Every architect desires a partner like this ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR – MR. ZDENĚK FRÁNEK IS DEDICATED TO ARCHITECTURE FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS, AND CURRENTLY WORKS AS DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE AT TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY IN LIBEREC. WITH GREAT PLEASURE AND DETERMINATION HAS UNDERTAKEN THE PROJECT AND PREPARATION FOR OUR DEVELOPMENT CENTER. ON THIS OCCASION WE ASKED HIM FOR AN INTERVIEW. Mr. Fránek, could you describe the operation of your studio to us?

Our studio consists of ten to twelve people, sometimes only six if needed. That is a manageable amount, I want to have everything organized and be the author of the majority of ideas coming out of my studio. We work on all types of buildings the clients want us to. We are trying to make our creation compliant with the environment as much as possible, to make it extraordinary, yet considerate from all perspectives. Making good architecture, often in spite of all deep-rooted habits, requires us to constantly and strenuously fight for the good cause.

Which major projects have you personally designed and which do you consider most successful?

I can reply to this question only from my point of view, i.e. which buildings are significant to me. In a way, every building I designed was essential for me since they all gave me something new, which pushes me forward.

I like my civil buildings - the churches in Litomyšl and Černošice, and now also the LIKO-S project. I have a feeling it will be extraordinary. I have an emotional attachment even to some of my unrealized buildings that pushed me forward as well.

What projects are you currently working on?

At this time there are 10 buildings under construction and I‘m working on about

Meeting at the Fránek Architects studio, from left: Lukáš Kovařík, Libor Musil, Zdeněk Fránek.

20 other projects of apartment buildings, civil buildings but mainly family houses. For instance, we are planning a construction of an apartment building in the immediate vicinity of the Convent of Saint Agnes in Prague, located on the Vltava waterfront. It is a difficult task, full of surprises. What brings me the most joy is working on the LIKO-S development centre project. It will be a unique, lively structure that will push all the people working on it forward. I learn a lot from this project and the whole crew is very interested in it.

At what occasion did you start cooperating with our company?

I have known your company for about 20 years, you have realized a lot of production halls that were designed in our studio. We also use your partitions. This all was, however, tended by my employees. This year I was contacted by the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Musil, who offered me a cooperation. The meeting was warm, very unexpected and at least for me, more than pleasant. In my opinion, every architect desires an investor and a partner like this. I will take our cooperation very seriously and put all my effort into it.

The LIKO-S development centre project is very unusual and, more importantly, very timeless. Is this your first building of this kind, or have you realized similar projects before?

We conduct surveys in lots of different fields.

We have used some aspects of this building before, e.g. the facade and roof design, the dis-

position, solar energy, water management, etc. This is, however, the first time we combined all these aspects of an environmental building of this complexity. It is a challenge and you are the first, who has such vision and who is planning to build a complex structure like this. I am happy to be a part of it.

Could you tell us more about this project?

It is going to be a small, energy independent development centre built on a body of water.

We decided it to be a wooden structure covered by round, vertical gardens and marsh, in a way that the building is connected to the surrounding nature as much as possible, while providing maximum comfort and energy independence at the same time. And it does not produce any waste! That sounds like something out of science fiction.

How do you see the future of modern architecture?

The architecture of the future will develop in many directions. One of these directions will be in compliance with nature, considerate of it as much as possible, like this very project.

It will teach us to live embraced by nature, making us realize that we are merely a tiny part of this world.

We thank you for the interview and wish you every success in this cooperation.

Jiří Stratil, editor In cooperation with Lukáš Kovařík, Technical director, Energy

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INTERIORS DIVISION

THE CONNECTION OF DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY We have been noticing for quite a while that the requirements of our customers, regarding our partitions‘ design and functionality, are changing significantly. We are ceaselessly trying to come up with new changes to our partition systems that would satisfy our customers as much as possible. For instance, we have focused on the use of mostly unused glass or solid partition filling. When we asked ourselves how to use this space effectively and give it a function other than room separation, we found the answer in everyday office life. Where do I place a flip chart I just bought without it being in the way? Where can I put the important graphs and information for my co-workers?

The solution may seem prosaic, yet it is functional. Using the glass as a board on which we can write, or even hang documents by magnets if we provide the wall with a magnetic foil. Glass panes in office interiors are currently very popular and utilizing either fully or partially glazed walls in this way makes it both stylish and functional.

Another option is the use of notice boards built in the partitions in a way that it does not interfere with the surroundings. The customers can choose from a variety of different surfaces.

These are examples of the functional design we offer to our customers.

Roman Macko, Manager of the Bratislava Branch

Kentico, Brno 6

Česká spořitelna, Ostrava

PSJ, AZ Tower, Brno

AgriComp, Střelice

Amazon, Bratislava, relocatable partitions are both aesthetic and functional.

Abbvie, Bucharest

Salvus, Bratislava

Galeria Gagarinova, Bratislava 7

INTERIORS DIVISION

LIKO-SPACE® MOVABLE WALLS for a Pilsen theatre Pilsen is becoming the European Capital of Culture in 2015. This is one of the reasons why a new theatre is being built on Jízdecká street, where we were given an opportunity to show what we are capable of in the field of interior design, acoustics and technical functionality. The theatre, being of industrial design, allowed us to implement two Liko-Space® movable acoustic walls for the rehearsal room of the orchestra and for the „Little Scene“. Both walls have a visible track, suspension and a black steel structure, which is anchored to a concrete ceiling.

LIKO-S also delivered Sonorbery acoustic suspensory units used for sound absorption at different frequencies. We have successfully completed this difficult task and contributed to the general impression the theatre will give in the upcoming event and to every future visitor.

Jozef Ferjo, Sales manager of the Prague Branch

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INTERIORS DIVISION

A MODERN FIT OUT FOR REBUY STARS THIS IMPLEMENTATION OF A RELOCATABLE PARTITION SYSTEM IN REBUY STARS, SEATED IN THE AMAZON COURT BUILDING IN THE KARLÍN DISTRICT OF PRAGUE, WAS ADDED TO OUR LIST OF GOOD REFERENCES.

The order consisted of the delivery of MICRA II partitions with inner blinds and LIKOform® veneer panel partitions as well as the adjustment of the existing plasterboard partitions. One of the client‘s requirements was to apply the profiles used for MICRA II partitions also to the plasterboard and the LIKOform® veneer panel partitions, to create an impression of a unified construction. Another special requirement was the placement of slanting plasterboard walls connected to

a MICRA II partition with a slanted blind.

LIKOform® veneer panel partitions include horizontal and vertical tongue and groove joints. Part of the veneer panelling also covers the existing plasterboard structure. Since the veneer was imported from Italy, it was delivered later than expected and that complicated the overall coordination to a certain degree.

Lukáš Mikyska, Project manager of the Prague Branch

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OUR PARTNERS

LIKO-S INTERIORS EN ROUTE TO CONQUERING EUROPE!

Jan Musil, project manager of Hent Lennard Lessnert and lead installer Jan Tongel‘ in front of a school in Norwegian Bodo where we have installed ceilings.

I must say that a lot has happened since I was writing about our vision for the first official LIKO-Stories in April. Our Export team has been extremely busy with day-to-day business which is a very positive sign on our journey to conquering the European market and we definitely want to keep it this way. However, further steps and actions must be taken by us to further develop our strength and improve the support and service for our partners. I believe we have also been successful in this regard in the past months.

Firstly, we have done process improvements in our internal daily operations. Our everyday work on the projects of our partners is the core of our business and we are always trying to get ourselves better at this.

Operations in terms of pricing, ordering, quality control, logistics and on time delivery must be as efficient and error-proof as possible to ensure that we can focus on the most important part of our work – our partners! And I believe that we are on the right path with this. However, we will not stop in our efforts. Thanks to our debriefing sys-

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Our collegues from Amina products accepting small goodtraining.

tem we know very well that there is no such thing as a flawless project. One of the principles of our company philosophy is the importance of details and that is where we will focus our attention now.

aimed at sales and calculation training and was once again very productive. The Swiss market is open for us and I believe our AMINA team with their enthusiasm and dedication is to be even more heard of.

However, developing our Export is not something which can be done from behind the office desk. I am very glad to have been able to visit (and host) many of our partners from all over Europe.

At the end of April I have visited our British partner company INTERFINISH UK and met with the owner and manager Stephen Hobbs. Even though 2014 has not been the best year for IF UK so far, the market potential seems motivating and it seems like our English partner is on the right track.

My first journey this year of course could not have been to any other place than the beautiful Switzerland. Our partner there, AMINA products, with its network of customers has over the past years become the real example of a successful member of the international LIKO-S group. Rolf Ritter, the owner and managing director, is how I imagine a true business partner and I believe this is one of the main reasons for AMINA’s continuous success. Very soon after my visit to Muri I was able to meet Rolf and his colleagues Markus and Stefan once again, this time in our company headquarters in Austerlitz. This two day meeting was

In our last LIKO-Stories we have published an article with our new Romanian partner, Bucharest-based company Corporate Office Solutions. COS has become a very strong and reliable LIKO-S partner in the past months but only after my visit to Bucharest did I realise what an amazing company this really is. From the remarkable story of the owner and managing director Christophe Weller to their beautiful headquarters which also function as a showroom – I saw commitment every little detail. Their business model which ranges from project

OUR PARTNERS

design to installation seems to be working very well and thus it was a natural that soon our meeting in Bucharest we were glad to be able to organise FARplan training for COS technicians Paul and George. Not only did they learn all the features of FARplan (including the newly developed MICRA version) but George also managed to basically destroy the LIKO-S team in a couple of games of laser tag.

Lately, I have also managed to visit our Belgian partner YALTA. This company is run and owned by whom some people might

-bye gifts from Jan Musil after the sales and technical describe as the most experienced salesman of relocatable partitions in Europe – Jan Beerteens. Jan has been in the business for a long time and is also a LIKO-S partner since a few years. After YALTA’s successes in the past years with LIKO-S, 2014 has so far been a bit of low point in our cooperation.

However, after spending a full day with Jan and Jonas in Antwerpen and seeing YALTA’s newly restored energy towards achieving highly on the Belgian partitions market, I feel very confident about our common future. Thanks to their technical experiences over the many years, partners like AMINA products and YALTA are also very beneficial to LIKO-S in terms of development of new products which is another great synergetic effect of our Export business.

In the past issue you also had the chance to read a little about our project in Bodø.

Bodø is one of the fastest growing cities in Norway even though it is more than 150 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.

Our team was installing suspended ceilings and acoustic wall panels on this project of a new local school which was contracted by

one of the biggest construction companies in Scandinavia – HENT. After 7 months of a lot of travelling and thousands of ceiling tiles installed, we have successfully finished this project with a full satisfaction of the customer. This is of course a great reference for us and I believe this is not the last project we have carried out in the north of Europe.

As I have already written before, Germany will for the coming years be one of the main focuses in our activities. From our experience, German market is one with a gre-

Two Jans (Beerteens and Musil) and the YALTA technician Jonas Verheyden at dinner after a fruitful meeting in Antwerpen.

Ladislav Ravas and Jan Musil with general manager of COS Christophe Weller and COS sales manager Stefan Olarn in the newly refurbished HQ of COS. at potential where our quality, lead times and personal flexibility have quite a value for the customer. With that in mind, I also met with our German partner from Lüdenscheid – company LIKO-S Germany run by Dirk Van Aerschot. Dirk’s company has been steadily growing since their entrance into the LIKO-S group and from what I have seen and heard there is more to come. I trust that LIKO-S Germany will benefit from our activities in Germany and that we will together build up a strong LIKO-S brand which represents quality, innovation and flexibility.

Additionally, I have had the pleasure to meet another interesting German company.

HVP from Hamburg is a business owned and operated by the Karacic family. Over the past 29 years HVP has become a well-known leader in the dry-wall industry in the region of Hamburg and now they also want to take on the LIKO-S relocatable partitions.

Thanks to their very good name, hard work and enthusiasm it seems that becoming the Hamburg leader in partitions might not also be too far away. Even though our coo-

peration only started a few months ago, we have already carried out two projects. On one of them, Kontorhaus am Fischmarkt, we have also met with the infamous German Strähle which have installed 3 of the 5 floors of this building with their partitioning system. Nevertheless, Mr. Karacic managed to persuade the investor to go for the LIKO-S system for the 4th floor. In the end, the customer was very satisfied with us and it seems that the last remaining floor is not the last project in Hamburg that will bear the connection of LIKO-S and HVP. All in all, 2014 seems to be a successful year for the LIKO-S international group. Even though we still have a few months to come, we are already planning our next year. I believe 2015 will be a big break-through point for our Export with very exciting new products coming along and our Export activities becoming even more intense. But more about that the next time …

Jan Musil, Head of Export

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OUR PARTNERS

OTHER PHOTOS FROM EXPORT

Interior of a new building of a college in Bodø, where we have installed ceilings. Quite nice college, don’t you think?

This is also a benefit when you work in Export.

LIKO-S team together with our new partner from Hamburg, Company HUP (on the picture the Kovačič brothers who own and manage HUP).

The biggest vortex in the world in Saltstraumen near Bodø. Our installers handled a vortex on a building site very well.

Part of our visit by COS was a dinner in the oldest pub in Bacharest.

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At dinner in a port Bodø from the left lead installer Jan Tongeľ and installers Jiří Dubský and Roman Leitgeb.

ENERGY DIVISION

ICYNENE® INTRODUCED OUR UNIQUE HALL SHEATHING TO THE WORLD OUR METALWORK PRODUCTION PLANT WITH A UNIQUE SHEATHING COMPOSITION, WHICH WE FEATURED IN OUR MAGAZINE SEVERAL TIMES, WAS INCLUDED IN THE SUCCESS STORIES LIST AND WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE WORLD WITHIN THE ICYNENE® GROUP. t n plan ductio g’ prore rePuBliC buildin gion, CZeCh n via ra ‘living h Mo u Brna, Sout Slavkov

complement to the prefabricated wall

system.

Icynene H2Foam Lite™ is a 100% water-blown, halfpound foam that is HFCand PBDE-free.

Constructed in a record time of only 45 days, the new LIKO-S production plant has a floor space of 720m (7,750 sq. ft.) and features 2 an array of external materials including grass.

For further information, contact your

The use of Icynene H Foam Lite™ spray 2 foam insulation means that employees can continue working in insulated comfort throughout the year creating ‘Living Buildings’ systems equally as effective, energy efficient and visually stunning at the LIKO-S production plant itself.

Footnotes: 1. Icynene Inc. would like to thank Icynene contractor, LIKO-S a.s ENERGY for their assistance with this document.

Photographs supplied by LIKO-S a.s ENERGY.

of Icynene Inc.

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Specializing in the production of prefabricated ‘Living Buildings’, Icynene’s licensed contractor in the Czech Republic, LIKO-S, built their own production plant in the heart of the South Moravian Region using Icynene H2Foam Lite™.

In the heart of the Czech Republic’s South Moravian Region, licensed Icynene® contractor LIKO-S works with clients to develop high-performance pre-fabricated buildings known as ‘Living Buildings’.

Tailored to suit the individual needs of each client, LIKO-S has built a series of ‘Living Buildings’ in a variety of building types including offices, warehouses, manufacturing plants, car dealerships and even parking garages.

Icynene H2Foam Lite™ is a 100% water-blown, halfpound foam that is HFCand PBDE-free.

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The adaptability of these buildings allows clients to design a structure that not only features the latest energy efficiency materials and solutions but also allows them to use a multitude of different materials without breaking the bank.

Showcasing the ‘Living Building’ concept The new production plant for LIKO-S in the town of Slavkov u Brna (Austerlitz) showcases the ‘Living Building’ concept. The team designed and built their new production plant using a variety of different materials and finishes to emphasize how flexible their patented system truly is.

The patented prefabricated wall systems feature Icynene’s open-cell light density spray foam product, Icynene H2Foam Lite™.

Ideal for both residential and commercial construction, Icynene H2Foam Lite™ has a soft, flexible composition that maintains a complete air seal all year round, even after seasonal expansion and contraction.

Furthermore, the spray foam is able to adhere to a broad range of substrates in a wide

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icYnEnE.Eu & icYnEnE.coM

range of weather conditions, making it an ideal complement to the prefabricated wall system.

Icynene H2Foam Lite™ is a 100% water-blown, half-pound foam that is HFC- and PBDE-free.

Constructed in a record time of only 45 days, the new LIKO-S production plant has a floor space of 720m2 and features an array of external materials including grass.

The use of Icynene® H2Foam Lite™ spray foam insulation means that employees can continue working in insulated comfort throughout the year creating ‘Living Buildings’ systems equally as effective, energy efficient and visually stunning at the LIKO-S production plant itself.

For further information, contact your local licensed Icynene® dealer.

Icynene Inc. would like to thank Icynene contractor, LIKO-S a.s ENERGY for their assistance with this document.

Source: icynene.co.uk Photographs supplied by LIKO-S a.s ENERGY.

13

ENERGY DIVISION

WHY THE CONNECTION OF LIKO-S AND ICYNENE®?

And what does this connection bring to the construction market in Europe?

advised our clients against scrimping on investments in their premises and explained to them the importance of letting the premises serve the business and make money in the future. And the result? We built almost 1,000 business buildings in Central Europe and our customers keep coming back.

The close and beneficial cooperation between our company and ICYNENE® is stretching back nine years and our relations are very good. It is an honour for LIKO-S to cooperate with the world‘s best company in the foam thermal insulation field and to be ICYNENE‘s first-class business representation in Central Europe. Our mutual business, as well as the quality of our cooperation, keeps thriving.

LIKO-S also enriched the Czech language by a new word, „vestavek®“ (inhall unit).

We were wondering how we should call the system of divided spaces for production halls and warehouses that we constructed and manufactured ourselves. After a long registration procedure, it was acknowledged that LIKO-S was the first company bringing the word and the product into the Czech market.

Is it a coincidence that LIKO-S chose ICYNENE® as its strategic partner in the insulation field? What does this connection bring to the construction industry?

Our cooperation began after a then export director of our company was sent to a construction fair in Toronto, where he was supposed to look at new progressive construction technologies in North America. Besides many other interesting things, he brought a small booklet about a new house insulation technology that uses a soft open-cell foam. It was the time of a massive expansion of ICYNENE® over the whole North America and our company searched for a new and innovative impulse in the insulation field, where we expected a market growth due to an increase in energy prices. We have never walked the well trodden path, the reliable path chosen by most companies. We have always been seeking something new and different. This has been innate to our company from start.

We have done this many times in the past.

Examples?

of this field in Central Europe. We ourselves managed to install 20 hectares (200,000 m2) of acoustic ceilings, bringing new quality to office interiors.

In 1995, we became the first company in the region providing relocatable aluminium partition systems. In that time, brick and plasterboard partitions were much cheaper and more widespread, but our partition system provided new, different quality for the customers and secured its spot in the market among popular high quality technologies.

I am glad we still are at the top of the Central European market and that we are one of the world‘s best companies.

These are the examples of our company‘s innovative successes and their outcomes. Right after the Velvet Revolution, we became the first company promoting and selling suspended acoustic mineral cassette ceilings. We became partners with a Danish company Rockfon® and, in 1998, we were its largest foreign representative and the leader

In the late 90‘s, we came up with a new system of prefabricated buildings for medium and small businesses that we called Living Buildings®. The idea of providing a building system flexible to the needs of the customer was revolutionary in times when companies had to be built as cheaply as possible.

We could not build at low cost. However, we

14

Libor Musil with his son, Jan, on a photo for an interview in the magazine „Ekonom“.

We have prepared some surprises for this year‘s construction market as well. Also our metalwork is planning nice surprises for the customers. But all these will be announced at the right time.

Currently, we are pushing the way for a new generation of thermal foam insulation. We helped to start a new era of thermal insulation. Just like before, we are aware that we opened the construction market for a very progressive trend and that this trend will have a great future, bringing our customers a lot of satisfaction. We have been using this technology for nine years already, and we pushed its way not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the whole of Europe, where we were the first company receiving the European certification for this type of soft foam insulation.

Polyurethane foam has been used as insulation for many years. The formula invented in Canada, however, bestows the ICYNENE® foam insulation with exceptional and unique qualities. We provided our builders with this patent on water based expan-

ENERGY DIVISION

ding foam and started applying it in houses.

There are now almost 6,000 satisfied house owners who have our company‘s foam insulation installed in their homes.

38 15 10 6 4 27

Why did those customers choose us and ICYNENE®? In case of modern technologies, it is always good to know the background of the companies that came up with the innovations. The background of the Canadian company ICYNENE® consists of a 30 year development of a soft open-cell water-based foam. None of our competitors are even close to that. When a company applies a new material in my house, it is important to know what kind of company that is, what quality it guarantees and how much I can trust the whole system. The company culture of LIKO-S has developed its own meaning of the words many other companies use to present themselves as well. Our interpretation of these words is their true meaning:

Sprayed Thermal insulation Icynene® - Smartisol® ensures the best possible insulation.

500%

Insulation Market Growth (long term)

450%

Other 27%

400%

Icynene 38%

350%

300% 250%

Bayer 4%

200% 150%

Lapolla 6%

Insulation

100%

BASF 10%

Market shares of the open cell insulation foam market in North America for year 2013.

Source: CPI data.

Installation

50%

Demilec 15%

0% 2003

US Housing Starts 2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Long term development of the insulation market in the United States.

Note: Company incomes indexed to their turnover in 2003. The value of Icynene was derived from the realized amount, the values of Owens Corning and Masco are based on company turnover.

Source: Company Filings, Equity Research.

Note: Companies indexed to 2003 revenue. Icynene figures based on volume, Owens Corning and Masco figures based on revenue Source: Company Filings, Equity Research

Our company is reliable – our business partners and employees can rely on us, we do not promise what we cannot deliver, we fully met our commitments. Quality and results are of utmost importance to us.

Our company is correct – our people must provide correct information, we do not fool our business partners. The specification of our work and its result must be in compliance with our client‘s expectations and the instructions.

Our company is solid – solidity forms the foundation of our company. We are a Czech family business that has been in the market for 22 years already. We have no debts with banks; we meet our liabilities in time. Our capital and company assets with reserves fully cover all our commitments. When we give warranties on our products, we know we would meet them. This is possible thanks to the stability of our family business and our financial prudence.

It is often entertaining to observe how many companies use these words in empty phrases.

What are they willing to promise their customers just to generate instant profit or at least to survive.

I am glad I am surrounded by capable professionals who provide the Central European market with the most advanced high-quality product in the family house thermal insulation segment that can be made. Once again

we open new future and show the path. I wish our customers to enjoy our cooperation and I want to assure them that we always await their wishes and comments. We are looking for every inspiration to our never-ending improvement.

We know that being the best is the best.

Libor Musil, Chairman of the Board

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ENERGY DIVISION

A FRUITFUL MEETING OF THE SMARTISOL® TEAM AN ANNUAL MEETING OF SMARTISOL® - ICYNENE® DISTRIBUTORS TOOK PLACE IN SUMMER 2014. I WOULD NOT EXAGGERATE IF I SAID IT WAS AN INTERNATIONAL MEETING. THE CZECH REPUBLIC WAS REPRESENTED BY SALES MANAGERS OF LIKO-S TOGETHER WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES MUSIL, SPOL. S.R.O., KP – IZOL S.R.O., ZAIZOL S.R.O. AND ZDENĚK HAVLÍČEK. THE MEETING WAS ALSO ATTENDED BY REPRESENTATIVES OF DOM MONT S.R.O. FROM SLOVAKIA AND ERNST STOCKER FROM AUSTRIA.

The training took place on LIKO-S premises.

On the first day, all participants were welcomed by Martin Diviš, Director of Energy Division, and acquainted them with the successes of Icynene® spray foam insulation in the world and informed them of changes to the Civil Code. Václav Pěnička was giving advice on creating a successful regional company.

This was followed by a popular informal discussion about improvement and innovation.

In the afternoon, we moved to Austerlitz Golf Resort where we used the services of a professional golf instructor. On the golf course, we also had the opportunity to meet Roman Šebrle, Ivan Lendl and Libor Sionko, and watch them play, which was a great experience.

The training continued on the next day with a favoured technical part prepared by Lukáš Kovařík. As a bonus, there was an interactive lecture on selling Smartisol® over the internet, led by Mr. Diviš in cooperation with Viktor Janda from Seznam.cz. Mr. Janda went through the distributors‘ web pages and gave everyone advice on how to improve

them from both the graphic and search engine optimization perspectives.

The meeting in general created a great opportunity to share opinions and experience, which improved the team cooperation and contributed to our goal of being the most successful and respected construction distributors.

Jana Vránová, Assistant of Smartisol®

Jana Vránová deserves praise for the organization of the training.

Show by Martin Diviš.

The „Live Room“ came alive again, a regular meeting of our sales managers and regional Smartisol® distributors.

16

We provided attendees with a lot of technical material they can utilize in practice.

Zaizol, a company seated in Smržovka and led by Martin Pilz, became the top distributor of 2013.

Mr. Libor Musil presenting the benefits of a connection between distributors and strong companies like LIKO-S.

The prize for the most interesting project was awarded to the Musil company, led by Aleš Musil.

Vašek Pěnička and Ernst Stocker at the Austerlitz golf course.

Smartisol® in action.

The ladies of Smartisol® , Mrs. Havlíčková (from the Zdeněk Havlíček company in Sedlčany) and Patricia Sotolárová (Dom mont, Žilina).

The Smartisol® team members about to begin their golf training in Slavkov where they would learn the basics of this sport.

17

PRODUCTION DIVISION

WELDING IN AUSTERLITZ

Roman Zouhar

Welding in Austerlitz.

The Production Division is an integral part of our company. It naturally developed over time. Over the past 22 years, shareholders of this company invested into our division around EUR 5 million in total. These resources, with the help of our division‘s employees, were used to build a shop floor where production lines are manufactured using modern equipment. We focus on the field of stainless steel and special heat resistant materials. The welding of these materials in various positions is the most difficult task one can encounter in this field. Nevertheless, it is a sphere in which we are deep rooted after 20 years of

know-how building. We expect it will stay like that even in the future. The craftsmanship of our welders and the knowledge of our technologists helped create the Welding in Austerlitz brand. The brand is based on experience and knowledge, and their constant expansion. Our brand has also been positively evaluated abroad, in countries where our production lines were delivered.

Our division holds Pressure Equipment certificates: • EN 15085-2.2008 • ČSN EN ISO 14001.2005

• • •

ČSN EN ISO 3834-2.2006 ČSN EN ISO 9001.2009 and EWT.

This all, however, has no value to us if our customer is not satisfied. The satisfaction of our customer is our only criterion. That is why we have our own internal quality management, consisting of certified and trained employees who inspect welds and choose which of them is the best each month. The welder is then financially rewarded and acts as an example for others. This way we for-

TECHNOLOGY In the machining area, we use numerically controlled (CNC) machines – a milling machine and a lathe.

CNC lathe MT 820I CNC 3000 Swing over bed: 820 mm Swing over cross-slide tool box: 530 mm Distance between centres: 3,000 mm Max. work-piece weight: 2,500 kg 18

CNC milling cutter VERTICAL MACHINING CENTRE DMG - DMC 1035 V ecoline Working range: X 1035 mm, Y 560 mm, Z 510 mm Maximum speed: 8,000 rpm

We also use SolidCAM for CNC programming and SolidWorks for product modelling.

PRODUCTION DIVISION

CLEAR CLEANand andGREEN GREENproduction production

In the April issue of LIKO-Stories, we have informed you about the production of transit shed vehicle cockpits that was under way in our metalwork shop. The cockpits have been implemented in transit shed vehicles which are now fully operational. We are delighted by the letter of thanks we have received from our French partner, praising the work of our craftsmen and technicians. One of the received photos is attached below.

Editors

Stainless steel water tank. med a team of welders where only the best remain.

This project goes beyond the borders of our company. We are building a base in vocational schools through LIKO-S classes and, of course, also in the Austerlitz welding school.

This secures the continuity of the Welding in Austerlitz brand. This brand has already spread into most European countries. Our brand‘s welds can be found on products exported to Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, China, India and New Zealand. Our know-how does not only

A LETTER OF THANKS FROM A FRENCH CUSTOMER

dwell within our employees, but also in the technologies we bought and applied on our products.

Thanks to the combination of our technological capabilities, which are on the European level, and our weld execution, we can confidently present our products in international trade fairs, such as Elmia Subcontractor 2014 in Sweden and Kooperationsbörse im Erzgebirge in Germany. We look forward to meeting you in these fairs or on any other occasion.

Roman Zouhar, Director, Production

In the metal forming area, we employ a bending machine and a hydraulic four-cylinder centering machine.

11/6/2014

Dear partners, In the attachments you will find a photo taken on the Gaussin open day from last week. In total, we assembled 31 vehicles, a docking station and four prototypes.

The event was attended by 160 potential customers.

The presentation of the Gaussin company and taking of these photos was possible thanks to your everyday work.

I thank you for your cooperation on the PELINDO project and believe we will soon start working together on a new series (20 vehicles for the Hamburg port or 40 electric vehicles for Turkey).

Best regards, Aleš Jindřich / Sociéte AJIS / Gérant - Directeur Operationnel AJIS s.r.o., Jilská 4, 110 00 Prague 1

Blasting units Capacity: 18,000 m3/hr Total pressure: 2,600 Pa Electric motor: 18.5 kW, 400/690 V, 50 Hz Dimensions: Length: 15,000 mm Width: 5,500 mm Height: 4,100 mm

Paintshop Wet paint booth is a place where we perform surface finishing of our products.

Dimensions: Length 8m, Width: 4m, Height: 2.8m, Airflow: 36,000m3/hr., Maximum temperature: 60°C. 19

PRODUCTION DIVISION

Martin Víšek:

EVERY IDEA OR INITIATIVE IS WELCOME MARTIN VÍŠEK WAS CHOSEN AS THE HEAD OF THE SUPPORT DIVISION, FACING DEMANDS FOR CHANGES AND INNOVATION RIGHT FROM THE START. I ASKED HIM HOW HE MANAGES HIS NEW POSITION AND WHICH GOALS HE HAS REACHED SO FAR. Martin, did anything take you by surprise when you started working as a head of the Support division?

I was surprised by several things, especially by the way everything is organized. The companies I encountered, for example, rarely had such a well-organized and labelled storage system like the one in this company, even though it is one of the most essential things.

I have witnessed situations where, due to insufficient storage organization, even a search for a single item was very problematic and taking several hours. This applies to production as well. I have everything I need for work at hand and do not lose valuable time searching. Thanks to such system I can accomplish a great deal of work every day which gives me lots of satisfaction.

Jiří Králik preparing one of the hundreds partition profiles for milling.

20

Jiří Silnica is our glass expert.

For which goals have you aimed first and which goals followed? What have you and your team achieved since you began working for our company?

One of our first and ultimate goals is to reduce the number of complaints to zero. In February, the month I started working, there were seven justified complaints in total. We managed to come up with corrective measures helping to eliminate these flaws. There were only two complaints in March.

I have also focused on the LIKO-Space® product, together with Lukáš Hromada. The problem we were trying to solve was that the delivery of the panel material usually took four to five weeks. We have succeeded in making adjustments to the production in a way that the standard panel material can be delivered within a week. On top of that, we also improved the acoustic parameters of the product.

Zbyněk Macalík helped me address the issue of cooperation with suppliers. This is also a part of our goals for this year labelled as „supplier-buyer relations“. We are negotiating with them about the conditions and

quality of deliveries to make them satisfy our needs. We only want high-quality and reliable suppliers.

As for the matter of glazed partitions and their capacity planning process, I am cooperating with Aleš Spálovský. Due to the high amount of modifications in the production, however, we could not accomplish much. Nevertheless, we will keep trying to find a way to succeed in this task.

We have managed to enter our accounting documents into a system. Martin Slimák and I can thus keep track of every document, see which supplier‘s documents we are lacking and then request their provision. We are grateful for the support of Martina Polová, who helps us with routine activities and ensures that every member of our team attends to things that matter, thus contributing to the operation of the whole company.

How does your team cope with your intentions?

My team consists of great people that support and help each other. They fully realize

the importance of all decisions. We all know how important these changes are and anyone can come up with new ones. Every idea and initiative is welcome, whether it comes from my head or any other.

Are any of your team members contributing to the development in practice?

Yes, it is one of the most important processes. We are constantly working on improvements to our products and services. Every day we carry out an inspection to identify the causes of problems and delays and to check if there is anything not functioning as intended or visibly flawed. We approach every issue and try to find an improvement. Innovation and development are essential parts

Every detail matters! Dalibor Kučera (left) and Martin Hrabovský.

My team consists of great people that support and help each other. We all know how important these changes are and anyone can come up with new ones. Our common goal is quality and therefore elimination of complaints. We are not only making products, we are also trying to improve them. of every company‘s philosophy. Companies neglecting innovation and development will eventually fail in the market.

Martin Víšek in „his“ operation...

...and with Marek Novozámský, supervising the making of doors.

What are your plans for the near future?

We are planning to implement weekly productivity evaluation. Every production employee will know exactly how effective he was in the previous week. A certain degree of competitiveness is important and should be present on the workplace.

Another major plan is to complete the unfinished project of running individual production operations and then the final product through terminals, together with the bill of delivery. This is connected to the already mentioned capacity planning, which will help us optimize the production process and reflect better on the deadlines required by customers.

Thank you for the interview. I wish you every success.

Jiří Stratil, Editor

To wrap everything up and prepare for expedition - that is the job of Patrik Škultetý and Ondřej Holásek.

21

EXAMPLES INSPIRE

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FAMOUS BAŤA FAMILY

Jan Antonín Baťa in his house in Batatuba.

The Musil family at the Baťa Cities exhibition in the Brno House of Arts, which our company financially supported last year.

I belong to the generation who grew up in the socialist era and started a business after the revolution. For the past 24 years, I never ceased to search the best way to do things. How to improve the effectiveness of our company, its competitiveness, how to motivate our employees, how to constantly develop and innovate, how to connect the company and family life in the best way possible. Our competitors to the west of our borders had the opportunity to both learn in top quality schools and gain experience and inspiration from their surroundings. I am very grateful for every good advice, especially from people that know our field and have similar experience.

There is a lot of theorists, but their advice is not convincing enough.

Tomáš and Jan Antonín Baťa did not attend manager schools either. Nevertheless, they accomplished what has been accomplished only by a few people on Earth and left us a great heritage. The written life stories of Jan Antonín Baťa and his brother Tomáš lay the groundwork for the Czech business environment. It is hard to find similar literature anywhere else in the world. These books describe the business lives of particular Czech businessmen and workers. I learn a lot

from their stories and often feel ashamed.

I feel ashamed realizing how slowly we often carry out projects even with the help of modern technology, compared to the way these gentlemen from Zlín carried out theirs, back in the day and on every continent. In the era between the First and the Second World War, The Baťa brothers set up the right standards.

We still have a lot to learn.

In LIKO-S, we are trying to follow the basic principles of the Baťa system. We perceive our business as a service to customers, our employees are the foundation of our company, we are trying to ensure their professional and personal growth by systematic training, our teams trade with each other and members are paid from the income of their teams.

We reward active employees who show initiative, we want our company to be nothing but the best in its field. We are convinced that the only way to success is a hard everyday work, using brain instead of muscles where possible.

LIKO-S is a Czech family business. The Baťa company was also a Czech family business at its peak. Therefore, the Czech owner of the company learns a lot from the life stories of Tomáš and Jan Antonín. Both positive and

22

negative lessons, such as: How can a Czech family conquer the world and earn huge global respect? How can Czech politics and envy destroy this national fortune? How can a family raise a thriving successor to the company (Jan Antonín in this case)? How can family conflicts damage the whole legacy (in the case of Tomáš Baťa Jr. taking over the company)? How can a Czech family make their company the best example of the international business history? How can we twist the history, erase the phenomenal Jan Antonín and replace him with Tomáš Jr., who transferred the pre-war world-famous concern into an insignificant company of the present?

I consider Tomáš Baťa, the founder, to be the best example of a visionary and a manager, and his brother, Jan Antonín Baťa, to be the example of a world-class business person, manager and thinker. They both are the best examples of Czech businessmen and patriots.

In LIKO-S, we are trying to enhance their legacy. We are building Happy and Green Company.

Libor Musil, Chairman of the Board

EXAMPLES INSPIRE

JAN ANTONÍN BAŤA: „NOVÉ KNÍŽECTVÍ - ROMÁN Z PRŮKOPNICKÉHO ŽIVOTA“ WILL BE PUBLISHED WITH THE SUPPORT OF LIKO-S

The fourth volume of a unique edition of a so far unpublished literary legacy of a brilliant Czech-Brazilian industrialist (the 10th „Baťa“ volume including reprints and the 42nd volume of the Nakladatelství Marek Belza publisher). The story of this begins to unfold in Zlín at the times of the Second Czechoslovak Republic, at the beginning of the protectorate era. The Baťa „youth“ undergoes a difficult 200 day trip to Brazil through southern Fran-

VALUABLE AND TIMELESS THOUGHTS OF JAN ANTONÍN BAŤA OUR MAGAZINE WAS GIVEN THE HONOUR OF PUBLISHING CHOSEN QUOTES FROM THE SPEECHES OF JAN ANTONÍN BAŤA.

Back at home we thought the world ended behind the hill, and once we spend months travelling and seeing the world is endless, we start being lost and desire to go back home, to our bowl of potato soup and dumplings, thinking it would be the salvation of our lives.

We desire splendid isolation, where everything would be small, yet our own. But the big world is flowing around us and forcing us to participate either under our conditions or someone else‘s.

(Za obchodem kolem světa, published in 1937 in Zlín, republished in 2006)

The book cover of „Nové knížectví“ by Jan Antonín Baťa.

The Baťa Shoe factory in Batatuba, writing on the wall: „Work is the best teacher“ and „Tomorrow will be too late, start immediately“.

ce. They arrive in Sao Paulo where they begin working in the Sapaco company in Água Branca and experience the life in Brazil. Then the expedition is divided, some people stay and the others travel to the emerging Batatuba.

In the second half of 1940, the protagonist, Jarka Rotal, and his family travel to Indiana, to a place where also the boss and his family arrive to plan a colonization of Mato Grosso.

The Baťa youth first takes part in the colonization project in Indiana and Somambaia.

The process is complicated by blacklists. Planning to build a city in a rainforest, thinking about emigration in the history. The need to revitalize the Viacao company in the terms of blacklists - finding a solution to the crisis, several people in doubt. First attempts to establish Somambaia, finally the building of the city of Batamato.

It is necessary that you keep this upswing of humanity, nation, craft and the world alive and unbroken for the future. It is important to stay positive even in this negative world of destruction and firmly hold the belief, the direction and the goal which connects everyone in this world together, regardless of race, nationality and religion: The service for the people.

(Nové knížectví, non-dated, exile, first published in 2014 with the support of LIKO-S, taken from the speech addressed to the „youth“ of the Baťa School of Work on 1 January ,1939)

If there were 20 million unemployed people in Europe, it was because Europe lacked a million of well-bred, sculpted, courageous businessmen that would find a way to employ everyone. The reason for this was the poisoned climate caused by the seeming victory of communism in Russia. Many people believed it is safer to be employed in the public sector, or to be employed in general, as opposed to becoming a businessman.

(Těžké časy, non-dated, exile, first published in 2008)

We have a number of personal shortcomings.

We are highly antisocial. We do not learn languages. We do not laugh. We poorly communicate with other people, let alone with strangers, just as we poorly celebrate happiness. Even our celebrations of 28th October are full of a 300 year serfdom, with more grief than happiness.

Our self-confidence is insufficient. We are not certain. We think that other people, people of other nationalities, are something different even though we know they are made of flesh and blood just as we are.

The human mind is elemental just as everything else. It works more strenuously only if you use a certain force on it. Because of this, there are and always will be wars in the world. Because people start thinking hard only if they feel threatened. At the times of peace and serenity, they only think about the 13th salary, shortening of their work hours, their benefits, etc.

(Román života, non-dated, exile, first published in 2009)

„TRUTH ALWAYS SURFACES, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO BELIEVE IN TRUTH AND NOT IN COINCIDENCE. HONOR TRUTH, VALUE TRUTH AND WISH TRUTH TO EVERYONE.“ the last words of Jan Antonín Baťa, written on a piece of paper in São Paulo hospital after the last of his heart attacks in August 1965

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S. .

A , S NGS.COM I LIKOWW

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ING W. LIV