Zlín Region

The Zlín Region, with its long industrial tradition, is linked with the name of Tomáš Baťa, a businessman who in the first half of the 20th century turned Zlín into a shoemaking empire. Still today, the Zlín Region is one of the most industrialised parts of the Czech Republic, at the same time boasting a healthy environment, a good prerequisite for the development of tourism.

The Zlín Region is situated in the eastern part of the Czech Republic, stretching along the border with the Slovak Republic. Even though it is one of the Czech Republic’s three smallest regions (with a surface area of 3 964 sq. km), it is quite unique among other Czech regions with its charming diversity of landscape, folklore, historical and technical sights. No other tourist area can simultaneously offer visitors mountains, garden architecture, spas with healing mineral springs, vineyards, remnants of the Great Moravian Empire, numerous monuments and historically valuable buildings, and unique modern Functionalist architecture. Its three ethnographic entities – the fertile Haná, hospitable Slovácko, and distinctive Valašsko – add to the originality of the Region. The beautiful Podzámecká and Květná Gardens and the Archbishopric Chateau in Kroměříž are world renowned, being on the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage Sites. The statutory City of Zlín is the natural industrial, business, and cultural centre of the whole of South-East Moravia. As a Garden City set harmoniously in a natural environment, it is a unique example of Functionalist and 20th-century urban architecture, the heritage of Tomáš Baťa. The city is linked with the existence of film studios, whose importance was enhanced by the success of animated films produced here in the latter half of the 20th century. Each year, the city is the venue for the International Film Festival for Children and Youth and the Barum Czech Rally motoring competition. An important aspect of Zlín are its cultural and educational endeavours. The materialisation of these endeavours are the Cultural and University Centre, built between 2006 and 2011 to the design of Eva Jiřičná, and the 14|15 Bata Institute – newly reconstructed factory buildings, which were opened in 2013 as a new venue for the Regional Art Gallery, the Museum of SouthEast Moravia, and the Regional Library.

ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

The Zlín Region has always been looked upon as an economically strong area with a high concentration of industrial enterprises. The emergence and development of a large part of the industrial manufacturing plants are linked with the name of Tomáš Baťa. In the past, the main manufacturing sector was the footwear industry with other allied sectors, such as the rubber industry and engineering developing in parallel with it. The Region is also known for its aircraft industry and allied branches. These activities were traditionally primarily linked with Zlín, the centre of the Region, and its hinterland. In the course of time, other strong economic centres emerged in the Region, such as Vsetín, Uherské Hradiště, Kroměříž, Valašské Meziříčí, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, and Uherský Brod. The current industrial potential of the Region is based on the existence of the original key manufacturing enterprises and foreign investors in industry. The most important among these are suppliers for the automotive industry, e.g. rubber manufacturing companies (producing mainly car tyres), plastics companies (producing plastics and composite parts of vehicles), machinery, industrial forging, and chemical companies (producing specialised parts for the safety of passengers). Another important branch is the aircraft industry, represented by prominent Czech aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers, companies focused on electronics (R&D and production of semiconductors, photovoltaic systems, and intelligent control systems), precision machinery (vertical and horizontal machining centres, special tooling for machine production), electrical and mechanical engineering (generators, motors and their components), production of weapons, initiation systems for blasting operations, as well as furniture manufacture. In the past few years, intensive development has been witnessed by the ICT sector, mainly in the field of safety (development of anti-terrorist safety systems, electronic transaction technologies, and road traffic technologies). The strong domain

of the region are progressive design approaches that are applied in products, technologies and processes across a number of industries mentioned above. In this respect, a strong ecosystem has developed in the Region. Companies that apply design-oriented approaches are associated in the Zlín Creative Cluster. The Zlín Region offers skilled and flexible labour at very reasonable wage costs. The most important foreign investors in the Zlín Region (according to the number of employees) are the companies of Continental AG from Germany and ON Semiconductor from the USA. In addition, there are numerous successful foreign industrially-oriented investors from Germany, Japan, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, France, Canada and other countries. One also finds significant investments in the Zlín Region by local companies, mostly oriented towards R&D and innovation of their products. Potential investors are able to find suitable plots for their investment projects in a couple of industrial parks or in the database of mapped suitable brownfields in the Zlín Region. The most important development area is the Holešov Strategic Industrial Park, where the construction of infrastructure started in 2008. The chosen area to the south of the town of Holešov fulfils all the conditions for successful projects, positively influencing the future growth of the regional economy as well as that of the whole of the Czech Republic. With its 360 hectares, the Holešov Strategic Industrial Park is one of the largest prepared development areas in the Czech Republic. Investors can choose plots ranging in size from 0.5 to 100 hectares and may take advantage of the perfect access to the Czech and European highway networks. There are a few public airports, including international ones, in close proximity to Holešov as well. The area has all the necessary technical infrastructure, with the backbone transport communications of the Industrial Park being connected with the regional transport network. The area is flat with good conditions for the establishment of basic structures. The competitive advantage of this locality is the industrial tradition of the Region and the Progress Technology Park situated in the heart of the area. This Technology Park significantly broadens the possibilities for investors, mainly those innovation-oriented or start-up companies for which the purchase of a plot and the construction of premises could be a distinctive barrier to starting a new business. Such companies may find their new address as well as the required services in the Technology Park.

THE REGION AND THE EU

More than CZK 41 billion was paid out to the Zlín Region in the 2007-2013 programming period from operational programmes. Adding to it all financial means obtained from the European Union, not only from Czech operational programmes, the total sum amounts to some CZK 45 billion. The largest volume of finance went into the construction and repair of roads and motorways and environmental protection projects. Also important was the support of research, development and innovation. The Central Moravia Regional Operational Programme also supplied several billion crowns for the development of tourism, urban revitalisation, education, social services, and healthcare. The most important revitalisation project was the reconstruction of the former Baťa complex, which helped towards the development of culture and tourism in the Region. Other projects included energy saving, replacement of obsolete heating boilers in households and environmental and healthcare improvements. For example in 2020, the Region obtained more than CZK 54 million from EU funds for the purchase of 13 new ambulances. Part of the project was also the purchase of 28 devices for indirect cardiac massage and four devices for artificial lung ventilation. In future, the Region is planning to invest massively in transport infrastructure, e.g. the construction of two motorways, railway corridors, with the electrification of the Zlín–Otrokovice railway line, and several bicycle paths. One of the Region´s priorities is the support of research, development and innovations, in particular the development of Tomáš Baťa University research centres and the building of new development and innovation facilities in firms. From the Region´s point of view it is also important to invest in new hospital buildings, social services, environmental protection and a number of other areas. From the inception of its establishment, the Zlín Region has been maintaining and developing international cooperation with different regions and areas in other countries. At first, the Zlín Region logically focused on its immediate neighbour – Slovakia, specifically the Trenčín and Žilina Regions. In 2003 it began to cooperate with the Subcarpathian Voivodship, Poland, and the Lviv area, Ukraine. Among European regions it signed a cooperation contract with Piomonte Region, Italy, and Vas County, Hungary, a protocol on mutual cooperation with Hedmark Region, Norway, and in 2011 an agreement on the accession of Zlín Region to the Cammini d´Europa (European trails) network. The European cultural trail of St Cyril and Methodius (EKSCM), created by the association with the participation of the Zlín Region has the ambition to become a Cultural Trail of the Council of Europe.

USEFUL CONTACTS: Zlín Region – www.kr-zlinsky.cz City of Zlín – www.zlin.eu Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Zlín Region – www.khkzlin.cz Technology Innovation Centre Ltd. – www.ticzlin.cz/en Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín – www.utb.cz Holešov Strategic Industrial Zone – www.zonaholesov.cz