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First off I'd like to congratulate my Canadian Friends and the Maple leafs, nice work, but wait till the Sabers really get it going!
All right now what's been going on here. I was at the Škoda Auto works today, and while I was there I was given the history of the company by one of the corporate team members. Now this guy decided to inform us that we have another Bush in office. Didn't everybody think a little this year, or were they all swallowed by the media monster. As far as I can tell nobody wanted either candidate running this year, so what gives? And what's this with Hillary Clinton, she's not even a New Yorker. I guess the bottom line is that once again American politics has dropped another peg on the ladder of credibility, and everything my Canadian colleagues hear about American and how painfully mindless we really are is true. Bi-partasanship isn't the only answer, it's the only convenient one. "Give Me Convenience, or Give Me Death" thank you Jello Biaffra and the Dead Kennedy's, if you ever saw something coming in your twisted, twisted minds, this was it.
But back to the Škoda
This the modified 'Š' |
We all woke up very early this morning to a damp Praha. Lately it's been some on and off sprinkles in the morning, and evening. We had to take the Trams down to the Jarov Dorms, as that's where the bus leaves from for all field trips. We the few here in Krystal are always a little miffed over that, but it's their school, so they make the rules. So we were off early this morning to the town of Mlada Boleslav, where a factory like none I've ever seen was. Except for Kodak we have nothing like this near us to my knowledge. The production plant covered two kilometers square, had it's own tool shops, foundry, paint shops...ect. Almost everything needed to produce the Škoda Octavia model was here. They also had rail yards next to the plant. And in a city of forty thousand some fifteen are employed with Škoda Auto so everybody has somebody working there. Also in the town which is unfortunately full of ugly block housing for the workers, and a section with historical buildings, they have a Škoda Auto museum.
Getting back to the factory. We were taken on a tour of the engine finishing and assembly cell, and the final assembly for the Octavia model cars as well. Experience with the Ingersoll Rand tells me a lot about just about every part of a factory. While I was employed there I made an effort to at least observe every part of production that I had access to. Which means that I was starting to learn the shop floor, and break down/engineering dept. This means that I was surprised by only one thing at Škoda Auto. That being just how clean, and light things were as compared to the factory that I knew. Granted we were on a route that was most likely prepared in advance for a tour, the IR does this too when we have open houses. However I knew where to look, and what to look for after spending a summer cleaning for a fall open house, and for the most part it made Ingersoll Rand, Athens, Tool Division look like hell. Škoda Auto is part of VW now and this would make an impact, and also a car manufacturer doing well so that they have a lot of money coming in, but what I think really made the difference was that they still believed in what the company was founded on. Quality product still held real meaning for this company and wasn't just paid lip service as with Ingersoll and its management.
I asked our guides what kind of pneumatic tools they were using, but as was expected they really didn't know anything past the scripted tour routine that they were use to. Something like Ingersoll PR Dept. they send down two college, just two post college princesses from the corporate sector who didn't know a phillips head screwdriver from an angle grinder. And this is more than adequate for the normal groups, but today I was informed that they had never been questioned to such a level. I only asked then where they got their tools from and if they had an in house break down lab and engineering dept. And then went on to explain my interest and a little background to help explain why in the several year that VŠE has sent students here this was the first one to ask such "real" questions. I always love to see management squirm a little, and I'm sure these girls are going to know for the next shmuck who asks, so it wasn't a total waste. If it weren't for the gigantic language barrier I'd have asked someone on the shop floor. We were in an operating cell, crazy truckers, VNC machine stations, Valcool, which by the way they don't over run till it stinks! Just like home, only the produce was a little bigger being 1.2L engines instead of 231 impact wrenches!
A few more things about the factory are everywhere that a human hand can do a job, a human is doing it, that the workers are paid a few thousand Kc better then most workers in the republic. And they have a strong trade union, which along with maintaining worker safety, and wage, provides for opportunities in housing, and education for the families of the workers. So in light of all I've seen today quality can exist in the twenty-first century, humanity towards the workers, and automation used in limited applications to increase employment. This is a factory that is working as they should for the most part, in comparison to all those I've worked in or toured in the USA. So it is fair to say that one of the ways we became the most wealthy nation in the world was through greed. And here now that they are no longer under the Soviet yolk, they haven't succumb to it yet and I'd hope they never do.
Now their museum wasn't laid out in any way that was all that different than any other museum that I'd been in displaying cars. However it was a modern approach. This is to say that it wasn't simply a barn, hanger, or warehouse, but more on the design lines employed by the new Corning Glass Museum, in Corning NY. The most impressive part of the entire museum was their presentation hall. This hall practically an arena was more impressive than any amphitheater that I've ever sat through any lecture in. But again this is all due to it's very modern construction, circa 1996. Škoda is now one hundred years old, and not all that different than the Curtiss Aicft. Co. They were founded by a pair of men building bicycles, which lead to motorcycles, and then to cars. Škoda is a much larger company than just cars though, this is only a division. Škoda also produces under military contracts, generating the T-72 tanks that the USSR operated, and later many of the Gulf States. Today as a military contract they have the T-72CZ which only has the original barrel from the old soviet tank. This promising to become the next cutting edge tank on the modern battle field.
Other interesting things I've been up to lately, well I was at the grave site of Franz Kafka A man that lived an interesting life here in Prague, as is reflected in his works. I didn't get to see Sparta lose to Lazio in person, the stadium was all sold out. However I did get to see it on the television. I attended a Czech film called Andel (angel) Exit. There were no subtitles, but that has rarely slowed me down in the pursuit of a good movie, and again I wasn't disappointed, as it took nearly ten minutes to readjust to reality after this film. Andel is a metro stop here in Prague on the yellow line out on the south west side of town. The film is a mind blower and I'm afraid that's all you're going to get out of me. I want you to go and look it up and se it for yourselves. I will caution you that it's not for children. Drug use, and violence, are present in a great deal in this film, however it is not just some wacky drug movie like Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. This and another one called Knoflikazé. (the 'z' should be modified with the mark over it) This may be translated as the buttoners. It was a comedy not unlike Four Room's and very, very good. Again with some caution toward youth, but I think it would pass as a PG-13 in the states, and again I saw this in Czech only, and it was great so look them up. I hear that Knoflikazé played in the CBC, so you should be able with some hunting to find this one.
Ok and the big news. I'm gonna be out of communication here for a little while. Martin and I have decided to take advantage of the incredible rates offered to students this month. Every year they have a discount student travel program. I could get to NYC and back here for like $120.00 USD Martin and I are going fly out this Saturday to Sofia, then take a train to Istanbul, and then see how far towards Athens we can manage to get. Now regrettably, I can't take along the digital camera. It only holding 13 pic's max before download, and I can't bring my laptop to download because it's to great a risk to lose it backpacking and hosteling as we will be doing. So I'm going to take the trusty Vivatar, and several rolls of film, and you'll have to wait till I get back to see this one. However I will carry my book and generate plenty of notes to write you all about when I get back to the computer. So you should see some post cards, but things will be a little quiet on this end.
Now Don't worry
the Turks may not have the best rep.
but I have faith that it's going to be a grand adventure.
and I'll have many stories to bring home from this
In addition to Praha!
Love you,
xoxoxo's
mal
Oh and I learned how my name is really written here in the Czech Bible.
Malachiáš
