150 years ago
Birth of Václav Klement, co-founder of Škoda
On October 16, 1868 Václav Klement, mechanical expert, entrepreneur and co-founder of the car company Škoda was born. After having finished his studies in 1883, he started working in a bookshop in Mladá Boleslav. He had a passion though: one for bicycles. Thus, in 1896, together with his colleague Václav Laurin, he decided to found the company “Laurin & Klement” designed for the production and sale of this type of two wheels. Shortly, the company began to produce motorcycles and due to the mechanical and entrepreneurial level they reached, in 1905, the first car was revealed. After the First World War, in 1925, the company in Mladá Boleslav managed to secure the merge with a strong partner in production, “Škoda” of Plzeň, and opened the way to the large-scale production of vehicles. Václav Klement with his strategic brand management succeeded in expanding the market both nationally and internationally – but he is also remembered as a humble man, close to the problems of civil society.
