Škoda Works

one of the largest heavy machine-building works in Europe, located in the city of Plzeň (Pilsen), Czechoslovakia; the works originated in a factory that was founded during the 1860’s to produce agricultural implements. The works underwent a major expansion before World War II. In the postwar years the production of the Škoda works played a major role in the reconstruction of Czechoslovakia’s economy and in the development of economic cooperation between Czechoslovakia and other socialist countries. In 1951 the name of V. I. Lenin was added to the works’ name.

During the mid-1970’s more than 45,000 industrial and nonindustrial workers were employed by the Skoda Works. The production program of the works encompasses more than 50 branches of machine building. The main products manufactured are steam turbines, turbogenerators, hydroelectric generators, compressors, transformers, rolling mill and foundry equipment, hoisting cranes, large metalworking machine tools, electric locomotives, trolleybuses, and other equipment. About 40 percent of the total production is exported, mainly to the USSR and other socialist countries. During the early 1970’s the expanding cooperation of the COMECON member countries in the development of nuclear sources of electric power resulted in the works’ undertaking the production of equipment for nuclear power plants.