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We are right to be proud of this event, and we realize that it is primarily we, the company’s employees, who predetermine whether the Wikov brand will be preserved for the next generation or not. We believe that it will.
On exactly 22 December 1918 the company Prostějovské továrny na stroje Wichterle & Kovářík, a joint-stock company, was founded. This merger resulted in the largest Czechoslovak plant for the production of agricultural machinery. The factory occupied an area of 250,000 square meters and employed 2,000 workers and 150 clerks.
The range of products offered was extremely wide: small hand tools, ploughs, threshing machines, potato lifters, steam locomotives, stable diesel, gasoline, gas engines and generators to drive mills, workshops, and smaller plants. In 1922, when the owners of Wikov brought back an Italian Ansaldo car from their visit to a Viennese exhibition, cars were added to the product range. Although their production represented less than 10% of the total volume of production, most of the cars were originals tailored to the needs of the customer. For example, Tomáš Baťa had a sleeping car for his journeys from Zlín to Prague manufactured here. Therefore, many cars remained only in prototype, e.g. the 1931 Drop, the first aerodynamic car in Czechoslovakia. After World War II in 1946, Wikov was nationalized and renamed Agrozet, k.p. and later Agrostroj Prostějov st. p.
Wikov is a traditional and largest manufacturer of industrial gearboxes and gears in the Czech Republic and belongs to the leading global industrial gearbox manufacturers. The manufacturing history is dated back to 1884 in Hronov and 1918 in Pilsen. In its nowadays condition, the Wikov Industry engineering group started to establish in the market in 2002. The group is formed in the Czech Republic by manufacturing companies Wikov Gear in Pilsen (high-speed gearboxes and repairs of mechanical gearboxes), Wikov MGI in Hronov (industrial gearboxes, gear units for rail vehicle industry and for renewable energy), Wikov Sázavan (precision engineering components) and Detail CZ (precise parts for trucks, construction and agriculture machinery). R&D division Orbital2 provides the design of planetary gear units for Wikov companies. The German company GGT Gmeinder Getriebetechnik, which manufactures and services rail vehicle gearboxes, became part of the Wikov Group in 2019. In 2023, the Group began acquisitions in the North American market, which is now represented by Wikov Gear Canada and Pacific Rim Engineered Products. The former is engaged in the manufacture of large gear components and servicing of industrial gearboxes, while the latter assembles gearboxes, hoists and advanced mechanical equipment primarily for the oil and gas market. Both companies are based in Canada. In 2023, Wikov Indigear was established in Pune, India, and its main focus is the assembly of gearboxes for rolling stock for the Indian and Asian markets. The entire Wikov Group´s Gear division currently employs more than 1,000 people, with annual sales of USD 160 million. The whole group is profitable in the long run.
We are aware of the fact that we cannot live only from history, therefore, we invest regularly in the research and development of new products, progressive technologies and management systems so that we are always on the cutting edge of our industry.
We proudly take care of the Wikov brand so that following generations will be able to celebrate the next 100 years of its existence.
