OBZOR, výrobní družstvo Zlín

Our history dates back to 1 July 1965. On this date, the government decided to transfer all operations of the Disability Federation of Czechoslovakia to the then Central Union of Production Co-operative. There were almost 600 employees at the time of the facility handover in Moravia, 90% of which had alternative working abilities.

The mission of the co-operative was to support the state in enforcing social policies for citizens with more serious disabilities. The transition to a production co-operative established more favourable conditions for investment development, as well as the overall development of the co-operative.

The first plant to be built was Zlín - Louky. Construction was finished shortly after the co-operative was established. The Obzor Production Co-operative era also included building a plant in Hluk, a tool workshop in Zlín, construction in Hodonín, we acquired operational capacities in Brno that were more suitable, as well as the headquarters building in Zlín - Malenovice, capacities in Olomouc, Šumperk, Ostrava and Luhačovice. The conditions in Jihlava improved.

At the beginning of the 90s, the co-operative completed the construction of two multi-storey buildings in Zlín - Louky. Co-operative management together with the tool workshop and complete inventory moved into the newly erected buildings in Na Slanici.

In 1992, the co-operative structure was transformed in compliance with Act 42/1992 Coll. and changed the name of the organization to Obzor, Production Co-operative Zlín.

Changes in the organization structure of the co-operative included selling the Ostrava and Hodonín plants in 1993, the Hluk plant in 1994, and the Brno plant, associated with the Jihlava facility, in 1997. As a result of selling the Hluk plant, in 1994, the co-operative was forced to build an injection shop in Zlín Na Slanici, which was then equipped with state-of-the-art machines.

Year 2000 can be considered the beginning of development and the subsequent production of home switches and outlets in the form of switches, outlets, control elements and others. Since 2010, the company has been intensively engaged in developing
international sales relationships with Austria, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries.

Today, the co-operative has plants in Zlín, Uherské Hradiště and Olomouc, in which it employs about 300 employees. The co-operative strives to continuously improve the quality of its products and so in 1997, it applied for quality system certification in compliance with ČSN EN ISO 9001:1995. In 2000, the quality management system in compliance with ČSN EN ISO 9002 was successfully defended, and in addition to this, we are also currently certified in compliance with ČSN EN ISO 9001:2009 and ČSN EN ISO 14001:2005.