In 2006, KAISER took the decision to look for a suitable company in the Czech Republic, Poland or Slovakia with a view to making an acquisition. The aim was to establish a stronger presence in its Eastern European sales markets as well as creating a different cost base through the addition of another production site in addition to Liechtenstein. These countries were chosen as potential locations due to their geographical proximity to Liechtenstein as well as their tradition in vehicle and machine manufacture. In spite of an intensive search and contract negotiations with two potentially interesting companies in the Czech Republic, a suitable acquisition candidate was not found, and KAISER decided to set up a new company and build a new plant. In 2007, KAISER went ahead with the construction of an additional production site for municipal vehicles on a green field site in the municipality of Krakovany, not far from the well-known spa town of Piestany in western Slovakia. Key figures in this process were Markus Kaiser, Walter Ott and welding engineer Petr Port who was originally from the Czech Republic and worked for KAISER at the time, where he was responsible for the quality of steel sourced from the Czech Republic und Poland.
“Kaiser Eastern Europe”, as the new subsidiary was called, started production in February 2008. Today, the plant manufactures the vehicle models EcoCombi and Eco 3.0 as well as the CityCycler and CityCleaner. In addition to the manufacturing facility, which like the Liechtenstein plant has a high level of in-house production, the company has its own sales and a service department for sewer cleaning vehicles and mobile walking excavators.
When it came to recruiting personnel, KAISER focused on candidates from the Krakovany area as far as possible. Every effort was made from the outset to foster a strong identification with the KAISER company on the part of the new workforce. As part of this approach, the Slovakian team spent several months in Schaanwald for on-the-job training.

Roman Marek has been operations director at KAISER Eastern Europe since 2007. He explains what working for KAISER means from his perspective:

“First of all, the opportunity to work for a first-class company in a very specialised area. In terms of production, manufacturing products that belong to the very top segment in the industry. Then working with people from different countries, with different opinions, mentalities and cultures, but with one goal: bringing to market top products with no compromises. It’s the combination of all these factors which makes the work so fulfilling. I can be creative, develop, and I enjoy what I do. By working for KAISER we can also show that we have good professionals in Slovakia who are capable of working to KAISER ’s standards and providing excellence as well as contributing new ideas. The constant technical development is another thing that makes the work so exciting. The informal atmosphere and open communication within the company is something quite special. Another aspect I find important is the teamwork, the way people work together and the willingness to help one another. It’s a good feeling when you can say at the end of the day: ‘Guys, you’ve done agreat job!’”

Roman Marek

A book about our history

When marking our milestone birthday in 2013, our first aim was to take advantage of this opportunity for a more in-depth look at our past and also to document it. This was the context which gave rise to the idea of the book. As a result of our collaboration with the author and historian Veronika Marxer as part of our team in Schaanwald over an 18-month period, a work has been created which vividly tells the story of how the company developed from a small workshop operation to become an international industrial enterprise.

You can order copies of our anniversary book here.