British Bata started up in 1933 and was based on a master plan by Vladimír Karfík. The first factory building was just a simple flat-roofed structure. A number of five-storey buildings were added in 1939. The production facilities were enhanced by plans for a community building. Sport facilities (swimming pool and tennis courts) were built, followed by a cinema and a department store. While the housing was designed according to the Zlín model, it also adopted the principles of the English garden city: every housing block had its own courtyard with a children’s playground. The Bata company brought together people from various countries; many Czechs moved into the international shoe magnate’s garden city and the coexistence of the international Bata community remains an influential episode in East Tilbury’s history to this day. In 1980, British Bata reduced its production of footwear. Most of the factory buildings were closed down, leaving just one small production site. The houses were put up for sale to the previous tenants, or bought up by a housing association. In 1993, the housing estate and the factory site were put under a preservation order. Production finally ended in 2005. Today, the Bata Reminiscence and Resource Centre in East Tilbury endeavours to collect and record the history of the company town – many residents share the experience of this unusual community and work to make this available to the public. Thamesgate Regeneration Ltd now plans to develop the shrinking and de-industrialised town of East Tilbury, which meanwhile stands within the London commuter belt, as a sustainable town with high living and housing standards.
Today, Bata India is a globally successful enterprise, which dominates the footwear market in Asia. In 1933, work began on the construction of the factory and the town near Kolkata (then Calcutta). Again, many of the buildings were designed by Vladimír Karfík. The decision in favour of a production site in India may be traced back to a business trip, which Tomáš Baťa undertook in 1925, after which, in 1926, four businessmen were sent to India. In 1931, an additional 14 associates were sent there from Zlín. With 25,000 employees, Bata India owned the largest industrial complex on the subcontinent until 1960. In 1973, the company changed its name to Bata India Ltd. Today, the factories in Batanagar are still an important production site for the Bata company. Although many employees still live in the factory housing, for some years Batanagar has been confronted with an ambitious project for the modernisation of the location, which by now lies within Kolkata’s commuter belt. The former “company town” is to be developed as a well-integrated, mixed-use new town, comprising commercial, residential, institutional and recreational facilities. The bold ideas of the developers and architects of the riverfront projects, with promenade, plaza and a golf course community near the company’s production facilities, will transform the former industrial Batanagar into a “company town” for the 21st century.
Source: Ladislava Horňáková., Bat’a Satellite Towns Around The World. In: Katrin Klingan (Ed.) A Utopia of Modernity: Zlín, Berlin 2009
