The Company History
A tradition of more than fifty years
OHL ŽS, a.s., joint-stock company, is the successor of the state enterprise Železniční stavitelství Brno. This enterprise was established in 1952 and its mission was to provide construction works to the then Czechoslovak State Railways, i.e. construction, reconstruction and repairs of railway lines and buildings. In 1971, the enterprise was incorporated into the production & economic unit “Railway Construction”, with its seat in Bratislava.
The international significance of 1992
In the middle of 1991, the unit was shut down and after nine months of the independent enterprise operating on its own, Železniční stavitelství Brno, state enterprise, was transformed into a joint-stock company with effect from 1 April 1992. The company obtained its first owners after the first wave of the coupon privatization had been completed. In 1992, the company had about 4,200 shareholders; now the number of shareholders is 533. The majority owner is OHL
, a large Spanish construction group, owning, partially directly but mainly through the Czech construction company ŽPSV Uherský Ostroh a.s., 97.71 % of OHL ŽS, a.s. shares.
Rapid development in the construction industry
The internal organisation of the company has developed in a speedy manner since the time of its privatization. From 35 business centres (1992 – 1994), 17 divisions (1995 – 1999) and four branches (2000 – 2004), it has reached its current structure serving two large market segments – transport construction and surface construction. Throughout the company, those functions, of a strategic, financial, methodical and controlling nature, are performed by the company management.
The company’s development in the area of trade was also rapid. In 1992, it was a construction company with an annual turnover of about CZK 500 million., nowadays, OHL ŽS, a.s. is the fifth largest construction company in the Czech Republic with a turnover of about CZK 12 billion, which implements projects not only in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also operates in Bulgaria, Hungary, Montenegro and Azerbaijan in 2010. According to the originally applied Czech standards, last year's production exceeded CZK 15 billion.