Tatra (company)

TATRA TRUCKS a.s.

Type	Private
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1850 1897 as a car manufacturer
Founder	Ignác Šustala
Headquarters	Kopřivnice, Moravia, Czech Republic
Key people	Hugo Fischer von Roeslerstamm (designer) Hans Ledwinka (designer) Julius Mackerle (designer)
Products	Automobiles, wagons, carriages, trucks
Revenue	CZK 3.7 billion (2014)
Number of employees	845 (2014)
Website	http://tatratrucks.com/ homepage German: http://www.tatra-lkw.de/

Tatra is a Czech manufacturer producing vehicles in Kopřivnice. It is owned by the Tatra Truck company, based in Ostrava, and is the second oldest company in the world producing cars with an unbroken history, after Peugeot. The company was founded in 1850 as Ignatz Schustala & Comp., later renamed Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft when it became a wagon and carriage manufacturer. In 1897, Tatra produced the first motor car in central Europe, the Präsident automobile. In 1921, it changed its name to Kopřivnická vozovka a.s., and in 1919 changed from the Nesselsdorfer marque to the Tatra badge, named after the nearby Tatra Mountains on the Polish-Czechoslovak border at the time (now this range is on the Polish-Slovak border).

During World War II Tatra was instrumental in the production of trucks and tank engines for the German war effort. Production of passenger cars ceased in 1999, but the company still produces a range of primarily all-wheel-drive trucks, from 4×4 to 18x18. The brand is also known as a result of Czech truck racer Karel Loprais: in 1988–2001 he won the off-road race Dakar Rally six times with a Tatra 815.

Ignác Šustala (1822–1891), founder of the company in Kopřivnice, Moravia, started the production of horse-drawn vehicles in 1850. In 1891 he branched out into railroad car manufacture, naming the company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, and employed Hugo Fischer von Roeslerstamm as technical director in 1890. After the death of Šustala, von Roeslerstamm took over running the company and in 1897 he bought a Benz automobile. Using this for inspiration, the company made its first car, the Präsident, which was exhibited in 1897 in Vienna. Orders were obtained for more cars and under the direction of engineers Hans Ledwinka and Edmund Rumpler, ten improved cars were made.