Batadorp [SEP] named after
Batadorp
Batadorp is a neighbourhood of the Dutch town of Best, just northwest of Eindhoven, which the Czech Bata Shoes company built a factory in 1934 on land that the company bought from the municipality. .
Bata sought expansion abroad, partly to circumvent tariffs, and built factories and entire villages. Bata had operated shops in the Netherlands since 1922, and chose to locate in Best because land and labour were cheaply available. It also had good transport links, being at the junction of the Wilhelmina Canal with the Beatrix
theatre, a brass band and a volunteer fire brigade.
From the 1960s shoe production was moved to low-wage countries and Batadorp was sold to the municipality of Best. The network of shops - even the factory shop - had closed by 1996. The original buildings of Batadorp are now an industrial heritage site.
However, production continues at a reduced level. It now belongs to the Bata Protective division which was created in 1970 and makes speciality shoes. In 2008 about 160 employees produced 900,000 pairs of safety shoes