Profile

The Union of Czech Production Co-operatives (SČMVD) is one of the largest and most important employers' organization in the Czech Republic, it represents a strong group of production cooperatives and defends their collective interests in negotiations with the government, ministries, elected representatives in the Parliament of the Czech Republic and local government. The Union supports member cooperatives with a wide range of professional services, creates and promotes conditions for their development.

The membership base of the Union consists of 180 production cooperatives from all over the Czech Republic, which are a key partner for employment and actively participate in creating of the business environment. Production cooperatives are primarily small and medium-sized enterprises whose manufacturing programs include the construction industry, engineering, automotive, the chemical and cosmetic industry, automation, furniture, plastics, packaging, clothing or toys, but also food and providing services. The Union also represents almost 40 production cooperatives, which employ over 50% of people with disabilities and thus fulfill an important social role in involving the disabled in the protected labour market, which is a prerequisite for their valuable social integration.

Among the Czech production cooperatives, there are a number of leading companies in their fields, which are dynamic and prosperous enterprises, use the most modern production technologies, and some, as the largest manufacturers in their sectors, also set trends. The success of Czech cooperatives is proofed on the one hand by the excellent economic results they achieve in the long term, but also by prizes awarded to companies and their managers in the most prestigious Czech business and management competitions. Czech quality, reliability and using of advanced and technologically demanding production procedures have made production cooperatives stable partners of customers in foreign and multinational companies from a number of industries. For example, in the demanding automotive industry, cooperatives have become proven subcontractors of practically all car manufacturers on the European market. The products of the cooperatives are sold in the Czech Republic and especially abroad, many of the cooperatives are among the major exporters and export most of their production to EU member states, the USA and to third world developing countries.

The Union is a member of the Confederation of Employers and Entrepreneurs Associations of the Czech Republic (KZPS), the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic (SP ČR), the Czech Chamber of Commerce (HK ČR) and the Cooperative Association of the Czech Republic (DA ČR). Czech cooperatives are represented by the Union in international organizations, especially in the International Organisation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives (CICOPA) and the European confederation of industrial and service cooperatives (CECOP). Through DA ČR, the union participates in the activities of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and Cooperatives Europe.