Škoda

Company History: Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech engineering company that continues the legacy of Škoda Works' rolling stock manufacturing that started at the end of 19th century in Pilsen.
Škoda was a Czech industrial conglomerate created in 1859 and that was split in the 1990's.
The current Škoda Transportation is a separate company from Škoda Auto, that is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen-Audi-Group (VAG), though both companies share the same name and logo.
Škoda started to produce rolling stock components by the end of the 19th century and locomotives in the 1920's. Today, Škoda Transportation is one of the world's largest manufacturers of trams and propulsion units for trolleybuses as well as a significant regional producer of locomotives and electric trains.

Brief History: The Czech Republic is a central European country bordered by Germany to the North and West, Poland to the North-East, Austria to the South and Slovakia to the South-East.
The Czech Republic in its current form was created in 1993 after the split of the former Czechoslovakia in two independent countries, the other one being Slovakia. Czechoslovakia was itself created in 1918 after it gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian empire. The roots of the country are traced back to the 9th Century's Duchy of Bohemia.