{{Infobox settlement | name = Batadorp | settlement_type = Neighbourhood | other_name = <!-- if different from name --> | native_name = <!-- if different from name --> | native_name_lang = nl | image_skyline = Best Rijksmonument 512328 Europaplein 12.JPG | image_alt = | image_caption = House in Batadorp, Europaplein 12. | image_flag = | image_shield = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_caption = | image_map1 = | map_caption1 = | pushpin_map = Netherlands North Brabant#Netherlands | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = [[Netherlands]] | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = [[North Brabant]] | subdivision_type2 = Municipality | subdivision_name2 = [[Best, Netherlands|Best]] | elevation_footnotes = <ref name="AHN">{{cite web |url = http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool |title = Postcodetool for 5684AA |language = nl |work = Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland |publisher = Het Waterschapshuis |access-date = 15 April 2022 |archive-date = 21 September 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053543/http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool |url-status = dead }}</ref> | elevation_m = 17 | elevation_min_m = | elevation_max_m = | area_footnotes = <ref name="stat"/> | area_total_km2 = 0.25 | established_title = | established_date = | population_footnotes = <ref name="stat">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.nl/-/media/_excel/2021/48/kwb-2021.xls |title=Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021 |website=Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=15 April 2022}}</ref> | population_total = 495 | population_as_of = 2021 | population_demonym = | population_note = | population_density_km2 = auto | timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]] | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] | utc_offset_DST = +2 | postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in the Netherlands|Postal code]] | postal_code = 5684<ref name="stat"/> | area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in the Netherlands|Dialing code]] | area_code = 0499 | coordinates = {{coord|51|29|28|N|5|23|46|E|region:NL|display=inline, title}} }} '''Batadorp''' is a [[model village]] or neighbourhood of the Dutch town of [[Best, Netherlands|Best]], just northwest of [[Eindhoven]], where the Czech [[Bata Shoes]] company built a factory in 1934 on land that it bought from the municipality.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.geschiedenisvanbest.nl/plaatsen-en-gebieden/batadorp/ |title=''Batadorp'' in ''Geschiedenis van Best.nl'' |access-date=2018-09-04 |archive-date=2020-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027123620/http://www.geschiedenisvanbest.nl/plaatsen-en-gebieden/batadorp/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[Guido de Vries; ''Een Tsjechisch schoenendorp in het Brabantse Best; Bid en werk voor Bata'', in : NRC, 2 March 1996]</ref>
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 Canal]] and close to a railway. The factory it built there in 1933 was an exact copy of the headquarters in [[Zlín]].<ref>[Christina Lubinski, Jeffrey Fear, Paloma Fernández Pérez : ''Family Multinationals: Entrepreneurship, Governance, and Pathways to Internationalization'', Routledge, 18 July 2013]</ref>
At that time, Bata already had 28 shoe shops in the country, and this number grew to 150 in 1961. Many Bata shops had their own shoe repair and pedicure departments. The factory made ladies', men's, children's and sports shoes.
So that the employees could live near the factory, Bata built a town of 130 homes, separated from the centre of Best by the canal, along with schools, medical services and a hairdressers'. Bata built other such villages wherever it had factories.
Bata promoted order and cleanliness. Thus, the houses in the village have flat roofs, as attics would only encourage people to store clutter. The workers were not allowed to wear [[clog (shoe)|clog]]s, as Bata produced suitable footwear. The emphasis on hygiene can be seen as paternalistic but resulted in a level of welfare that was far ahead of its time. The company also established sports clubs, a theatre, a brass band and a volunteer fire brigade.<ref>Guido de Vries, op.cit.</ref> 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 and 1 million pairs of safety socks. The headquarters of the global division is located there.<ref>[https://www.brabantserfgoed.nl/page/6001/batafabriek M. Schlingmann : ''Batafabriek'' in : Brabantserfgoed.nl, 2018]</ref>
<gallery> Best Rijksmonument 512318, 512319, 515262 BATA de drie gebouwen samen.JPG|The three Bata factories at Batadorp in line. Best Rijksmonument 512318 BATA schoenfabriek gedenksteen 40-45.JPG|War memorial of Bata factory, Batadorp. Best Rijksmonument 512324 Batalaan 5.JPG|House in Batadorp, Batalaan 5. File:Voorgevel - Batadorp - 20028088 - RCE.jpg|Villa in Batadorp </gallery>
== Bibliography == * Ondřej Ševeček, Martin Jemelka : ''Company Towns of the Bat'a Concern: History - Cases - Architecture'', Steiner 2013 * [https://www.plaatsengids.nl/batadorp Batadorp on ''plaatsengids.nl'']
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|position=left}}
{{Bata Limited}}
[[Category:Populated places in North Brabant]] [[Category:Best, Netherlands]] [[Category:Bata Corporation]] [[Category:Model villages]]