In March, due to the increasing number of employees, we are getting closer and closer to running a standard automotive supplier. With the arrival of new colleagues from the local market and the arrival of the first employees from China, we have introduced regular morning meetings, we are tracking the first KPIs, setting up the QMS system and associated first controlled documents, 5S standards and other similar things. The main focus is now on the construction of the building, which is going by leaps and bounds. At the same time, colleagues will be making their first trip to China in April and visiting NOBO's partner plants there.

From my point of view in HR, recruiting the first employees is now crucial, we currently have approximately 17 positions available. We have created a target organisational structure and a recruitment plan from now until the start of series production in 2026. Along with recruitment, it is important to set up a suitable remuneration structure, which we are creating basically from scratch. Greater detail on the currently open positions is written below at the end of the article.

In addition to recruitment, I am involved in other matters related to the construction of the building and subsequent operation - we are selecting contractors for the canteen, HR systems, access control systems, CCTV, etc. If you have a tip on suitable contractors for these areas, I would be happy to hear from them.

Last but not least, it is crucial for us to build the NOBO brand in the Czech Republic. The connection between marketing and HR has always been very close to my heart and I am already looking forward to when my linkedin blog will not be the only source of information about our company :-).

And now for the promised positions:

Positions in the Quality Department

Since most of the standards in the quality department will be built from scratch, it is important for us to find candidates who will take care of these topics. Specifically, this is a cross section of all the positions that are in the automotive plants in the quality department:

• Quality Engineer with German / Junior Quality Manager
• SQA, CQA, QMS
• Advanced Supplier Quality

We are looking for candidates for the Quality department who have TIER 1 automotive experience, ideally directly from a seat plant and ideally with a BMW customer. Knowledge of German is a great advantage, as it can be crucial when dealing with BMW. Due to the necessary continuity we are not looking for interim solutions but primarily HPP candidates.

Launch engineer

In Budějovice we are currently starting two projects and both have more technologies. Therefore we are looking for an experienced launch engineer to take care of the launch part.

Positions in logistics

Just like in the quality department, we have a lot of work ahead of us in logistics so that we can start delivering finished seats to Germany from October 2026. We need to set up all the systems, standards, internal logistics, etc. And that's why we are now looking for:

• Logistic Engineer \ Material Planner \ Internal logistic specialist
• BOM Analyst

PLC, MES, IT systems engineer

Automation in production will also be a big topic. We already know that at least part of the technology will be moved to Budějovice from China. Along with the technology, employees from China will be coming here to help us get the technology up and running. And that is why we will need technicians to help us with that. Ideal candidates will have experience in a manufacturing company, ideally for car seats, and have a good understanding of PLC and MES systems for JIT plants, or someone who has handled TISAX certification in the past. Our current idea is to bring the IT and Manufacturing Technology departments together due to their very close subsequent collaboration.

Manufacturing engineer

We are looking for a candidate who will be responsible for process design, technology transfer, MTM analysis, process FMEAu, work instruction setup and change management

HR Specialist

Well, since there is more and more work, I am looking for someone to join my team who can help me with what I have been writing up here for the last 3 months - recruiting for the above and below positions, setting up HR processes, dealing with visas, but also standard HR administration such as employment contracts, attendance records, payroll documents, etc.

I envision someone joining the team who already has manufacturing HR experience and is able to work independently on assigned task areas, while not mind that a lot of the tasks are not yet completely clear and the job description may evolve in the coming months.

Most of the hard skills can be learned, but from the beginning I will need someone who can communicate with foreigners of different nationalities mostly in English, but often in other languages with the help of modern technology.

In addition to these newly opened positions, we still have the positions I mentioned in my last post open:

Plant Controller Assisstant

• the manager of the finance department at the moment is a colleague from China who does not know the Czech environment
• that is why we are looking for his right hand man, someone who knows the Czech tax system well, is not afraid to communicate in English and has ambitions to develop further within the company in the future, even as a financial manager

GM assistant / purchasing coordinator

• We are looking for a right hand General Manager for our plant
• There are a lot of new things connected with the start of the race in Budejovice. For NOBO this is the first chairlift race in Europe and the first greenfield. We already know that we will have many colleagues from China coming to help us with organizational things - housing, cars, etc.
• At the same time, there are many documents and guidelines that are written only in Chinese and will need to be translated and implemented here in the Czech Republic.
• At the moment we are also dealing with a large number of small suppliers for all kinds of non-production services - cleaning, garbage collection, office equipment, etc.
• We would currently like to combine all these activities into one position, the ideal candidate for us is one who can speak Czech, English and Chinese would be a great advantage. However, we are also open to candidates with no knowledge of Chinese
• Knowledge of MS Office, common sense, organizational skills and ideally experience with the purchasing process in manufacturing / automotive companies (quotation, order, contract, invoice, work in dedicated systems, etc.)

Production manager

• we are looking for a person who will take the position of production manager
• we expect him to talk Czech and English
• the ideal candidate has experience with automotive seating and BMW customer. Automotive experience is absolutely essential.
• the production line will be partially moved to Budějovice from China. Production manager will definitely be in the next months to China travel repeatedlyto ensure a smooth transfer to Bohemia.
• we already have more candidates for this position, but the position is not yet filled

Employee benefits and more information about the location and working conditions

We are a newly emerging company on the labour market, so at the moment we are not able to compete with the largest employers in the region in terms of the number of benefits. However, this is also one of the topics we will be addressing in the coming months and the goal is to have a set system of remuneration and benefits at the level of the labour market - in the future we will definitely have a company canteen and other standard benefits package, the specific form is not yet clear.

But we already have one for all our employees:

• 5 weeks annual leave
• Meal allowance of CZK 110 for each day worked until we have a company canteen

We are located in the new halls in Boršov nad Vltavou at this location https://maps.app.goo.gl/ydE3ndqEwUSpYxVBA. For now we are in temporary offices, but our production hall is being built right here and we should move to it probably in January 2025.

If you are interested in any of the positions, please contact me either here in a message or by phone at 724 337 081 or send me your CV directly to davidhavelec@nobo-auto.com.

If none of the positions are interesting for you, but you would be interested in working for us - contact me anyway, we will have a short interview together and as soon as something suitable for you comes up, I will get back to you.

David Havelec

HR Manager in Nobo Automotive Czech Republic

27 March 2024