Ice hockey is one of the most popular pastimes in Soběslav. People pick up their hockey sticks and head onto the ice at the local ice hockey arena or on the frozen pond, and they also follow matches of the Regional Hockey League, in which the home team OLH Spartak Soběslav has been performing very well this season. After the regular season, Spartak entered the playoffs from second place and advanced all the way to the final series, where they faced a team from Strakonice. Unfortunately, they lost the tough series 3–1 in overtime of the fourth game on home ice. Even so, the Soběslav players received a well-deserved round of applause from their loyal fans.
None of this would be possible without the support of sponsors, including the manufacturing company FERT a.s., which supplies steel reinforcement and spacer elements throughout the Czech Republic and to a large part of Europe. Although the market for prefabricated structures, floor systems and beams, foundation slabs, and concrete components is not experiencing its best period in Europe and the construction industry is generally stagnating, operations at FERT continue at full speed.
Business in the production of lattice girders, single-sided reinforcement and steel spacers overlaps with ice hockey in Soběslav not only at the sponsorship level. At FERT, there are people who are closely connected to Soběslav hockey.
One of them is Oliver Pánek, who has been playing in Soběslav for his ninth season as a forward and is also a member of FERT’s sales department. A year ago, he did not even know what “rebar” was, but today he says this word more often in a day than “puck” or “hockey stick.”
Another indispensable member is Luboš Přibyl, who is in charge of machine maintenance at FERT and works as an equipment manager for the Soběslav hockey club. Thanks to his hard work, Soběslav players have well-sharpened skates and full water bottles on the bench, and FERT can rely on its machines for producing spacers, lettice girders, one-sided reinforcement and reinforcing steel to run exactly as they should.
No home match of Spartak is missed by quality inspector Marek Pauš. At FERT, he ensures that spacer elements, spatial and single-sided reinforcement, and reinforcing steel meet the required quality and parameters, and in the stands of the stadium he makes sure there is never silence. In the company laboratory, he guarantees compliance with prescribed standards, such as German “Zulassung” and other certifications held by FERT.
Last but not least, Ladislav Stach must not be overlooked. For many years, he defended the goal of Spartak Soběslav. At FERT, he works in production, where he ensures that the steel wire is properly drawn and that further processing results in reliable spacer elements, single-sided reinforcement, spatial reinforcement, and high-quality reinforcing steel B500A, whether in bars or in coils.
On behalf of FERT a.s., we wish our local hockey players continued success in the seasons to come and hope they can carry their efforts through to a championship victory—just as their predecessors did in the 2002/2003 season.
