Plzen Region

Pilsen anchors western Bohemia as a manufacturing cluster that predates and transcends any single company. The region's industrial character emerged from 19th-century brewing (Pilsner Urquell defined a global beer category) and heavy engineering (Škoda Works, distinct from the automaker). This dual heritage created deep path dependence: precision manufacturing skills transferred across industries, from locomotives to nuclear reactor components. Today's economy extends that lineage into automotive supply chains—not as a final assembly location but as a Tier 2/3 supplier ecosystem feeding plants across Central Europe. The region demonstrates niche partitioning within Czechia's automotive monoculture: while Central Bohemia attracts distribution centers and South Moravia builds semiconductors, Pilsen specializes in components requiring metallurgical precision. Masaryk University of West Bohemia maintains the human capital pipeline. The region's resilience comes from diversification within specialization—multiple industries drawing on shared capabilities rather than identical products.