HOCKEY PUCKS FROM VEGUM

DOLNE VESTENICE

I arrived at Vegum rubber factory early in the morning unannounced. Went through one security check to another security person who was trying to find someone to attend my request for story on the Hockey Pucks. After many phone calls I was told to go to the marketing office and speak to the manager, who wasn't present at the time, but due to arrive very shortly. Soon I was inside behind the factory modern fence. By the looks and the cleanliness of the place you couldn't tell if you aren't perhaps in some very modern factory in the Western part of the world. The lawns were very well kept, gardeners were trimming shrubs, and in front of the factory workers were removing concrete sidewalk to be changed for brick sidewalk. There was a newsstand and small grocery store in front as well as the ever-present bank cash machine. Plenty of parking to park your vehicle. The smokestack wasn't emitting any smoke, as it is very usual with factories of this type and size to emit really dark and dangerous smoke that covers the surrounding area with thick layer of chemically rich cloud.

The Vegum factory was built in 1952 and privatized in 1991 and now it is a join stock company with shares traded on the Stock market. They manufacture large amount of different rubber injection mould products. My interest is in hockey pucks. Hockey pucks were manufactured until end of 1992 under Made in Czechoslovakia label and from January 1993 they are manufactured as Made in Slovakia. They also do logos on them with silk screen process in silver and gold colors. Their production is 6 million pucks per year. Canadian and American Hockey League is using pucks made by Vegum in all their games and they were also used at this years Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.

Published in the Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 6, No. 3, Fall 1998
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1998 
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic, without the express written permission of Vladimir Linder. All rights reserved.