Azcatl Transport
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 An Azcatl 7 bus in Tzopilopan | |
Native name | Azcatl Tlazacayotl |
|---|---|
| Calpolli Association | |
| Industry | Trolleybus manufacturing |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Headquarters | Tzametepec, Zacaco Republic , |
| Products | Trolleybuses and rolling stock |
Number of employees | 6,478 (2023) |
Azcatl Transport , also known as the Tzametepec Corporation, is a Zacapine trolleybus manufacturer operating out of the factory town of Tzametepec in the Zacaco Republic. It the premier manufacturer of electric trolleybuses in Zacapican, servicing the needs of municipal transportation networks across the country. Azcatl achieved early success as the first domestic firm to manufacture trolleybuses and train cars to meet the rising demand for transportation from Zacapican's growing cities and industrial centers in the 1920s. They would go on to corner the domestic market through much of the 20th century with the Azcatl 5 and Azcatl 7 models, which together make up more than half of the motorized vehicles in municipal public service. Many of Azcatl's vehicles have been exported over the years for international clientele thanks to the association's early emergence as a major player in the industry fueled by the demand of the domestic market.
Tzametepec is the headquarters and company town of Azcatl association, built on the calpollalli land allocation to its four component calpolli. The town encompasses the totality of the physical, administrative and social infrastructure of the Azcatl association, housing most of its employees and hosting all of its design and manufacturing facilities. The Azcatl factories in Tzametepec have produced more than 75,000 trolleybuses over their many decades of operation, including over 40,000 of the Azcatl 5 models, making Azcatl one of the most prolific bus manufacturers in the world. In addition to its flagship trolleybus business, the Azcatl has produced many many thousands of passenger cars and other rolling stock for domestic railways, and also operates a minor business in exporting electric motors to other manufacturers.
History
The origins of the Azcatl association lie with the early history of the United Republics and the ambitious plan of the Tepachoani, Xolotecatl Acuixoc. Xolotecatl's monumental modernization plan for the country forced through a program of industrialization and urbanization and included extensive measures to encourage the development of urban centers. Transportation networks had been planned out, such as the massive Tequitinitlan public transit system which had been intended to serve as a showcase and a model for the rest of the country, however industry had not been prepared ahead of time to meet the demands of these systems as they developed. For a time, the growing cities were able to expand their systems by importing foreign vehicles and rolling stock to bring their networks into an operational status. This would begin to fall out of favor as the cities grew and the supporting transit systems expanded, outstripping import capacity and opening up the opportunity for domestic production to take over.
The association came to take the name Azcatl, meaning "ant" in Nahuatl, thanks to the internal nickname of the association's very first design concept for a trolleybus powered by two poles connecting to overhead cables, which the designers remarked looked the antennae on an ant. This was a common design feature that all foreseeable models the association would produce, and so the nickname for the buses and by extension the association stuck.
Azcatl saw its greatest period of growth in the 1950s, a period when many of the major cities in Zacapican were undergoing a second wave of rapid expansion and were beginning to modernize their infrastructure. In particular, many cities began to phase out their older electric tram lines in favor of trolleybuses, which were seen as more efficient and modern. This was a golden opportunity for the Azcatl association, which they did not fail to capitalize on. The Azcatl 5 model introduced in the early 1950s was perfectly positioned to meet this rise in demand. As orders began to pour in, funds from Azcatl 5 production contracts went mainly to the expansion of the production lines and hiring of many additional members in order to scale up production and capitalize on demand.
Operations
Azcatl is an association of four industrial calpolli, each specializing in a type of work related to the manufacturing of the association's signature vehicles. These are the metalworkers, electromotive, interior and glassworks calpolli. The four calpolli are not uniform in size, and hire on as many members as needed to meet the productive needs of the rest of association. The metalworkers are responsible for the production of the main body and chassis of the vehicle, as well as the final assembly of all components. Electromotive workers manufacture the electric motors, overhead cable hookups and the other electrical components of the vehicle. The interior workers, also known within the association as "the tailors", produce the seating and other fittings of the trolleybus interior using leather, plastic and other materials. The glassworkers contribute the window panes needed for passenger vehicles, and are the smallest of the calpolli. Each calpolli controls its own factories and workshops in central Tzametepec, contributing to the manufacturing process according to the goals and directives set by the Azcatl administrative council, a board of eight tequihuaque councilors (two from each calpolli) that serves both as the governing body of the town of Tzametepec and the corporate government of Azcatl as a business.
Products
- Azcatl 5 - The A5 was the first model to see major nationwide success beyond the local markets in the Zacaco valley, introduced in 1952. It became the mainstay of the Angatahuaca CAT bus service during the era of its main production run, which ran until the introduction of the Azcatl 7 in 1971. It was also the first Azcatl model to be sold to an international clientele. Production of certain components continued through the 1990s in order to continue to supply replacement parts for the A5s still in service before finally shutting down for good in 2001. During this time, some 14,900 Azcatl 5 trolleybuses were built in Tzametepec, a major step up from the earlier Azcatl 2 and 3 models of which a combined 5,000 units were made, most of which were built for the Tequitinitlan and Quitzapatzaro transit systems. Sales of the A5 subsidized the expansion of Tzametepec and its production facilities, financing the growth of the Azcatl association. It was notable for having a hull primarily made from aluminum-copper alloy panels mounted on a steel skeleton. Early model Azcatl 5s had pneumatic door systems, while the later models switched to electric doors. The bus uses two different voltage levels, the 550V direct current from the overhead cables which is used for the main electric motor, and a second 24V subsystem for the breaks and internal electrics. The passenger cabin of the A5 is fitted with 38 seats, although it is rated for a maximum occupancy of 122. Its capable of speeds up to 70 kilometers per hour, varying depending on the passenger load.
- Azcatl 7 - The flagship model and one of the most produced buses of all time, the Azcatl 7 rose to prominence as a significant upgrade over the older A5 designed for the needs of the burgeoning metropolises of the fully modernized and urban Zacapican of the 1970s. The design was in most ways a direct response to Azcatl's experience with the A5. Instead of two doors at the front and back of the bus, which led to congestion when the bus was crowded, a three door format would be used with the front door becoming only an entryway with the mid and rear doors serving as the main exits for disembarkation of passengers. These exit doors were also widened to facilitate multiple passengers passing through at once, which would also prove helpful in emergency situations. Its increased size also accommodated 46 seats and a total passenger capacity of 166, a significant increase compared to the A5 better suited for the high passenger volumes of the major cities. Materials were also changed, switching from aluminum-copper to an all steel hull as well as altering the primary material of the seats and interior features from leather and wood to cloth and synthetic rubber. These material alternations would greatly reduce the material costs and speed up production. The Azcatl 7 is one of the most prolific models of trolleybus in the entire world, with some 40,120 units produced out of Tzametepec to date, a figure which does not account for the further thousands of units of the A7s clones built by other manufacturers. Modernized variants of the A7 are still in production to the present day and continue to serve as the workhorses of various transit agencies in Zacapican and around the world.
Tzametepec
The town of Tzametepec was built on the side of a significant landform in the northern Zacaco valley of the same name. The placename Tzametepec derives from the Purépecha word Tzame to mean coyote and the Nahuatl Tepe(tl)-c denoting a hill or mountain. The site most likely gained its name in the medieval era, during or prior to the Angatahuacan conquest of the region, although it was never permanently settled before the foundation of the modern town. The location was chosen to be the site of the newly minted Azcatl association due to its proximity to the Central Valley Line, one of the important railways traversing the length of the Zacaco Valley, allowing easy access to material supplies and transport for the prospective business operations. The town itself as well as the factory district at its core was mostly built through late 1921 and early 1922 at the expense of the Public Works Secretariat, taking just 8 months for enough of the facilities to be built for production to begin, with an additional 3 months to complete the project. The vast majority of modern Tzametepec consists of those same structures first erected by the PWS more than a century ago, with many structures being refurbished and only a handful outright replaced by newer construction in later years.
Most political power in the Tzametepec government rests with the calpolli councils by way of their representative council of eight Tequihuaque, which acts as the municipal legislative assembly and oversees the Azcatl association and by extension the work life of the town's citizens. The ruling council is headed by the tlayacancauh, who acts as the town executive and magistrate overseeing law enforcement. Tzametepec has 22,601 residents as of 2023, of which 6,478 are members of the Azcatl associated calpolli. Roughly 4,400 of the associated calpolli workers represent factory labor, including the machinists, carpenters, electricians, factory foremen, heavy laborers and transport operators, complimented by 1,500 custodial and calpolli service workers and nearly 800 administrative staff, designers, accountants and other calpolli clerks of the association. The remaining 16,000 additional residents of Tzametepec are mostly dependents and relatives of the calpolli workers.
The municipal entity of Tzametepec and the business entity of Azcatl Transport are one and the same in the eyes of Zacapine law. The majority of the municipal services of Tzametepec, from transportation to waste management, are provided by the Azcatl association or its subordinate calpolli entities. The local transportation service is run by the central Azcatl administration and operates a small fleet of Azcatl 5 trolleybuses along the major arteries of the town, primarily facilitating movement between residental districts and the factory core, as well as between the factory core and the town's principal train station. Public safety is provided for by calpolli watchmen, although the primary law enforcement agency responsible for Tzametepec and its residents is the police department of the Amaxactlico Altepetl to which Tzametepec is subordinated. There are three clinics in Tzametepec, likewise operated by Azcatl personnel. The only notable public service not provided by the local authorities is education, which falls under the purview of the Secretariat of Education. This national entity employs 271 teachers and other staff to operate four calpolli schools and one Nemcahtiloyan (secondary school), together serving a student body of roughly 3,100.