Expanding Their Horizons Even as a Global Leader - A Great Opportunity for the Youth
42 ǀ POSITIV 3/2024
BUSINESS
for the completion of projects for multiple
clients which each had different PLC
system preferences.
In 2014 the company moved headquarters.
The following year, our parent company
celebrated their 50
th
anniversary and
the Turck, s.r.o. the daughter company
celebrated two decades on the Czech
market.
In 2016, after working at the company for
13 years, I was named company director,
and that year we reached a turnover
of 208 million crowns.
The company’s strategic development plan
then kicked off with the acquisition of Vilant
Systems, a leading supplier of complex
solutions in the field of RFID UHF applications
in extensive logistics projects based in RFID
technology.
As pioneers of new trends, we do more
than supply sensor technologies. We offer
our customers options in signal collection,
operation management, and digitisation
according to trends in the Industry
4.0 revolution, which is in the jurisdiction
of our Digital Innovation Park, that was
launched in 2020. We expanded our
offer of PLC devices and HMI panels
and are actively engaging with predictive
maintenance, and methods for the digitisation
of processes that transmit information to
cloud systems.
We were exposed to a variety of external
events over the years, including fluctuations
in financial markets. However, I view
the period around 2021 and 2022 as the most
challenging. First we had the Covid-19
pandemic to deal with and a year after that
we started seeing the effects of the material
crisis, which caused a series of shortages
of important components universal in many
different production fields. Even despite
the unfavorable situation, we managed to
generate a growth rate above 20% and
reached a 382 million crown turnover.
I consider this to be a big achievement
as it serves as proof of how great my team
of colleagues is. I am grateful to be able to
work alongside them.
Lately we have been partially limited in further
growth as we are still looking to fill a couple
key employee positions. Unfortunately, from
what I hear, this seems to currently be a trend,
even among our competition. That being
the case, we will now need to discuss how
we can motivate young people to take
responsibility and create an environment
that will not only be attractive for them, but
also allow them to understand and follow our
vision.
Your company is involved in industrial
automation and digitisation. What
industrial fields make use of your
services, products and solutions?
What technologies and innovations do
you offer?
Our range of services and products are
very diverse, and so you can find us in many
different industrial fields. Some of the most
significant fields we are involved in include
the automotive industry, machinery
manufacturing, the chemical industry,
energetics, the food industry, packaging,
semiconductors, logistics / intralogistics,
mobile devices, material harvesting,
pharmaceutics and the transportation
industry. Lately there has been a rise in
opportunities in the automotive industry
thanks to the move towards electromobility.
With these changes arrive new needs in
terms of manufacturing the vehicles, their
batteries, and the logistics of it all. Other
new segments are renewable resources and
hydrogen production. These are also fields
for which we develop solutions. Another
recent trend is, of course, digital data
and either its collection from pre-existing
production lines, or implementation into
innovative new installations, with the goal
of increasing efficiency while reining in
the energetic requirements of each process.
All of these are important factors determining
the competitiveness of our clients, especially
those in Europe.
Safety solutions are an important part
of your line-up. What additional services
do you offer in this field?
As a supplier of safety components we also
try to offer our clients other services that
will simplify their use of these products.
Safety and protection of persons protocols
have many legislative requirements, which
are subject to change over time and it is
important to follow this subject matter
closely. We offer our clients services such
as machine evaluation according to ČSN EN
ISO 12100 or risk assessment of machinery
according to ČSN EN ISO 13849-1. We also
offer the creation of a model safety concept,
preparation of materials for the declaration
of conformity, calculations of safety circuits,
or measuring response times of safety
elements. These services complete the full
service spectrum and this is something our
customers value highly.
How do you approach individualising
the solutions according to your
client? Can you give us an example
of the technical support you provide?
Our philosophy is based on
the understanding of our client’s needs,
but not only their current needs, but also
those that are likely to arise depending
on the direction they are heading. Our
individual approach to client requirements
help in our future development. Thanks to
our wide product range, our options are
almost limitless. Our customer solutions
department drafts multiple solution concepts
depending on the entry information clients
provide. These drafts are then discussed
with the client and eventually fleshed out
into detailed solutions. Sometimes we offer
direct complex solutions, other times we
cooperate with our customers and system
integrators to deliver complete projects.
You place great importance on
the education you provide your
customers with. What form does this
education take?
We created an education centre at our
headquarters, which we use to not only
educate our staff, but customers as well.
We developed a curriculum of general
knowledge training sessions, however, we
also create individual training programs
according to specified requirements. We try
to maintain flexibility in all fields.
What do you consider to be company’s
core values and how are they reflected
in your day-to-day operation?
Our core company values include a strong
focus on the customer, reliability, mutual
respect, honesty, trust and team spirit.
The inner workings of our company are
key to our operations and we try to present
a similar philosophy towards our customers.
Our current clients know what I am talking
about and I can promise the same treatment
for any future customers as well.
Thank you for the interview
“
Our philosophy is based
on the understanding of our
client’s needs, but not only
their current needs, but also
those that are likely to arise
depending on the direcon they
are heading.
”
“
Our core company values
include a strong focus on
the customer, reliability, mutual
respect, honesty, trust and
team spirit.
”