BUSINESS

Automation & Human Minds

Must Go Hand in Hand

The history of the subsidiary of the German holding KATEK SE began shortly after the Velvet

Revolution in 1993. Over time, the manufacturer of mining electronic systems became a leading

supplier of electronic systems to various industries, from automotive testing systems to medical

technology. KATEK Czech Republic CEO Ernst Käppeler talks us through it all.

Next year your company will celebrate

it’s 30th birthday. How do you remember

your beginnings?

We started in 1993 as a supplier of mining

electronic systems. Our first customer in

the Czech Republic, and in Eastern Europe

in general, was the František Mine.

In order not to have a one-way customer

focus, or a single customer in fact,

which was OKD, we started to focus

on electronics assembly and EMS

(Electronic Manufacturing Services).

We started with two employees, today

there are more than four hundred of us.

The mining automation field is behind us

and this year the chapter has completely

closed (you could say it happened with

the end of OKD). Now our main activity

is the development and production of

electronics. This is a prime example of

how the company has changed along

with the region - from a one-sided mining

supplier to a multifaceted electronics

specialist.

How would you describe your typical

customer?

Our typical customers are specialists in

various industries and technology leaders

in their field. These are not manufacturers

of mass goods (cell phones, refrigerators,

televisions...) but companies that deal with

industrial technology and automation.

Another important focus for our company

is electromobility, industrial drives, smart

home applications, industrial machinery

and medical equipment.

On your website you write that you have

perfectly mastered all phases of EMS

production. How would you describe it

to our readers?

EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services)

include various activities. These are

either the assembly of the circuit boards

or the manufacture of the entire device.

If we make the whole device, we must

always be able to make the electronics

for it. We can develop the electronics for

the customer ourselves, but the customer

can also come up with their own design.

The assembly itself then consists partly of

a highly automated production and partly

of handwork. We need skilled and reliable

expert workers, technicians and engineers

to operate the automated production

machines for assembly, and for product

testing. The assembly of such equipment

is always a combination of manual

work and highly developed automated

technologies.

You are a company with many years of

tradition and experience. Do you find it

difficult to stay in the market? What is

most difficult for you?

We have enough orders at the moment.

The biggest problem, especially in the last

two years, is getting the necessary parts for

our products. In terms of market position,

all suppliers are struggling with the same

problems, so customers tend to stay with

suppliers that they already know. And you

retain a customer by delivering the order

on time, on price and in the quality you

are supposed to.

segment. What brought you to this

decision?

The energy theme is actually management

of currents. This is a huge area today.

We are mainly involved in e-mobility,

producing charging stations for electric

cars and current converters for solar

installations. This market will continue to

grow in the future.

Speaking of the future, tell us how you

envision the future development of

automation, which you are also involved

in.

Automation will continue to develop

intensively, but in my opinion it will always

be a combination of human intellect,

human hands and modern technology. In

the field of sensors and image processing,

the development is very fast. It is essential

to invest in the development of modern

technologies and to be interested in them.

All of us in the company have to identify

with it and learn to work and live with it

in order to stay competitive and retain

customers.

Mr Käppeler, thank you for the interview.

Your business is largely in the

electronics and electrical power

POSITIV 4/2022 ǀ 15