The last two years have been extremely demanding for the whole market and individual companies. Every company was facing new challenges and unexpected situations that required flexible changes. The editor Dana Valachová and the sales director and the member of the board of directors of KOVAL SYSTEMS - Ing. Ján Michálek will talk about this and other topics in an exclusive interview for the regional weekly called MY Trenčín (under the publisher of the SME daily newspaper, Petit Press).

» The last two years have been difficult period for many companies. It seems to be a very demanding time for KOVAL SYSTEMS. What were the major characteristics for you?

Yes, that’s true. The 2020 and 2021 years were extraordinary from different points of view, and I think that situation and the outcomes have surpassed the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis. It is generally known that such periods bring new challenges and opportunities. On the other hand, the years brought a great risk, and I think that almost everyone was feeling fear about the health, stability and job. We are happy about our ability to overcome the difficult situation with no serious impact on our team. 

Of course, it was a very challenging period for business and sales. Despite the hardship of this period, KOVAL SYSTEMS has developed modern and sophisticated solutions for warehouses and logistics and launched them to the market. We managed to accomplish several bigger projects. We can see the demand for our solutions was growing throughout this period, which means we are going the right direction. 

In 2020, KOVAL SYSTEMS, a. s., achieved the important award. It was the 1st place in Diamonds of Slovak Business Awards organized by Forbes magazine, analyzing the healthy growing small and medium-sized companies. So we can say the last two years brought us positive moments, although they were extremely challenging.

» How has the COVID-19 pandemic shaped markets and your production program?

The pandemic situation put even higher pressure on the logistics and storing to keep precision, speed and availability. We live in times, when any broken link between the manufacturer and the customer may cause several complications. It is backed up by the significantly higher interest of manufacturers, distributors, and logistics centers in the automation of warehousing and logistics. 

Our company has developed a wide range of products and solutions for such requirements, using simple storage facilities to complex solutions for the logistics and transport.

» Behind every great brand is a great story. What role do your individual employees play?

I dare say the most important one. The high-quality employees are irreplaceable for our company with its complex portfolio of processes and services. We use of course the most modern automated and robotized technologies in the production process, but that’s why the demands/ requirements for professional workforce are increasing. 

In addition, we also have a design department, the development department, the technical department, the software and hardware development department, and the service department. To put it in a nutshell, all processes are currently so closely intertwined. If we want to provide a customer with a high-quality solution or product, we need a strong team of colleagues in our company.

» In the Trenčín Region, you have been the employer for twenty-eight years. There has been made an unimaginable progress in the industry you are part of. Developing new highly sophisticated products, you have been keeping pace with the progress. You are one of the technological leaders. Can you briefly tell us more about period from the technology-development point of view?

The KOVAL SYSTEMS was founded in 1994 and since that time our product range has changed in a significant way. At the beginning we were producing cash boxes, safes, and mechanical security in general. Having gradually evolved, we moved to fully automated parking systems, binders, conveyor systems, dispensing machines and so on.

It has been natural development for our company since we listen to our customers and focus on the market requirements. I am very glad for two things: It is our ability to transform the product range and the versatility of our products which has made a lot of customers from different industries satisfied. It is the high expertise that is needed for complex solutions, software applications, services and the information system.

As already has been mentioned our company applies the modern and more sophisticated products and solutions, which also offer new jobs, opportunities, demands and various approaches to finalize projects.

» You make extensive investments into your machinery, which brings higher efficiency and a competitive advantage. What's new this year?

Yes, our company is characterized by our pursuit of constant technological progress. Every year, we spend available funds for company development, higher efficiency, and we improve the comfort for our staff. We are constantly expanding our production and storage facilities. Using modern technologies, we increase production capacities. 

This year, we acquired several new-come technologies mainly the machines for automatic sheet metal parts forming. However, we spend a lot into various efficient products, tools, information technology, testing equipment, automated storing technology and so on. We believe the next year we will do it same way, investing to expand. Today, we can already say with confidence, that we will acquire automatic binders for selected warehouses, which will significantly make the operation more efficient.

» What markets do you produce for? Is it for the domestic and foreign markets?

From the beginning, we are focused on export. We do not set the limits, and we are happy to offer our products and solutions to customers abroad. Of course, the foreign sale of complex solutions requires much more detailed preparation, and good background in each country. We certainly cannot underestimate those aspects. If we want to offer the product to a foreign customer, we make sure that we can also provide him with high-quality services.

» There is a need for qualified workforces to carry out complex production processes. Do you have enough specialists?

I am so happy that we have managed to make a really strong team full of experts in the whole company. It is a stable group of experts with desire and will to turn their knowhows into very good products. There are always challenges and requirements for new products and solutions That is why new experts are constantly coming to cover new segments and make the team bigger and better. 

Sometimes it is not easy to fill vacancies, especially these days, when new companies coming to existence, and many existing ones are expanding in production. Anyway, people interested in our company can learn something new and improve their professional skills working with our interesting products.

» What qualifications are required from a job seeker? Are you currently filling job vacancies?

We are currently looking for highly qualified production positions such as a welder, a press brake operator, and an operator for the CNC-machine center. The specific experience and knowledge of technical documentation is essential for those jobs. Of course, we can provide training to get necessary skills and develop into a senior position. However, when it comes to the candidates’ theoretical background, there is a huge gap between the candidates’ knowledge and our needs. Since our company has a modern coating booth, we are also looking for coaters and support staff for the coating booth.

We are proud to develop software and hardware to provide solutions for innovatory storing devices, so we would like experts in PLC and Java programming to join our team and make it stronger. 

» Why should the job seekers work for KOVAL SYSTEMS?

Nowadays, the employee can choose from a wide range of job positions choosing from several possibilities at once. Being the employer with a long tradition, we believe that we offer stability for our current and future colleagues. Thanks to new opportunities, products, solutions, KOVAL SYSTEMS is continuously growing. Our company adapts to the changes that have affected almost all companies. We work in dynamic working environment, so we are looking for growth-oriented colleagues.

Source: VALACHOVÁ, D. 2021. KOVAL SYSTEMS v Beluši patrí k technologickej špičke nielen na Považí. In: MY Trenčín [online]. Bratislava : Petit Press, 2021 [cit. 05.11.2021]. Available on the Internet: https://mytrencin.sme.sk/c/22776055/koval-systems-v-belusi-patri-k-technologickej-spicke-nielen-na-povazi.html