Read the interview with Miroslav Šmelk, Chairman of the Board of Edis solutions.
- History of the company at a glance.
The company was founded in 1990 after nearly a decade of applied research. Since then, it has been active in several sectors ranging from heavy industry to space. Our company was founded as a cooperative and still operates under this legal form today. Since its founders were active in academia, we could also call EDIS a tartup. For years, the company operated in close cooperation with the university, which brought us mutual benefits, especially in linking theory with practice. To this day, we still maintain a close relationship with a number of academic departments at home and abroad.
2. When, why and with what product did you start to think about expanding into foreign markets, to which territories and what opportunities/challenges did it bring you.
In 1995, we were approached by a company from the Czech Republic with a request to develop a customized solution. It was a metal detector for excavators in a surface mine. The solution was so successful that one piece became a serial production. Today, we have the third upgraded generation, we are well established in the market and thanks to the recommendations of our clients, we have gradually occupied all the mines in the country.
3. What are the specifics of the territories?
As this is the Czech Republic, these were not significant differences.
4. Which products are the most successful in your export portfolio and why do you think they are competitive?
Our most successful product for heavy industry is the metal detector mentioned above. There are only 6 other manufacturers of such devices in the world besides us. Our biggest advantage is a different physical principle. We are the only company that uses a different way of measurement and evaluation. This gives us an advantage in detection accuracy and significantly higher durability. This is also why our detectors can survive for several decades without failure or loss of reliability in the harshest conditions.
5. What are the most common obstacles you encounter when exporting (regulation, logistics, cultural differences)?
So far, outside the Czech Republic, we have tried to enter the market in Brazil and Poland. On another continent it’s mainly logistics and in Poland it’s the difference in the functioning of the market. What we have found is that in Poland there is a large use of business clubs, which is almost the opposite here.
6. How do you assess the competition in international markets and how do you differentiate yourself from it?
As I mentioned above, the competition is working with a different physical principle, which gives us some advantages. Another advantage is that our detectors are all our know how. From the physical principle, through the hardware to the software. This allows us to offer the customer customisation from just one piece.
7. How have your export activities changed in recent years, especially with regard to economic and geopolitical challenges?
The main challenge for us is the advent of the green economy and the associated decline of heavy industry in Europe. For this reason in particular, we have started to focus on markets in South America, Africa and the Middle East. Also of interest to us are the former Soviet republics and, of course, Ukraine and Russia, although the situation there is now particularly difficult.
8. How do you manage export-related risks (political, commercial)?
Our business cycle usually lasts 1.5 to 2 years. It is therefore built on trust and long-term cooperation. If we manage to gain the trust of our partner, we can usually then solve together all the problems that would prevent us from working together. It is true that we have not yet entered a market where there are significant problems, but we believe that the relationship-building path is the best option for long-term success and cooperation.
9. Do you have any partnerships with locals in foreign markets? How do you choose foreign partners?
In the past, our partners have been the users of our system themselves. These were people who first tried them out as customers and later were willing to help us in the local market as representatives of our company. As a rule, these were service employees who, with our help, solved problems on the spot or with other clients in the region. This way, the client was approached by a person who was not only an expert in operating and servicing our equipment, but who also worked in the same industry and was familiar with the technology behind our detectors.
Thank you for the interesting interview.