DAKO-CZ, a manufacturer of braking systems and components for rolling stock from Třemošnice in Eastern Bohemia, continues its steep growth. In 2019, it surpassed the billion-czech crowns turnover mark for the first time and managed to double it in just four years. In 2022, the company surpassed two billion in sales for the first time in its history. Over the past four years, the company has also grown across regional and national borders, having set up two joint ventures with leading manufacturers in India last year and plans to set up a subsidiary in that market this year.
„We are building a company to a two-billion-czech crowns turnover on the fly," Lukáš Andrýsek, chairman of the board of DAKO-CZ, liked to say after the company broke the billion-czech crowns mark. In just four years, the company has already managed to double its sales, despite unfavourable circumstances such as the covid pandemic, disruption of supply chains or the extreme increase in energy prices related to the conflict in Ukraine.
"We did not interrupt production for a single day during the covid, and in 2020 we also built a new central warehouse at full operation, expanded the assembly hall and completely upgraded the logistics flows in production, which allowed us to significantly increase its capacity. All our employees deserve a big thank you for managing to do this in such difficult conditions and keeping production constantly running at full capacity," says Lukáš Andrýsek.
In addition, DAKO-CZ gradually grew. First, the company Transelco, which manufactures couplings, adjusters and brake cylinders, was added, followed by the establishment of the subsidiary company DAKO-CZ Service in Most in North Bohemia, where the service and repairs of brake units and components were concentrated. In 2021, another subsidiary, DAKO-CZ Machinery, was established in Ostrava to focus on series production, mainly for India. Orders for that market today account for about a third of the company's turnover.
"In 2022, our expansion continued. In India, we established MEDHA DAKO-CZ Pvt. Ltd., together with Medha Servo Drives, a key player on the market there, with headquarters in Hyderabad. Our cooperation is focused on the supply of complete and modern braking systems for the newly prepared EMU, metro and locomotive cars for the Indian Railways. With Jupiter Wagons, number two in truck manufacturing market, we established JWL DAKO-CZ India Ltd, which is based in Kolkata. The Indian activities will be covered by the newly formed subsidiary DAKO-CZ India," says Lukáš Andrýsek.
The company, which exports three-quarters of its production, is also set for further growth in Europe, Africa and South America, where a completely new braking system will be implemented in the Automated People Mover project. This special train will be operated at Brazil's São Paulo International Airport. The company has one more big goal in the next few years and that is to reach out to the North American market.
"Above all, however, in addition to investing in production expansion and modern technologies, we massively support research and development. As a result, our company is setting trends in the industry, particularly in the environmentally friendly and maintenance-free design of our braking systems and components. For example, last year at the prestigious InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin we presented a revolutionary electromechanical disc brake unit, which is part of our DAKO Brake By Wire concept. Its principle is that neither compressed air nor oil management is needed to stop trains," adds Lukáš Andrýsek.
The success of DAKO-CZ does not go unnoticed. In 2021, the company was declared the Company of the Year of the Pardubice Region and was among the top five companies in the national final. Last year, it was awarded the Czech Superbrands 2022 award. All indications are that the company, which is 100% owned by Czechoslovak Group, the industrial-technology group of Czech entrepreneur Michal Strnad, and which today forms the basis of a separate division of CSG Rail, will continue to grow in the coming years.
Share