This year ELVAC celebrates 30 years since its foundation. As part of this anniversary, we talked with CEO Zbyšek Ciompa about where the company has moved in the meantime and where it is heading, and we also recalled some events that deserve to be remembered.

Hello Zbyšek, let’s talk about the history of the company from your perspective. Can you give us an overview of the beginnings of your business?

The beginnings of ELVAC, the original name of the company was Elcom, date back to the early 1990s. I was not employed in the company at that time. However, colleagues who were at the birth, for example Mr. Gříbek or Mr. Doležal, remember this time as a very wild time, when the rules were definitely different than today. Most of the conventions and agreements were more or less on good terms, and it was quite common to go for cash for invoices with a “plastic bag”. However, I started working in the company at the turn of 1998, and it was already pretty much up and running and had its own rules and established organizational chart.

What is your favourite memory at ELVAC?

My favourite memory is when there were about five or six of us and there was no need for any regulations or written rules because we all knew everything about each other. When I went somewhere, everyone knew where. I was aware of who was doing what and what they were working on, because the collective was very small, and we also knew all the customers. Today, I don’t even know all of our employees. It happens that when I meet someone on the stairs, I’m not sure if it’s someone from the company walking by, or if it’s one of our customers, or a complete stranger.

What do you consider to be ELVAC’s greatest achievements and historical milestones that are worth remembering?

There would be a number of achievements and milestones, and I would hate to jinx anyone or leave anything out. What I could highlight, however, is the establishment of cooperation with ČEZ in Ostrava, or at that time with Severomoravská energetika. This cooperation started our orientation in the field of energy and also helped to develop the production of industrial PCs and other fields in which we work today. So I would consider this cooperation as a turning point. But I must not forget the establishment of cooperation with AŽD Olomouc, which also advanced our company.

Tell us, what surprised you personally about the company over the years, both in terms of work and people, and what do you still enjoy so much about your work?

I am surprised by how far we have come. When I see, for example, the work of our engineers in the development of single-purpose machines, or our experts in the energy sector, I bow deeply. There’s no way I could have done it. And they certainly didn’t learn the activity from me. We probably, I dare say, created good conditions for young and skilful people to like working for us, and they got the company to where it is today. I enjoy watching ELVAC develop, seeing the tangible results and successes of our engineers and salespeople when they bring a new product to market or when they hand over a new production line to a customer. When I witness this, I always “stare”, as they say, “with my mouth open” (laughs).

Tell us about your hobbies and activities. What do you do when you are not working?

I have many activities, but one relatively new one at the moment. My daughter rides horses competitively, specifically parkrun. And we currently own a stable in Ostrava, which we bought as a dilapidated barn with land and an old house and are gradually renovating the place. It’s hard work, but the fact that people from the surrounding area visit us in their free time and praise us for the way we are improving the whole place gives us a taste for it. I personally enjoy watching the young people, mostly girls under 18, making progress with the horses. Unlike other sports, where training and preparation are also important, there is also the care for the animal. I admire them for the way they manage such care.

Are there any company events you would like to relive?

Well, as we hold events at least twice a year, sometimes before Christmas and in the summer, I would love to relive each one. Mainly because I get the opportunity to meet people from the company at them, where many of them are my friends. Of course, I can’t be friends with more than 200 employees, although I would like to. Therefore, attending events gives me the opportunity to talk to most of them, to meet them. I believe, since the participants at the events are usually numerous, that they also enjoy these meetings and the opportunity to play sports. I would especially like to recall the times when we used to go to various professional exhibitions and I gained contacts and experience.

What decisions would you make differently in your work if you had the opportunity?

All the decisions were right (laughs). It is true, however, that some decisions, even though they were right, brought me personal disillusionment. I am referring to the behaviour of one of our former partners from our last acquisition in Količín who, in addition to pretending to work and making sure we were pulling together, stole toilet paper from the toilet (literally). It makes you not believe how far a person can go in his greed. Shaking off this knowledge and continuing to look at people with confidence is not easy. However, I don’t want to admit that this experience will affect me for the rest of my life. It certainly hasn’t.

What is the biggest focus in the company?

Personally, as the CEO of the company, I put a lot of emphasis on people and treating them fairly. Since, as we have discussed, the company is full of talent, graduated engineers, developers, etc., their know-how, knowledge and willingness to work for the team is extremely important. Compared to other companies, we are more aware that our treasure is human power, intelligence and creativity, and they are the main means of production, not machines. What matters to the company are the employees, their satisfaction, and that they also feel that they are treated fairly.

What changes and innovations are in store for ELVAC in the future and where is its vision heading?

It is difficult and, I dare say, courageous to make visions nowadays. In my opinion, the coronavirus era will not change by inoculating us all, by August the worries will disappear, and by November we won’t even remember it. I think society, various interpersonal relationships and rules will change a lot. However, our vision at the moment, apart from the constant development of our individual activities, is to start our own engineering production.

In conclusion, what would you like to say to your partners, your employees or the world?

Let me say it unequivocally – may we all be healthy! My message is valid at any time, of course, but right now we are doubly aware that whatever our priorities in life, if we lose our health, everything else is just “nonsense.”