Thanks to our focus on innovation, research, and development, the best brains are employed here, and they are fulfilled by doing work with high added value for customers around the world, says Vítězslav Lukáš, who has been the head of ABB in the Czech Republic since 2019.
ABB was a partner of the Czech Head 2023 competition. You supported the Invention Prize, which is awarded for the most significant scientific achievement. Why do you think it is important to support Czech scientists?
ABB’s growing presence in the Czech Republic owes its success to the talented, highly skilled employees it attracts from the local labour market.
However, society-wide trends of transformation towards sustainability and digitalisation and growing global competition are also putting pressure on Czech society on its ability to generate top professionals in traditional and new sophisticated fields. The ability to achieve exceptional results in science, research, and development distinguishes the most advanced countries from the average. The flexible and effective application of these results in the corporate, public, and non-profit sectors then repays society for the effort and capital it has invested in discovering and supporting talent and skilled professionals.
The ABB Technology Group is organically linked to the support of capacities in Czech science and research, both through its business and its concept of social responsibility and sustainable development. Involvement in the Czech Head project, the most important Czech award for science and research, is, therefore, another important activity for us to improve the environment in which we are operating. At the same time, we are supporting the path to a higher quality of life, which is in the interest of society as a whole.
You are an innovative company with a global reach. Do you manage to nurture and retain the best brains in the company?
For over 130 years, ABB has been built and developed to be a leader in technology. With an innovative and sustainable approach, it is not only able to fundamentally change the world of industry. As a result, even the best minds find fulfilling jobs with us. They have the opportunity to participate in the development and projects of major customers from all over the world, which not every domestic company can offer.
To ensure that they stay with us for the long term and are sufficiently motivated, we have created a safe, fair and inclusive working environment in addition to a sophisticated benefits system. This way, everyone can succeed and develop further at ABB. Diverse teams make us stronger. And we strive to make our employees proud to be part of ABB.
Your company’s growth is focused on robotics. You have built a production and development centre in the Mošnov development zone, near the international airport. Could you say more about that, please?
We started our robotic activities in Ostrava around 2007. From the very beginning, we have been striving to become a pan-European player, which we have been able to achieve. In addition to the synergy between our excellent operations and our strategic location in Mošnov, this is mainly due to the quality of our human resources. The production and development centre in Mošnov focuses on the high-tech production of robotic peripherals.
ABB also develops applications for autonomous mobile robots at the centre. It also houses its existing Global Repair and Remanufacturing Center and Global Center for Robot Cell Development and Manufacturing and robotic welding and material cutting supply lines.
The centre, which has significantly expanded ABB’s robotics footprint in Ostrava, uses the most advanced manufacturing processes, including digital and collaborative solutions. The new facilities have strong synergies, particularly with the unit developing and manufacturing modular robotic cells mainly for the European market, and equally with the Industrial Robot Repair Centre, which is increasingly taking on competencies within ABB on a global scale. The Ostrava Centre is part of ABB’s network of global robot repair and remanufacturing centres, which also includes Auburn Hills (Michigan, USA) and Shanghai (China).
The total investment exceeds CZK 300 million and will gradually create at least 120 new skilled jobs. It is no coincidence that such a centre has been created in the Czech Republic and in the Ostrava Region. ABB has built up a strong base of technically and project-oriented top professionals here, and the long-standing close cooperation with educational institutions led by VSB-TU contributes to this.
The launch of sophisticated production and development with high added value for customers from the world’s most demanding markets is good news not only for ABB but also for the entire Ostrava Region.
In what areas, and how successfully, are you developing cooperation with VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, from which you graduated, by the way?
We cooperate with VSB-TUO within our European Operations Centre and in robotics. Ostrava was a pioneer. The Department of Robotics has been there for thirty years, and we have very good cooperation. Whether it is sharing know-how, expert lectures, thesis supervision, the free loan of collaborative robots or providing ABB RobotStudio software, which students can use to create, simulate, and test complete robotic installations in a virtual 3D environment, thus connecting theory with practice.
In addition to making teaching more attractive, we offer students technical internships. These allow them to spend a week at ABB, where they tour all the global industrial robot repair centre workplaces. They will look inside ABB manipulators and controllers, try to set up a gearbox or assemble and test motors.
Last year, in cooperation with VSB-TUO, we also organised guided tours of our centre for children from the first grade of primary schools who attend the robotics club under the auspices of VSB-TUO.
It is not something that benefits us immediately, but we know that investing in education adds value in the long term. These students can then be a driving force for ABB and a new impetus for the whole region.
Thank you for the interview.
