Mr. Cyril Svozil is a self-taught and pure entrepreneur from the Jeseníky Mountains. Since 1990, he has been running a family business producing electric radiator panels. In 30 years of the business’s existence, he has exported his products to more than 70 countries. He recognises market mechanisms and the need for innovation. his has led him to participate in the Universal World Expo 2020 in Dubai with his innovative Fenix Energy Concept project.
Last year, your manufacturing company celebrated 30 years since its establishment. How have customer requirements changed during this time, and what role has innovation played?
The past 30 years have been a period of enormous and utterly revolutionary change. From the abundant freedom and enthusiasm of the 1990s, through the first decade of the 21st century, when we slowly began to get used to the gradual reduction of freedom, the increase of state dirigisme, and the suppression of market mechanisms by the intervention of governments and, in particular, the EU.
From 2019 onwards, these tendencies have been escalating to so-called “managed freedom with consequences” and irreconcilable divisions in society, the loss of the ability to communicate normally and the suppression of “unpleasant opinions and activities”.
Fundamental changes have also taken place in the corporate sphere. Powerpoint managers, instead of striving for maximum satisfaction of customers’ needs, promote eff orts to re-educate them, engage in so-called social involvement and care for various minorities within their work teams. Most corporations are exhausted by these efforts and have no time left for the customer and their needs.
Fortunately, we have given this “fashionable” trend a wide berth. The customer is and remains at the centre of our interest. That is why we are growing economically naturally and without any subsidies and support.
Innovation is an integral part of the development of any successful company. It often results in entirely new solutions, such as the comprehensive “Fenix Energy Concept” and the launch of our battery storage systems.
You export your products to more than 70 countries on four continents. What does it take to succeed in these markets, and what do you do for that?
The key to our success is focusing on the needs of our customers and finding solutions that bring them significant added value.
You are a partner of the Czech exposition at the General World Expo 2020 in Dubai. What products do you want to offer on such a specific market?
We are very proud that we are one of the ten Czech companies to be included in the permanent exhibition of the Czech pavilion. It is a prestigious event for us, to which we want to invite our most important customers from all over the world. We want to compensate them at least partially for the absence of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the company and continue intensive communication and cooperation.
At the exhibition in Dubai, you are presenting an exhibit called Under the Wings of Fenix. Can you elaborate on that?
Here we present the “Fenix Energy Concept”, i.e. a fully electrifi ed energysaving building equipped with electric heating, PVPP with its battery storage, controlled ventilation with heat recovery, all controlled by an intelligent I-cool system using the hardware base of the Czech company TECO Kolín. Everything is embedded in the Smart City concept. As part of this project, the involvement of a nuclear microreactor from the Research Institute in Řež is also presented here.
What importance do you attach to energy savings and battery storage? How is your company responding to these developments?
We see this trend as a huge opportunity that fi ts entirely into our vision: “The future is electricity. Only electricity can be fully emission-free (nuclear power) or even fully renewable. No other energy source has this potential!”
Thank you for the interview.
