History
About our business
Origins of our activities are dated back to the year 1968, when the independent research and development organization Electrotechnical Research Institute – EVÚ is created as a part of research base of the ZŤS – Heavy Industry Concern Company. EVÚ successfully develops drives for rolling mills, drives for machine tools, equipment and servo systems for automated centers as well as traction equipment for electric locomotives. In the following period, the Electrotechnical Research Institute extends its research and development capacities for its own production and so it increases the number of employees to reach the total of 1800 people in the year 1989.
Year 1990 represents changes in our society and break-up of huge concern companies including the Heavy Industry Company ZŤS. In the same year the Electrotechnical Research and Development Institute, a state owned company, is created from the research and development department of ZŤS. EVPÚ is then transformed to the joint-stock company in the year 1994. The company builds-up its existence on the tradition in the field of research and development.
EVPÚ holds an important position within the Slovak electrotechnical industry.
The company policy is clearly stated – high standard of products and services offered to Slovak and foreign partners.
Reaching this target goes by the optimal connection of research, development, production and testing into one functioning process with qualified and experienced personnel as its driving force.
International demand for EVPÚ production has resulted in an establishment of subsidiares and several foreign representatives. A subsidiary company EVPÚ ZVS joint stock company in Dubnica nad Váhom with focus on mechanical and electrical production was established in 1996. The commercial representation, EVPÚ ČR Limited, was established two years later. This company is actively involved in the sales of electro components for railway program. The business and production sister company EVPÚ Defense Limited Liability Company has been successfully operating in the Czech Republic since 2001.
Company Beginnings
In the same period, the main business activity of company was a monothematic area of power electronics. The power electronics belonged to the newest and most progressive area of electrical engineering. It was used wherever there was a need to switch, manage and regulate electric energy especially in electric industrial drives, in electric traction, in energetics and etc.
The power electronics replaced contact switching devices by contactless devices, loss regulators and starters were replaced by lossless ones, rotary power supply and converters were replaced by static ones. The most significant benefits and advantages of power electronics were high durability, reliability, efficiency and simple installation.
The research was focused on rectifiers, fixed frequency inverters, frequency converters and contactless switches. These solutions were used in automatic electric drives, in electric traction, in energetics and for providing uninterrupted feeding of computers or other machines in the area of electrohydraulics and so on. The power electronics has become one of the main programs in the Czechoslovak industry.
Less than 20 years ago, the working group, originally consisting of 15 members, was gradually extended to the total of 1800 employees providing research, development and production of electronic equipments. Together with products development were ensured also development of production technologies and testing machines, which create a needful base of quality to produce complicated electronic products.
The testing centre, as a part of Electrotechnical Research Institute, acquired the authorisation in 1994. Already during the construction of the testing centre through various equipments, measuring and computer techniques could be performed all necessary tests and calculations. The testing centre was equipped with devices where was possible to perform climatic tests and electric tests.
History
Establishment of a specialized research institute was an important step in the extending of electronics products in various industries. Between the first research tasks may include the use of elements of power electronics in electric traction and electric drives. Primary attention was focused on the development of controlled rectifiers and impulse switches for regulated drives with DC motors. The department of power electronics was extended to further machines such as frequency converters, constant frequency inverters and many others.
In the mid-1970s, besides power electronics the institute began to develop regulated and controlled electronic systems of units and mobile machines. These regulated drives are based on power electronics and they bring savings of non-ferrous metals and electrical energy what ensures a return on the investment during one year. The significant project was the supply of the set of thyristore regulators for drive system for handling winches of hydraulic dredger. Through side winches was defined direction of moving dredger.
In the early 1980s, the company extended its business activities in research and development of drives and control systems robots intended for the most different areas of industry. In this area were performed several successful development works on adaptive and modular workplace with universal robot with the main orientation on arc welding. In the same time was developed an automatic robot welding systems, transportation robot. The moving robot was controlled inductive through wire in the floor. All above mentioned modern robotic systems were fully used in production.
The period between the 1980 and 1990 was characterized by political and social changes. The company production was focused on the most different areas of electronics for ground machines and handling techniques (for concerns ZŤS Martin, Detva, Hriňova), electronics of anti-slip regulators for coaches, fire control systems for tank T72, traction battery charges for material handling machines, development and organization of serial production of distribution transformers with special parameters and power supply for focusing tilting magnets for particle accelerators. In the railway area the institute began to solve the projects – the replacement of rotary under carriage dynamos and rotary supply systems of locomotives by static power converters. In the following time the authorized testing centre as SKTC No. 101 extended its capacities.
At the end of 1990, the special interest for research and development became the area of technological equipments and single purpose machines for various industries. Often these individual solutions were used in automatic assembly lines such as fully automatic lines for assembling of ball bearings, wrapping and feeding lines for paper industry, gob feeders for glass industry as well as handling machines for nuclear power stations.