South Bohemian company, which remodels cars for the disabled, targets electric cars

by   CIJ News iDesk III
2022-05-19   11:55
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The API CZ company, which modifies cars for people with disabilities in the Tábor region, has developed a folding plate for electric cars. He wants to apply for contracts for public transport or taxi services in some European cities. Due to car shutdowns and missing employees, it now produces 50 percent. He invests in automation and develops his own robot. Last year, it built a new office building for CZK 20 million. The company's founder Miroslav Bartoš announced.

"There is a clear trend in Europe in terms of public transport, taxis, governments support it financially. In tenders, it is required that it be an electric car. We have to adapt," Bartoš said. So far, electric cars have contributed negligibly to turnover. API CZ, which won the Company of the Year award in the South Bohemian Region in 2020, wants to apply for the tender of the city of Hamburg for 120 electric trucks for public transport. In Madrid, the city only demands electric cars for taxi service.

The company thus produced a folding plate for larger electric cars. This increases the wheelchair area and prolongs the wheelchair ramp. Last week, the company presented a novelty at an exhibition in Germany. According to Bartoš, car batteries take up a lot of space and electric car manufacturers limit car interventions necessary for people with disabilities. "It leads to a reduction in the space for a wheelchair in small cars," Bartoš said.

In 2020, the company had sales of products, services and goods of CZK 195.5 million and a profit after tax of CZK 40.6 million. It follows from the annual report. According to Bartoš, it had a net profit of 15 million last year, and a further decline awaits this year. Sales also stagnated. He spends several million euros a year on the koruna's exchange rate. This year, it will remodel around 1,000 cars, which will be a year-on-year decrease of 600 cars. "Production is now running at 50 percent, we are at the level of 2012," Bartoš said. Costs are also rising; the company introduced a material surcharge.

According to Bartoš, missing cars are a major problem. According to him, the PSA group suddenly announced at the end of last year that it would stop supplying Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Rifter cars. "That's fifty percent of the volume for us. We already had parts made," Bartos said. Staff are also missing. They are not able to find them in the Czech Republic, the company wants to employ two Filipinos. It invests more in automation. He develops a robot that would cut the floor in a car. So far, he owns one robot for 30,000 euros (about three-quarters of a million CZK).

Most of the turnaround consists of access ramps, after which the wheelchair user enters the back of the car. API assembles them in cars and also manufactures them as kits, which it sells abroad, where you just need to assemble them. The ramp in the form of kits can handle up to 1600 per year. From the rear seats to the rear, the entire floor is cut out, a new one is inserted, which is lowered, and a ramp is connected to it. The company lowers floors in cars, installs manual controls, automatic clutches, swivel seats, lifting platforms, adjusts seats. The key market is the EU, the US is also thriving.

It employs 26 people in the Czech Republic, including several wheelchair users. Her car is also owned by Marcel Pipek, who won a time trial in handicrafts at the 2004 Paralympic Games.