AMEST - Manufacture of Top-quality Custom-made Measurment and Control Systems

Amest – Manufacture of Top-quality Custom-made Measurement and Control Systems

Amest is a modern, dynamic firm supplying tracking gauges and control preparations. In addition, it provides industrial enterprises with qualified consulting services in the areas of precision measuring, production control and optimum production technologies. “In the history of Amest, the firm´s excellence has always consisted of development and research resulting in a prototype. The outstanding distinction of our firm is that we have been making our living by selling prototypes for unbelievable 30 years. This is work bearing risks and placing high demands on all the technical processes involved. Excellence always rests on how the machine is designed, i.e. the method by which the specific part, group of parts, or entire product group will be measured. The brains of our firm, in which all employees participate, comprise mechanical construction, HW and SW, the actual assembly of various machine parts and putting them into operation. We are fortunate that all these areas and positions are fully occupied and that, thanks to the professional pride of our employees and their determination to succeed, we have become exceptional,” says the Company Director, Jaroslav Staněk.

Can you tell us about what is new in your company? What is the main focus of your attention and what is Amest´s long-term vision? Our current plans are linked not only with the effort to connect automatic measuring with a specific part, but also with the building of equipment that is flexible and meets the highest requirements. This means flexibility and the satisfaction of the customer, who will appreciate that the changes made in the final product as a result of development do not mean the need to significantly adjust our measuring stations to them. This philosophy was at the base of the development of a new generation of measuring stations for both the automotive industry and the railways, where the outcome is measuring stations for the control of the basic elements of high-speed railways. Today, the measuring stations for wheelset, wheel and axle control are used by leading manufacturers within the sector. In addition, this

equipment is fitted with multidimensional measuring heads for universal use.

In 2018, you won a demanding tender offered by the largest Chinese manufacturer of railway elements (CRRC Sifang) for the supply of four automatic measuring stations and now, after the demanding testing and takeover, you are exporting the stations to the customer. Can you give us any details? The contract is for the control of wheelsets and axles for high-speed railways. The main advantage for the customer is the high precision control of the parameters, which no rival firm could offer. It is a separate unit fitted into the production lines of a different degree of automation and production seriality, enabling different methods of handling. In this area, it collaborates with colleagues who, using their profound theoretical knowledge, are capable of analysing the measuring procedures so that the final design of the station in terms of

the statistical evaluation of the gauges may achieve the required Cg and Cgk values.

You are an important Czech exporter, exporting a major part of your production. Do you think Czech products enjoy a good name in other countries? Establishing a good name with foreign customers means not only their satisfaction with the technical design of the key functions, but also the firm´s ability to supply them with all the accompanying services and spare parts, train the personnel and meet customers’ special requirements in the area of visualisation of the results, etc. These are the areas in which the good name of products is created. It is also dependent on the position of Czech exporters in foreign markets. Czech technicians are known for their innovative ideas, whose value, however, is often reduced by a lack of accompanying services. This is a problem which Czech products often experience in foreign markets to this day, so that the

good name of the products is overshadowed by inadequate customer care.

You have a number of foreign reference orders. Which projects have been among the most interesting? All our winning projects are interesting. The main criterion on the part of the customer is usually the product excellence linked with the fulfilment of the customer´s extraordinary requirements. As a rule, these requirements are not fulfilled by the traditional solutions used by large firms. It is probably our ability to dynamically accept a special requirement which determines the customer´s choice of our firm.

tions and to realise demanding methods of communication with the company control systems, while realising the metrological requirements in our stations. That is why we have established close collaboration with specialists in those areas.

What are your specific plans for the development of your company? Which trends can you observe in your line of business? Let me give you a general answer. One of the quotes by Galileo Galilee – “Measure what can be measured, and make measurable what cannot be measured” – is the

You are also a firm fostering innovation and continuously improving its products. How do you perceive the current pressure for innovation? With regard to measurement methodology, we are persuaded that we have chosen the right method. Currently, the innovation pressure can be seen especially in the ability of Asian SW engineers to combine their work with a profound knowledge of their specialisation. This is where we can see a tangible lack of talent, a lack of people willing to work under the demanding condi

basic philosophy of the developers in our firm. We do not think that long-term concepts in today´s world will be synchronised with the specific requirements of the customer. Therefore, besides the already existing measuring stations having a specific task, we are intensively developing the basic building blocks of the measuring stations, and building and trying to raise both the theoretical and practical standards of knowledge of our people, so that the value added that will ensure our competitiveness in future may stand on good foundations.