ANACOT CAPITAL investment group is without a doubt one of the prominent players in the business landscape of the Ostrava region. The feathers in its cap as well as the plans for its future were the topic of our discussion with the group’s executive director, Václav Planka.
What are the most prominent companies that are part of your group (full ownership and strategic partnerships both)?
ANACOT CAPITAL corp. currently comprises TRESTLES corp. (Dětmarovice), V-NASS corp. (Ostrava-Vítkovice), TRIANGOLO ltd. (Hulín), ELFE ltd. (Krnov) and LISA TECH corp. (Ostrava/Brno).
How many people do you employ?
In terms of our entire group, we currently have a little over 700 employees.
Do you still work mostly in the Ostrava region or have you expanded beyond?
The Ostrava region’s primary allure for us is its long-established industrial tradition. One of our businesses, TRIANGOLO corp. is located in the Zlín region. There have been plenty of acquisition opportunities, so I feel that it is only a matter of time before our reach extends throughout the rest of Czechia.
Can you tell us about any recent big investments?
The biggest one so far was finalized this year under V-NASS corp. We obtained the WFL MILLTURN 150 – one of the largest machining centers currently available on the mechanical engineering market. The entire investment exceeded CZK 50 million. This allowed us to enter the production sector, which would not have been possible without this machine.
Are there ever cases of you turning down potential partnerships? Are there certain criteria that you will not back down from?
We never turn down any reasonable partnerships or opportunities for cooperation if they can increase our group’s competitive advantage. “Never say never!” applies in business, too.
Your focus is on mechanical engineering and metallurgy companies. Are you staying out of other sectors on purpose due to engineering being your home field?
When you look at how our companies are structured, you will see that they form a full circle and complement one another. Oftentimes, these companies even have the same customer base. If an acquisition opportunity arises that would allow us to extend this circle, we will do our utmost to acquire the given company.
How big of an impact have the initial Covid crisis as well as the current energy crisis had on your operations?
We handled Covid well thanks to the professional approach of our management teams, it was a walk in the park compared to the energy crisis. All of our companies have a very high energy demand, the highest likely being at TRIANGOLO, so we are definitely feeling the impact of high energy prices.
Are you capable of dealing with these issues on your own or should the government step in more actively?
We have crossed the Rubicon where we might have been able to solve them ourselves. Considering that we are an EU member state, I am of the opinion that a European-level price ceiling must be implemented. I would rather not speculate as to what might happen if the European Union or our government do not step in. I cannot even imagine what that would look like in the current conditions – it would certainly mean the end of our industrial tradition as well as other Czech industries.
Are there any other intriguing investments or plans that you have in store? There was a rumor last year that you were planning to establish an investment fund...
The investment plans of all our companies are compiled in keeping with the overarching strategy of our group. The main focus of these plans is to increase our competitive advantage by acquiring new technologies as well as to properly maintain our properties. To be more specific, we are planning the purchase of a new powder coating line and a new large-scale horizontal boring mill. As for the investment fund you mentioned, we are working very hard on putting it in motion. However, until it is established and its investment strategy is set, we would prefer not to provide any further comment.
Václav Planka (born July 18, 1984, in Ostrava) is the executive director of ANACOT CAPITAL group.
He graduated in economics and management from a business university. In the past, he worked as the chief of staff for a minister, executive director at NORASOTA corp., and executive purchasing director at ANACOT Services ltd.
He is married and has two sons, Viktor (6) and Matyáš (4).
Planka enjoys politics and art, he owns a collection of artworks by painter and illustrator, Helena Salichová. He keeps physically fit primarily by doing CrossFit.
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