PROFILE: KASI
Concrete
plans
Following the construction of a new foundry, privately
owned Czech firm KASI, spol. s r. o. is developing its
foothold in surrounding countries
E
stablished in 1992 with the aim of being the sole supplier
of a broad range of sewage related products for
concreting plants, KASI today is a leading manufacturer of
sewage castings, street and yard grilles, adjustment rings,
manhole covers, manhole steps and covers for plastic
pipes for the construction industry. “KASI is a privately owned Czech
company, with two private owners. We have five main work shops in
the Czech Republic, which is a major strength for us as it is our main
goal to deliver local production to local industries and businesses,”
explains Jakub Albrecht, sales manager of KASI. “Our main focus is on
manufacturing, however we are also a design and sales company with
a wide range of products that are mostly equipment for concreting
plants and companies in need of manholes, gully elements and pipes.”
Elaborating further on the history of the company, Jakub adds: “In
the beginning, the business was centred around producing parts for
concreting machines and plants. We then designed our own system
technology and increased our activities, which at first only involved
sales for manholes. However, both owners understood that the future
was in manufacturing and they began preparing facilities that led
to KASI producing almost 90 per cent of products ourselves. This
has been our strategic plan for 21 years and now we have our own
workshops and casting foundries; we acquire raw material and produce
independently. The only items in our product range that we don’t
produce are specialised products, as own production is not an efficient
option.”
Construction & Civil Engineering 25
PROFILE: KASI
Dedicated to delivering an
efficient, high quality product to
its customers, KASI decided to
stop buying from China and India
and instead begin independently
supplying to its customers in
2005. This transitional period
resulted in a decrease in sales and
the company proving its abilities
once again to companies it had
previous relationships with. “When
pour-tech AB
Today Kasi is an important customer for
pour-tech AB. In 2011 pour-tech AB took over
the business from KOINS for the European
and African market and it has made
improvements of the automatic pouring
system and developed a number of new
important features for casting quality. The
latest development is the laser-controlled
inoculation monitoring system. All systems
are built in Sweden and Germany and the
company supplies tailor made turnkey
solutions.
26 Construction & Civil Engineering
we stopped buying from China we
developed a brand new foundry
in the Czech Republic, which was
completed in 2011. It is one of the
five most modern foundries in
Europe and has the most state-ofthe-art technology in the country,”
enthuses Jakub. “It is capable of
grey and ductile iron production,
and is equipped with furnaces
from UK, moulding line from
Germany, an automatic vibrating
transporting system, sand shop and
automatic pouring device. All of this
modern technology is connected
by computers that communicate
with one another; this enables us
to produce a capacity of 22,000
tonnes of metal a year, which is
similar capacity to countries such as
China, India and Turkey where they
have more than 1000 employees. We
produce the same amount at greater
precision with 140 employees.”
Committed to continual
improvements, KASI constantly
adjusts and enhances its products
to offer customers the best solution
for their requirements. Notable
innovations include adjustment
rings that are used as manhole
cover underlay to adjust covers at
road level. Built in accordance with
EN 1917 standard, the company
offers three types of rings; differing
in shape and bearing surface size,
each ring type is chosen in relation
to its underlying parts. For example,
adjustment rings BAR, BARZS are
used for frames and cover plates
produced in accordance with DIN
V 4034-2 precast reinforced and
unreinforced concrete components
for soakaways and well shafts,
while BAR-V, BAR-VS are used
in accordance with DIN V 4034-1
prefabricated concrete manholes,
unreinforced, reinforced and steel
fibre for drains and sewers.
With a core client base of
approximately 13 cementing
companies in the Czech Republic,
KASI’s strategic decision to build
a new foundry three years ago
has resulted in the innovative
firm expanding into surrounding
countries such as Poland,
Austria, Germany and Slovakia.
Furthermore, with eastern and
southeastern countries beginning
to develop sewage infrastructure
for the very first time, the company
is keen to take advantage of these
opportunities for further growth.
“The new foundry meant our
capacity was raised, so the last two
years have really been about getting
back to where we were before
through contacting old partners
in Germany, Poland and other
countries, while also expanding our
reputation in areas such as Russia,
the Ukraine and Baltic countries as
well as Slovenia, Bosnia, Romania
and Croatia. Other companies may
have suffered in the recession, but
to us the market is open as we
didn’t have the capabilities to move
into these markets before.”
Having built the foundations
to become a wholly independent
firm, the future looks optimistic for
KASI as it continues to enhance its
products and expand its foothold
into new areas. Despite reaching
its strategic goal, the dynamic firm
sees opportunity for further growth,
responding to market demand
with the construction of a new
warehouse and production hall.
Investing heavily in new technology
and machinery, the new production
hall will be place for polyurethane
application to open more technical
and technological opportunities in
the future.
“We want to optimise our
product range, which is why we are
installing cutting-edge technologies
into our new warehouse and
production hall. We also want
to prepare rectangular manhole
covers as we currently focus on
round covers that are used in inland
Europe, however rectangular covers
are used in other areas such as the
UK. We haven’t produced these
yet, but we see an opportunity is
there and we want to optimise it,”
concludes Jakub. m
KASI
www.kasi.cz/eng/
Services: Leading manufacturer
of sewage products
Construction & Civil Engineering 27