From mines to railways and theaters. At KOEXPRO OSTRAVA, we are writing a new chapter in our story. Where we once supplied equipment for deep coal mines, today we develop machinery for railway infrastructure maintenance as well as cutting-edge stage technologies. We managed what not everyone succeeded at after the decline of coal mining – turning the end of an era into a new beginning.
When Coal Ended, Our Fight for the Future Began
Our story at KOEXPRO OSTRAVA a.s. is closely tied to the history of the entire Ostrava region. Our company was established in the 1990s on the initiative of former OKD employees. For many years, our destiny was firmly connected with the Ostrava-Karviná mining district – we manufactured specialized cars, overhead suspension systems, hand tools, and other equipment for underground mining operations. More than 90% of our production was aimed underground.
With the decline of coal mining, however, orders gradually disappeared from the market. The decisive moment came for us in the autumn of 2021, when a new owner entered our company. Instead of a gradual shutdown, we together decided to take a bold step forward.
“It was clear that we couldn’t just wait for the market to return to the form we once knew. We had to start looking for new opportunities and leverage the expertise we had gained over decades,” recalls our Commercial Director Ing. David Kenkuš, MBA.
We Swapped Black Gloves for White Ones
We describe this transformation with a bit of exaggeration: “We put away the black gloves of the mining industry and put on the white gloves of the theater. It sounds humorous, but it accurately captures how fundamental our transformation has been. We still work with steel and engineering, but today we create equipment for completely different environments.”
Our first major new opportunity emerged on the railways. In our own engineering and design offices, we now develop and manufacture specialized service vehicles, platforms, and other technical equipment designed for railway infrastructure maintenance. Our primary customer is Správa železnic (the Czech Railway Administration), but we are also securing orders for public transport companies operating tram lines. Our products from Ostrava head not only across the Czech Republic, but also to Poland, Slovakia, and other international destinations.
Every Order Is a Custom Original
Unlike standard mass production in engineering, we do not produce off-the-shelf series. Every project begins with our engineering team working directly with the customer to find the most suitable technical solution. This is followed by development, prototype manufacturing, and rigorous approval processes according to railway or other safety regulations.
Our core strength is not mass production. We excel at designing solutions tailored precisely to customer needs. Every order pushes us forward and brings us new experience.
We Found a Second Life on the Theater Stage
An unexpected and rewarding chapter in our new history has been stage and theater technology. In cooperation with our sister company TechArt-Stav, we manufacture stage hoists, revolving and lifting platforms, hydraulic mechanisms, and structural support for lighting and sound equipment right here in Ostrava.
Modern cultural centers and theaters today demand rapid spatial transformations – hosting a concert one evening, a conference the next day, and a gala ball on the weekend. Our technical equipment enables exactly this kind of flexible space utilization.
Our People Remain Our Greatest Value
Even though we have significantly reshaped our production range, the core pillar of our company remains untouched – our people and their know-how. Around fifty employees work in our production halls. Some of our locksmiths and welders bring decades of hands-on experience to the job.
Modern technologies are important to us, but we still believe that a quality product is created primarily by people. The lifetime of experience acquired by our workforce cannot be replaced by any software or artificial intelligence.
Likewise, all our design engineers stayed with us. Although they design different products today than years ago, the core principle of their work hasn’t changed – finding the best possible technical solution.
In-House Innovation and Our Vision for the Future
We don’t want to be just a contractor working from someone else’s blueprints. One of our ongoing research and development projects is the development of technology utilizing wireless power transfer for industrial applications. Our goal is to eliminate trailing power cables where they complicate operations or restrict machinery movement.
We don’t just want to manufacture what someone else designs. Our ambition is to introduce our own engineering solutions and serve as a strategic partner to our customers from the earliest stages of development. That is where we see the future of our company.
In the coming years, we plan to build a new production hall, further automate our manufacturing, and expand into new European markets. Our story demonstrates that the end of coal mining didn’t have to mean the end of industrial tradition in Ostrava – on the contrary, we are applying our decades of experience to railways, cultural institutions, and the development of advanced technologies.
