EVPÚ Defence is marking the 25th anniversary of its founding this year. The company celebrated this significant milestone at its facility in Uherské Hradiště, where it also officially opened a new production hall that will expand its capacity for further growth. Over the course of a quarter-century, the company has evolved from its origins as a trading firm into a Czech manufacturer of its own electro-optical systems and other technologies for the defense and security sectors. The company’s current standing is underscored, among other things, by its involvement in the CV90 tracked combat vehicle program for the Czech Army. Its collaboration with BAE Systems Hägglunds was one of the key topics discussed at the celebratory event.

The history of EVPÚ Defence began in 2001. As the company’s Chairman of the Board and CEO, Ing. Ivan Buday, recalled during the ceremonial gathering, the firm was originally established as a purely commercial enterprise with the goal of supplying Czech security forces with technologies that were not available on the domestic market and had to be purchased abroad. Gradually, it secured distribution rights for several major global companies and only later began to develop its own products. Today, according to Ivan Buday, the situation is practically the opposite. EVPÚ Defence primarily offers customers products that are the result of its own development, manufactures them in-house, and also provides follow-up service for them. Over the course of twenty-five years, the company has thus gradually built up capabilities that allow it to control a significant portion of the lifecycle of its own technologies – from design and development through production and testing to customer support.

A significant milestone in the company’s early days was a project involving special surveillance vehicles for the Czech Republic Police, intended for the protection of the country’s borders. Their retractable electro-optical system combined a daytime camera, thermal imaging, GPS, and a laser rangefinder, enabling the determination of both the position and distance of monitored objects. At the same time, the project pointed the company in a new direction – beyond its original business activities – toward the development of its own technical know-how and comprehensive solutions. Another breakthrough came two years later at the IDET trade fair in Brno. There, the surveillance vehicle caught the attention of representatives from a major Swedish company seeking a partner to develop positioning devices for its projects. The initial business collaboration gradually evolved into a long-term partnership, which contributed to the development of EVPÚ Defence’s in-house R&D, manufacturing, and service capabilities. Since 2008, the company’s portfolio has been based on internally developed solutions.

The new hall as a continuation of the development to date

The company’s growth is symbolically illustrated by the new production hall, which was opened to mark its 25th anniversary. Yet this is not merely another building on the premises. The new facilities expand EVPÚ Defence’s production capacity and create the conditions for additional specialized workstations. The company’s technological infrastructure in Uherské Hradiště now includes design offices, production facilities, testing laboratories, and a service center. A key component is the cleanroom, where the assembly and calibration of electro-optical systems take place in a controlled environment. Among other things, the production process utilizes collimators for aligning optical paths, environmental chambers that simulate extreme operating conditions, and equipment for calibrating thermal imaging cameras and servicing cooled detectors. The production infrastructure is complemented by cable workshops that meet IPC standards, CNC machining centers, an in-house paint shop, and 3D coordinate measuring systems.

However, during his ceremonial speech, Ivan Buday pointed out that technology and production infrastructure alone are not the most important things the company has built over the past quarter-century. “Our greatest asset has always been – and always will be – our employees,” he emphasized. According to him, the success achieved over the past 25 years is based primarily on their expertise, education, and dedication to their work. The company’s management therefore does not view this anniversary as the culmination of a particular phase. “We do not view the past 25 years as a destination, but as a significant milestone on our journey, one that only confirms that the direction we are heading in is the right one,” Buday said. 

According to him, further development will require ongoing investment. The changing security environment brings new demands on defense technologies and the ability of manufacturers to respond quickly to them. “The global security situation is constantly changing and presenting new challenges. That is why we must continually invest in innovation and the implementation of new technologies, as well as in expanding our production and development capacities. But above all, we want to invest in people – in their education, development, and in creating the best possible work environment for them,” said the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of EVPÚ Defence.

Flexibility as a competitive advantage

An important part of EVPÚ Defence’s business model is its ability to tailor technologies to specific customer requirements. It is precisely this capability that the company’s sales director, Claudia A. Budayová, considers one of the main ways the Czech manufacturer can hold its own against significantly larger global competitors. “It is precisely this high degree of flexibility that represents our company’s greatest competitive advantage. While large global players typically supply standardized, off-the-shelf solutions – forcing customers to adapt to their products – we take the opposite approach. We design functional solutions for our customers that are tailored to their specific conditions,” Claudia A. Budayová told CZ DEFENCE.

According to the sales director, it is precisely this ability to respond flexibly to the requirements of individual customers and to carry out customized projects that establishes EVPÚ Defence’s position in the market. “It is this flexibility – the ability to respond quickly and manage customized projects – that makes us a unique business partner,” added Budayová.

Ivan Buday made similar remarks during the ceremonial meeting. He identified the company’s ability to adapt solutions to specific customer needs as one of its greatest strengths, which, in his view, enables the creation of long-term business relationships based on mutual trust. The company aims to further develop cooperation with other major international companies in this way.

The CV90 demonstrates the importance of industrial partnerships

One of the most significant current programs in which EVPÚ Defence is involved is the CV90 tracked combat vehicles for the Czech Army. For these vehicles, the company supplies weapon stations, commander’s sights, monitoring systems, and equipment for detecting laser and radar radiation. Håkan Karlsson, Manager of Industrial Cooperation and Partnerships at BAE Systems Hägglunds, also highlighted the Czech company’s importance to the program during the celebrations. In his remarks, he noted that 25 years of operation represents a significant achievement in the defense industry, especially given the dramatic changes in defense technologies, operational requirements, and the global security environment during this period. From BAE Systems Hägglunds’ perspective, EVPÚ Defence is not merely one of many subcontractors. “EVPÚ Defence is not just a supplier. You are a key partner and a team player whom we turn to with confidence, and you are an integral part of the CV90 program in the Czech Republic,” Karlsson stated during his speech.

Karlsson then went on to mention specific technologies developed by the Czech manufacturer. He highlighted the commander’s sight, remotely controlled weapon stations, laser and radar detection systems, and reconnaissance systems as elements critical to the CV90’s capabilities and effectiveness. According to him, it is also important for BAE Systems Hägglunds that industrial partners be able to offer not only technically high-quality products, but also reliability and sufficient industrial resilience. It was precisely in this context that Karlsson linked the partnership to the opening of EVPÚ Defence’s new production facilities. He noted that the new facility is concrete evidence of the company’s long-term commitment to technology, quality, and the development of industrial capabilities.

From Uherské Hradiště to international platforms

Partnerships with major foreign manufacturers can have significance that extends beyond specific Czech modernization projects. Håkan Karlsson noted that industrial cooperation on the CV90 program can also create additional business opportunities in other countries. According to him, this can have a positive impact not only on EVPÚ Defence itself, but also, more broadly, on the Czech defense industry. This is precisely the direction EVPÚ Defence intends to further develop in the coming years. This is not merely about the traditional export of finished products. The company’s ambition is to integrate its own technologies directly into foreign military and security platforms. “Our main goal is to integrate our own systems into foreign platforms. However, joint development is just as important to us,” Claudia A. Budayová told CZ DEFENCE. As an example, she cited the long-standing collaboration with FLIR, within which EVPÚ Defence has developed several custom systems. It is precisely this combination of in-house development, manufacturing capabilities, and the ability to tailor technologies to specific customer requirements that may represent one of the key directions for the company’s future growth. At the same time, the CV90 program demonstrates that participation in a large modernization project does not have to mean merely manufacturing parts or fulfilling offset-based industrial cooperation obligations for a Czech company, but can also be an opportunity to apply its own technological solutions within a comprehensive foreign platform.

The celebration marking the 25th anniversary of EVPÚ Defence’s founding thus also served as a reminder of the company’s remarkable transformation. The company, which began in 2001 as a trader in foreign technologies, now has its own R&D, manufacturing, testing, and service capabilities and also supplies its systems to one of the most significant modernization programs of the Czech Army. The opening of the new production hall also demonstrates that the anniversary is not merely about looking back on the journey so far. “I am convinced that the future will bring us new challenges, new concerns, and new problems, but of course also new opportunities,” Ivan Buday stated at the conclusion of his remarks. According to him, the past 25 years have confirmed that the company has the capabilities, determination, and necessary self-confidence to continue its development.

Combining the anniversary with the opening of new production facilities clearly illustrates this ambition. In celebrating its quarter-century of existence, EVPÚ Defence did not merely look back on what it has built over the past 25 years, but also demonstrated where it intends to go from here – toward greater production capacities, further in-house development, the integration of Czech technologies into foreign platforms, and deeper involvement in international defense projects.