MIVALT: Symbiosis of economic and environmental sustainability

Up to eighty percent of the wastewater treatment and sludge processing equipment produced by the family-owned company MIVALT is made for export. “Our largest market is the US, where we sell about half of our total production, followed by other developed economies. Step by step, we are also entering the promising but so far less motivated territories of Southeast Asia and Africa, including the Indonesian market,” says Miroslav Skalický, MIVALT’s sales director. We talked to Mr. Skalický and the youngest member of the Mívalt family, Jan.

Patience is key in Southeast Asia

"We develop, manufacture and sell equipment that falls into the category of larger investments, and finding a suitable and solvent partner in developing markets is neither quick nor easy. Projects, from installation to commissioning, takes one to two years in the local conditions. For example, in Indonesia, we have so far delivered one of the two contracted machines, although we have been in contact with the customer for more than two years. Our equipment is already in use in Algeria, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. In Vietnam, we have established ourselves despite fierce competition from neighbouring China, which only wants to sell but does not pay much attention to warranty and post-warranty service, and from several local producers with comparable technology.

Our strengths lie not only in the quality and innovation of our products and services but also in favourable financing conditions. Some projects for municipalities are financed by the World Bank or European financial institutions, which require that the technologies originate from EU countries or G7 states," explains the sales director.

Quality control plays a crucial role in MIVALT’s production process

Logical connection between manufacturing and sales

For a predominantly export-oriented company that directly covers only the Czech Republic and Slovakia, selecting the right local representative is absolutely crucial. MIVALT has a broad network of distributors who handle sales, equipment installation, warranty and post-warranty service, customer training, and identification of new opportunities. Recently, the company has been increasingly using the services of Czech economic diplomacy, trade missions and assistance from state export promotion institutions at trade fairs.

The wastewater management sector is specific in that professionals in this industry often have long-term, stable and personal relationships within their markets. Therefore, it is not uncommon for them to provide reliable suppliers with contacts and recommendations for expansion into other regions.

The customers’ preference for products from newer EU countries may also stem from awareness of the industrial tradition of the supplier’s country or from personal experience within multinational companies.

The MP-DW-302 dewatering screw press ready for shipment to the US

"I recently spoke with a potential customer from Sweden and was interested in why they wanted to buy our products. They emphasized their positive experience with Czechoslovak and Czech engineering, appreciating the high quality at a lower price compared to goods from Western Europe. Similarly, a Czech food company, part of a strong international holding under French ownership, reached out to us. They had been operating a wastewater treatment plant using their own sludge dewatering technology, and when they were considering a replacement, their French owner, based on experience with our products in France, recommended MIVALT," smiles Miroslav Skalický.

It’s no surprise that a significant number of MIVALT’s product references come from abroad. Of the more than a hundred dewatering screw presses the company sells annually, the vast majority are exported. Meanwhile, only ten machines were sold to domestic customers last year.

"On the other hand, projects in the Czech Republic are more complex, as they involve other accessories in addition to screw presses and, last but not least, they provide the company with the most experience. Domestic projects are also ideal for launching newly developed technologies or components on the market, because they are within our reach," adds Miroslav Skalický.

The entire development process, from concept to production, takes place under one roof at MIVALT

Know-how, flexibility and speed

In general, wastewater treatment technologies are specific by definition. They do not primarily bring profit to the investor, but savings. The right choice will significantly affect operating costs. That’s why there is sustained interest in MIVALT’s technologies, which offer substantial energy and water savings.

"The initial investment must make sense for the customer. We have experience with various types of projects around the world. We offer reliable products and an innovative approach, which enables us to deliver comprehensive solutions almost the entire sludge treatment process, from pre-treatment and aeration to dewatering. In addition to technology, we also supply a wide range of components such as blowers, pumps and more. We also provide operator training and, of course, warranty and post-warranty services. In municipal projects, we generally encounter a more conservative approach and a more complex approval process, while in the industrial sector, the focus is on cost savings and return on investment," says Jan Mívalt.

The entire development process, from concept to production, takes place under one roof at MIVALT

"We take advantage of being a small, flexible company that is able to maintain close relationships with customers, respond quickly to their needs through innovation and offer significantly shorter delivery times than industry standards. We can do all this thanks to the organization of our production process. We start manufacturing our machines even before they have a specific buyer. This allows us to have semi-finished products ready for the situation when the customer decides on a certain type of device. This strategy enables us to deliver machines tailored to customer requirements within four to six weeks, while the usual delivery times in our sector range from four to six months. For us, such an approach means allocating relatively large financial resources in the development phase, but at the same time it is one of our significant competitive advantages. By maintaining an inventory of semi-finished products, we also respond to the geographic structure of our largest customers. Our dominant export markets include remote territories, particularly the US and Australia, with time-consuming transport," explains Miroslav Skalický, outlining the company’s effective strategy.

Written by Věra Vortelová

Photo credits: MIVALT