How long have you been working at Antra?
György Podolák: I joined the company in 1996 and work in the service department. Antra ID never intended to be a reseller, so from the very beginning we “drifted” toward system integration work. We’ve sold a lot of devices to most of our long-standing clients, and we’ve always connected them to higher-level enterprise management systems. So if a problem arises, we can not only tell you whether the device is working properly, but also whether there are any disruptions on the network. And when we sell a label printer, the cost of maintenance is included in the price of the labels – this makes the operating costs of the machine completely predictable, not to mention that a shutdown of a label printer integrated into a production line results in a complete halt of production, so availability is invaluable in such cases.
János Pesti: I joined the company in 2005 after discovering it at a trade show. I worked in the service department for a short time, then provided IT support to the service team, but soon we were able to develop our mobile data collection (MDC) product portfolio, which we could deploy independently at customer sites. We are currently working on the MDC Solution, a universal data collection platform capable of connecting to mobile terminals, SAP, RFID systems, and more. This is a proprietary framework that we can always tailor to specific customer needs.
Károly Göncző: As a “newcomer,” I’ve been working at Antra ID for just 14 years, and over the years I’ve tried my hand at various roles – purchasing, sales, logistics.
What did you like about Antra ID at first glance that made you come here and stay?
János Pesti: Innovation. They’ve always let me experiment and see things through. Antra has always built on cutting-edge technology and never delivered hardware, but rather solutions. I also spent ten years on the client side, and I know that when I bought hardware, it was almost impossible to find a specialist who was both capable and willing to integrate it. It was this focus on solutions that appealed to me at Antra 17 years ago, and this approach has characterized the company ever since.
How have you managed to keep up with the industry’s technological leaps for decades now?
György Podolák: Often, we identified a need among our clients and set out in a certain direction so that we could be among the first when that need became widespread and many people were looking for a solution for a new production or logistics process. But there were times when we “brought home” a solution – for example, from a trade show – even though we hadn’t yet encountered that need domestically. In those cases, we refined our solution, and it either succeeded in the market or it didn’t. One key to market success is that our suppliers still exist 5-10 years down the line; otherwise, it will be difficult to support the systems they manufacture.
How has the industry changed over such a long period?
János Pesti: Most of our clients want to streamline their HR documentation and accounting processes and switch to automated identification procedures. In addition, they want to establish an increasingly high level of integration between different systems. In the past, we often received requests for quotes for hardware alone, whereas nowadays they expect solutions from us even at the inquiry stage.
For many years, our clients were primarily multinational companies, but in the past year or two, domestically owned SMEs have also discovered the benefits of data collection, fleet tracking, monitoring, and so on. The shortage of skilled labor is felt at every level, which is why clients want to automate as much of their business processes as possible – whether in construction manufacturing, the food industry, higher education, or building management. One new area, for example, is the automatic tracking and documentation of office restroom cleaning, which was previously also done via verbal reports. But the majority of our clients still come from the manufacturing sector. We are very familiar with logistics processes, so we can assist our clients starting from the redesign of the concept. We deliver solutions, not just technology.
Károly Göncző: In most cases, clients don’t frame their needs as “needs” but rather as problems that arise. They share the problem itself with us, and from that point on, we think together and work together toward a solution. In the past, the tools we sold dictated the solutions, whereas now the solutions dictate the tools we need. This is a massive change. Meanwhile, of course, digitization needs and the toolkit itself have grown exponentially. Back in the day, barcode-based data collection was considered cutting-edge technology. Today, that’s just the entry level, and automatic identification and system integration represent the technology a company can truly be proud of.
To what extent has the issue of energy efficiency come to the forefront in recent years?
János Pesti: Overall, customers want to speed up and optimize their processes. If a forklift travels fewer kilometers, that’s energy. If a robot moves less, that’s energy. Our portfolio isn’t specifically aimed at energy management, but the end result of all our work is a form of energy optimization.
What percentage of customers have a maintenance contract?
György Podolák: Perhaps 10 percent of our service revenue comes from ad hoc service requests, but we can be of much greater help if we have a clear understanding of how the entire logistics system operates. The number of maintenance contracts may have decreased in absolute terms, but where they do exist, companies now grant us much deeper insight than they did 10 years ago. This also stems from changes in our service portfolio – for example, an AGV (automated guided vehicle) fleet cannot be operated without a clear understanding of the entire value-creation process.
The operation of AGVs has brought about a major change in the life of the service department. This certainly isn’t just a matter of applying some lubricant or tightening screws, since a fault can occur in the machine itself, or in the network, the fleet manager, the connected ERP system, etc. We need to have a comprehensive view of the entire system to find a quick solution. AGV fleets sometimes operate 24/7, and vehicle manufacturers lack the capacity for operations and service in Hungary, as the field is so new that nearly every manufacturer is considered a startup. That’s why we often end up designing the routes ourselves. We like it when we have to manage and operate as large a fleet as possible. The bigger and more complex it is, the better for us, because that makes it all the more worthwhile to hire us.
János Pesti: An operational task is structured like the layers of an onion. The outer layer consists of tasks that can be solved remotely, but when the system physically breaks down, you have to be there and understand the “structure of the onion.”
How has joining the Central European Automation Holding (CEAH) affected the company?
János Pesti: We are surrounded by partner companies, including Auware Engineering Kft., which specializes in PLC programming and machine building. We primarily focus on the production line, while they work on the production line itself, so significant synergies have become exploitable, and together we are able to undertake increasingly larger projects. Together we build the production line, write the PLC applications, handle the integration, and even manage all of this as needed. Working together also makes procurement more efficient.
Károly Göncző: The sales and administration teams are currently working on creating an internal management system that will handle all sales and reporting matters in an integrated manner. This will make our daily work easier, as we currently enter this data manually. Of course, there were overlaps in our client bases; we discussed these at the start of our collaboration, and now we’re thinking on a much larger scale than we’ve been able to in recent decades. If geopolitics doesn’t intervene, we’re bound to succeed.
