PLANUS EU: The door to safety

PLANUS EU is a Czech company based in the region of Olomouc that produces and installs specialized doors. Its AEGIS line of fire doors, named after the mythological shield, consists of safety doors lined with fire resistant steel and direct impact resistance on both sides, regardless of the direction of the hinges. The fire resistance is determined directly by testing, and the company makes variants in smoke-tight design and atypical dimensions or colour finishes.

Its founder, Miroslav Krahulik already had previous experience working in the sector, namely with fireproof safety doors, and wished to approach the business in his own way and explore new ideas. Setting up his own company, Miroslav wanted to seize the opportunity to explore what he perceived as a gap in the market – expanding his expertise in the field of fireproof doors to new applications.  

In addition to the safety doors, Miroslav wished to build doors for wine cellars: “you can build a fully-fledged air-conditioned wine cellar at home, under the floor of your living room, which simulates the conditions of conventional wine cellars - a stainless-steel structure sunk into the ground,” Miroslav explains.

To finance the business, he turned to CSAS, who extended a microloan backed by EIF. “I did not have enough money to produce a mock-up, prove my concept, and CSAS provided me with a start-up loan” Miroslav says, “This meant that I could develop my business in a new direction, which would have been very difficult without the loan.” The company is now operating its own website, and is in the process of expanding production.

Company: PLANUS EU (Czech Republic)

Type of business: Safety doors

EIF financing: EaSI Guarantee Financial Instrument

Financial intermediary: Česká Sporitelna (CSAS)

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Czech Republic, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/cz/index.htm