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17 Years with One Employer and a Head Full of Legislative Solutions. Petr Kuběna is something of a rarity in today’s fast-changing job market – he’s stayed loyal to one company for 17 years. And not just any company – it’s the Engineering Test Institute (SZÚ), where he’s grown from a testing technician to a certification expert and trainer. “I joined in February 2008. SZÚ is my very first – and so far only – workplace.”
His very first business trip took him all the way to India – and it was also his first time flying.
“I didn’t really have a sense of self-preservation back then,” he laughs. “My parents reassured me that if anything went wrong, I could just walk home – there’s no ocean in the way.”
When a two-meter-tall Indian man in a turban greeted him at the airport, Petr couldn’t believe his eyes – they clearly weren’t expecting such a young expert from Europe. In their culture, responsibility usually comes with age and experience.
Petr brought home not only cultural impressions from India, but also one key realization – in Indian cities, monkeys take the place of pigeons.
“They were sitting on every ledge and pole, and I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure one wasn’t about to jump on me.”
Since then, he’s traveled many times to Turkey, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other countries. In Turkey, he audited the production of gas hoses and ball valves; in Abu Dhabi, he inspected pipe manufacturing – even in conditions where the temperature inside the plant exceeded 60°C.
“Managers were literally drawing straws to see who would go with me,” Petr recalls with a smile. “It wasn’t so much a production inspection as a survival test.”
Petr started as a testing technician, later led the mechanical testing lab, and since 2023 has been working in the certification department.
What he enjoys most today is training – especially in the area of product conformity assessment.
“It’s fulfilling to help customers navigate the legislative maze. They often struggle with something long-term – and I help them find a way through.”
His explanations aren’t just theoretical. They’re grounded in years of hands-on experience solving real problems, digging deep, and finding solutions where others gave up.
“I never followed a template. I studied not only government regulations but also their interpretations, amendments, and all the context. And now it’s paying off.”
One of the biggest challenges in his work is that not all products fit neatly into a single standard.
“Sometimes it’s simple – a product clearly falls under a specific regulation, and we know exactly what to do. But other times, a product spans multiple areas. Then it’s up to us to help the customer find the right path to demonstrate compliance. One product can fall under several regulations – and we look for a solution that’s correct, feasible, and makes sense.”
Petr sees navigating legislation as a creative job. Manufacturers innovate, lawmakers try to keep up – and at SZÚ, we look for ways to bring order to it all.
“Standards and regulations will always lag a bit behind development. Just like antivirus software lags behind viruses,” he says.
One example is the standard for lithium batteries, which is only now being developed – yet SZÚ has already been helping fire extinguisher manufacturers prove that their products can put out this type of fire.
Or the design fire extinguisher HUSSECHUCK (an English transcription of the Czech word hasičák) by the company AMPLLA, which looks completely different from traditional extinguishers. Together with the manufacturer, we had to find a way to get it fully approved under current standards and legislation. We succeeded – and one of these extinguishers now protects our meeting room.
Petr Kuběna is proof that even a technical profession can be full of adventure and creativity. And that when expertise is combined with a willingness to help, it creates something with real impact – on product safety and customer trust.
Thank you, Peter!
SZÚ Team
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