About the holding company
About the holding company
Colegium Holding s.r.o. is a family business that loves cars and the automotive industry.
It all began when founder Petr Šimák returned to the Czech Republic after selling his first company and taking a year-long break in Tenerife. At the age of 40, he decided that it was far too early for retirement. He founded AZOS with a clear goal: to build a small company “so he wouldn’t get bored.”
It started at a small site in Chrastava, where he and his oldest son Vojta installed an automatic degreasing line for automotive parts. This was followed by the purchase of a KTL painting line from Excalibur in Přelouč, leading to the construction of a full KTL painting plant in Nymburk.
Growth and expansion
Alongside launching new operations, the company began building a vehicle development support division in collaboration with graduate students from ČVUT – Czech Technical University in Prague. The initial focus was on 3D measurement, which led to a partnership with what is now the company’s largest customer in Mladá Boleslav.
In 2009, AZOS was split into two separate entities: AUREL CZ s.r.o. and Automotive Painting Partners s.r.o. (APP). A top-tier manager, Petr Linhart, was invited to join APP and later became a partner in the company. Around this time, Petr Šimák’s younger son, Jan, also joined the business and continues to be an active part of it to this day.
AUREL: Deep Development and Innovation
AUREL continued its dynamic expansion in the field of vehicle development support in Mladá Boleslav. The company expanded its focus to vehicle safety and increasingly invested in complex and capital-intensive development areas. The company built a pedestrian protection test facility and became a key partner to its main customer in this domain. AUREL also launched collaborations in the development of transmissions and drivetrains and broadened its activities in vehicle testing and analysis.
As part of its efforts to expand the complexity of its services, AUREL became the majority owner of LENAM, a company from Liberec focused on simulations and analysis. LENAM perfectly complements AUREL’s existing operations. At the same time, AUREL began expanding its manufacturing capacity right where it all started – in Chrastava. Here, Petr Šimák’s wife, Eva, also joined the business, further emphasising its family-oriented character.
The Largest Investment – The Proving Ground
A major milestone in AUREL’s journey was the decision to build its own testing proving ground in Břehyně, near Mladá Boleslav. It was the company’s largest and most significant investment to date. This marked the beginning of the first fully Czech-owned automotive testing facility. The company believes this step will strengthen the competitiveness of the Czech automotive industry. Especially in the area of car development.
Colegium Holding: Synergies and the Future
During this period, more of Petr Šimák’s children, Barbora and Jakub, became involved in company activities, both during their university and secondary school studies. Their aim is to join the company full-time after completing their education. It seems the next generation is ready to continue the legacy…
Around this time, Petr Šimák and his oldest son Vojtěch founded the family-owned Colegium Holding. It brought together all the companies within the group. In addition to AUREL and APP, the holding included Colegium Servis (responsible for complete back-office operations), Colegium Reality (owns the real estate used for business purposes), and AUREL Logistic (manages development logistics for AUREL and other key partners). The goal of establishing the holding was to centralise ownership rights and foster stronger cooperation between individual companies, including more effective use of shared synergies.
APP: Innovation in Manufacturing
APP wasn’t standing still either. The opening of a new KTL painting facility in Police nad Metují strengthened the company’s position as the largest job coating operator in the Czech Republic. It provided key customers with an exceptional level of delivery reliability, ensured by identical production equipment and KTL painting technology. This helped build a high degree of trust and marked the beginning of a new chapter in APP’s development. We also launched welding services for one of our major customers, expanding our expertise and increasing the depth of our production capabilities.
While building an entirely new fully automated welding line, we became so inspired by automation and robotics that we established a subsidiary company under APP – EAP. This new company focuses specifically on robotics and automation, not only within the automotive industry, but across various sectors.
Passion for Cars and family
As mentioned at the beginning, we love cars. We enjoy supporting their development and finding innovative ways to improve the production of automotive components. And most importantly, we work together as members of one family – not only our immediate family, but also the broader one, which includes our employees. Some of them have been with us since the very beginning, for over 20 years. That is also a source of pride and joy for us.
Vision and mission
Our vision is to become a recognised European leader and co-creator of technologies in the field of innovative development, comprehensive testing, and the production of components for the most demanding industrial sectors. Especially the automotive industry. Through the synergy of our expert teams, we aspire to deliver breakthrough and sustainable solutions.
Our mission is to push the boundaries of innovation and technology through cutting-edge development and testing. To make the most advanced technologies more accessible. We are committed to delivering high-quality services and products that meet the needs of our customers, while consistently upholding the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.
