There are only a handful of companies in Slovakia that can be objectively considered global players. However, apparently none of them has had such a long-term impact on international technological standards in its segment as the company XRAY from Trenčín. A layman usually has no idea when he first hears about it. However, people who have even briefly glanced around the world of professional "RC" - remote-controlled - cars know that the brand and products of this family company are deservedly written in capital letters in the racing model world. The technological progress of this industry bears its strong handwriting.
Specifically, especially its founder, top Slovak engineer and successful model racer Juraj Hudy, who has been leading the XRAY company and the HUDY brand for 27 years. This charismatic and energetic man is behind the fact that the garage company, today we would call a startup, has gradually become a global technological authority in the field of components and accessories for remote-controlled cars with combustion or electric engines of all categories.
By the mid-1980s, Juraj was already producing the most professional rigid chassis that enabled top racing results. In 1984-1985, he produced one of the first RC cars with a combustion engine and four-wheel drive with a drive shaft and a one-way differential. In the late 1980s, Juraj perfected automatic two-speed gearboxes to make them suitable for racing in dusty environments.
In 1988-1989, Juraj Hudý designed and built one of the first off-road control cars made of ultra-light materials. He shifted the overall design to a purely technical and functional form, where no part is superfluous and is strategically placed for the best possible performance. This is also the key difference between professional control cars and those from the toy category.
In 1990, the company established cooperation with the Dutch manufacturer of professional remote-controlled model cars Serpent. Hudy mainly supplied spring steel gearbox parts and later also duralumin chassis. The independently developed method of processing spring steel is still one of the company's biggest production secrets.
In 2000, Juraj Hudý founded the company XRAY Model Racing Cars, in which he put all his experience in the design and production of RC racing cars to good use. The first – now legendary – serial project and model was called “T1”. Since 2001, XRAY products have been sold in more than 30 countries around the world and the company has also founded its own professional factory racing team – XRAY Racing Team.
The reduced scale only applies to cars, everything else is "one to one". In RC racing, the driver's main sponsor is usually the chassis brand. Other sponsors range from manufacturers of engines, fuel or batteries, electronics, bodywork, tires to local sponsors from other industries.
The latest project so far is a hall with an "off-road" track with a clay surface. The investment allows for improved year-round testing of engines and off-road cars directly on clay. To illustrate Juraj's absolute RC passion, it should be noted that he managed and coordinated the construction of the new racing hall HUDY Racing Arena , in addition to his own demanding work and racing schedule, absolutely by himself without an external company. Those who haven't seen it , won't believe it.
The company now also has its own racing series, the XRAY Racing Series, which it is gradually expanding around the world. They support various larger and local races, in which only factory-branded cars are usually raced, but participation in races with cars from other manufacturers is also allowed.
Juraj has been supported by his two sons for a long time. The elder Mário is pushing the family company forward on global markets in terms of sales and marketing. The younger Martin is following in his father's racing footsteps and is also a technological designer. Today, the company employs around a hundred people who are more part of the team than just employees. Many of them have been there since the very beginning. In addition, the company sponsors dozens of professional riders around the world under the XRAY brand, supplying them with top-notch racing equipment.
Success is not a coincidence, but a vision, stubbornness and especially hard work.
There are three basic things that characterize this successful family business. First of all, constant technological development. The entire corporate vision revolves around this core and is based on it. The Hudys do not wait for what is new in the RC business in the world to adapt, but they try to come up with something themselves that the world accepts as a standard. It is logical that such a path is already lined with a few material and technological patents.
Another element of success is the almost obsessive emphasis on high-end quality. Although the company is located in the immediate vicinity and in the pleasant lee of the White Carpathians, its competition is global. This is also one of the reasons why the family brand HUDY is better known west of Vienna than in Slovakia, where the company pays taxes and has always had complete production here.
The absolute foundation of the XRAY philosophy is a firm commitment to perfectionism in terms of construction, design, performance and service. All this is possible thanks to top-notch manufacturing, the process and parameters of which we have created and set ourselves.”
Juraj Hudý , founder and chief designer of XRAY, HUDY and FX
Moreover, Juraj Hudý, even at a time when many were still creating logos "on their knees" with WordArt, understood that top-notch design and presentation are an integral part of quality and did not hesitate to invest in both. As well as in research, development and the best technologies. Whatever new appears in the field of 3D computer design of products, know that Hudý ordered it yesterday and while you are still "googleing" the technical specifications, they are already testing it in production.
From a garage workshop to a global trendsetting factory
Trained mechanical engineer Juraj Hudý produced his first remote-controlled track car in the early 1970s. At that time, his models had no competition in Central and Eastern Europe. Just like he himself in the role of a racing driver. The first small series of handmade remote-controlled cars with combustion and electric drive were created in his 9 square meter workshop in 1975.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Juraj designed several RC cars with engines in both vertical and horizontal positions. In addition to new materials such as fiberglass and duralumin (note: an alloy of aluminum and copper with magnesium), he experimented with chassis, suspension, damping, drivetrain and differential. At that time, he was hand-making 10 to 15 racing cars a year.
An "RC" dream come true
After the fall of communism, Juraj founded his first company called "Special", which he later renamed "Hudy". Production moved from his own apartment and workshop to a garage with an area of 60 square meters. Juraj bought the first machines and started serious production. Production focused mainly on accessories and equipment for model racers. The company grew, moved to larger production facilities and expanded its network of distributors around the world.
Today, in addition to the XRAY brand, which manufactures RC cars and spare parts, and the HUDY brand, which produces special car maintenance accessories, the Hudy family also owns the FX Royal Racing Engines brand. This is Juraj's latest "child" so that this perfectionist and holder of the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award in the field of innovation with energy in the personal equivalent of a fusion reaction does not accidentally get bored.
As part of this project, he is dedicated to the development and production of classic combustion engines for remote-controlled cars. In terms of technology and production, they are almost no different from standard "large" engines, except for their dimensions. Just looking at them will make many a modeler's heart rejoice and make him reconsider whether he should have stayed in the workshop or garage longer and diligently brought his projects to completion.
Individual models have won more than 20 Car of the Year awards in American and European trade magazines, which is the RC equivalent of the Oscars. The car portfolio has gradually grown from the original one to today's 16 models. The seventeenth project is - according to our reliable internal sources - just before its launch.
How a family business operates in the global market
Creating something completely new, revolutionary, is always an enormously challenging task. One starts from scratch and has to overcome numerous obstacles and limitations. Moreover, the result is always uncertain. After the demanding design process, hundreds of hours of testing usually follow to be absolutely sure that the innovation will last and improve the performance of the car. All these steps are very demanding, but the feeling when it is successful and something new is born is absolutely worth it.
Martin Hudý , designer XRAY
The hobby industry is also strongly influenced by the current situation on world markets and technological trends from related industries. Indirect competition that affects RC producers is also the drone segment and their wide availability for hobby users. In general, if a remote control racing car manufacturer wants to be successful today, they must have a complete product and organizational "combo".
This means high-quality and fast cars, a team of professional racers who know how to win, as well as support and service directly at the races. However, this requires access to quality materials and technologies, training top designers, investing in research and development, having a team and conditions for testing, and last but not least, excellent marketing and PR.
The training of top designers, as well as support and service for racers in races, are XRAY's strengths. In addition to its own activities in this regard, the company also motivates its distributors to participate in races and support racers.
RC racing teams are practically no different from classic ones
Team drivers play a key role in the success of the most famous RC manufacturers. Similarly, as former Counter-Strike professional player Ivan “Dev1” Lazarov recently stated in an interview for our magazine in connection with e-sports, in RC sports, factory teams are practically no different from classic ones in terms of professionalism. Similar to, for example, Formula 1 or other major car series, XRAY has its own drivers, whom it sponsors and who travel the world to promote the company and achieve top results.
Brands gradually train their drivers, providing them with cars, accessories and service, or "lanyards" of drivers from competing brands, just like in "big" motorsports.
One of the best RC race tracks in the world is in Trenčín
If an RC company wants to produce top-notch products, it must have, in addition to developers and a racing team, a place where it can test prototypes. After racing on the tracks, drivers often stay to train. Juraj Hudý once bought one of the old Trenčín football stadiums and, in addition to the new company headquarters, built his own outdoor and indoor racing track on its site with his sons. Designers and drivers can therefore immediately test new models on their own professional home turf.
The Trenčín track, considered the "holy grail" of racing in the RC community, hosts European and world-class races every year. The original on-road outdoor track was later expanded with an indoor track with both on-road and off-road tracks.
A busy racing calendar and its own race series
World Championships for some RC categories are held every two years. This year, the 1:10 scale electric road car championship, XRAY’s biggest and most prestigious, will be held in South Africa. A new RC hall has been built for the occasion by the company’s local distributor.
European, American and Asian championships are held every year. The calendar also includes national championships and large international races with up to 500 riders, as well as local and club races. Often several races are held per weekend. Father and son, Juraj and Martin Hudy, together with another of their designers and racer Martin Bayer, attend most of the important races. They collect information from the racers and provide them with on-site service so that they can later improve their products.
Multiple champions of Europe, America, Asia and the world. The racing achievements of Juraj Hudý, his son Martin or the racers from the XRAY team would be published in a separate publication.
RC sport – see it live and fall in love
As with many minority disciplines, the atmosphere in RC sports is often much friendlier, more positively passionate and interesting than in many majority sports. The Bratislava American football team Bratislava Monarchs, about whom we wrote , most recently convinced us of this.
The next big outdoor RC race will take place at the Hudy Racing Arena in Trenčín from 13 to 15 July 2018. It will be the sixth and final round of the world's most prestigious Euro Touring Series. If you thought that Považí only lives for hockey and football in terms of sports, we believe that now you will know that Trenčín is not only a fashion city but also the main "RC" city of Slovakia. This is mainly thanks to Juraj Hudy, who is now a legend in the RC world.
