Kadmar and Fenzi Leaders in Eastern Europe

One year after the acquisition of Kadmar by the Fenzi Group, we interviewed Andrzej Lepich, Managing Director of both Jaworzno and Alu-Pro Polska.

Rising sales, new products, new investments. A more than positive balance sheet for Kadmar, a chemical company in Jaworzno, in southern Poland, specialized in the production of polysulphide, polyurethane, hot-melt and butyl sealants for insulating glass, that officially became part of the Fenzi Group a little over a year ago.

Poland’s stormy years of development are behind it and the country has put a growth plan in place that the government hopes will correct some distortions and allow a greater degree of balance and general economic quality to be achieved: in the workplace, in bureaucratic procedures, in support of innovation and industrial investments. Having survived the global recession unscathed, in 2016 Poland’s economy is expected to grow by about 3.6%, with public debt among the lowest in Europe and unemployment at 7%, only slightly higher than Germany’s. In a scenario like this, the positive response of the market to the Kadmar product range, now part of the Fenzi Group, can be attributed primarily to its strategic choice to offer extremely relevant chemical products at a highly competitive price point. Added in the last few months was the vast range of ultra high-performance solutions for IG units offered by the Glass Alliance network (comprised of Fenzi, Alu-Pro and Rolltech), ensuring global distribution of the technologies developed in this industry by the three companies.

Mr. Lepich, a little more than a year has elapsed since the acquisition of Kadmar. Can you give us a brief summary of how this partnership is evolving?

The process of integrating the company into the Group was very successful. And the market response was definitely positive, with a substantial increase in sales of all Kadmar products and especially Purseal, our economy-priced polyurethane sealant, of which Jaworzno is the Group’s only production unit.

In addition, the combination of Fenzi’s time-tested experience and Kadmar’s excellent infrastructure made it possible to begin production of the Fenzi formulations at the Jaworzno plant, as well.

So, we now have a dual advantage: we can offer our customers an even broader range of products, managing to meet all types of demand, as well as immediate, ongoing assistance.

What new strategies will the company focus on over the next few months?

Poland is becoming the center of Europe’s glass market – currently it is the second-largest European manufacturer of insulating glass and is among the very top exporters of windows and doors in Europe. The development opportunities are huge and being part of the Fenzi Group, whose integrity and trustworthiness are renowned, gives us a major advantage over our competitors. Our products are popular across Eastern Europe but, now that we are part of the Fenzi Group, we can also rely on its excellent sales and distribution capabilities that have allowed us to penetrate more deeply into the local markets, with excellent results. The Group will continue its diversified investment strategies. Last year we completed the upgrade of our plant, taking the qualitative levels of our production even higher, and bringing Kadmar up to the same high production and quality control standards as Fenzi. The coming months will be dedicated to innovation, research and team work.