Exceptional results for Steklarna Hrastnik for the first half of 2017

Steklarna Hrastnik is continuing its trend of business growth and profitability.

In the first half of the year, the glassworks generated €30.1 million of total annual revenue, a 6 percent increase on the same period last year. Profit before tax and value added per employee also increased on the same period last year, with profits standing at €5.1 million, a 19 percent increase, and value added per employee at €44,104, a 9 percent increase.

In the first half of the year, Steklarna Hrastnik generated fifty percent more total annual revenue than in the same period of 2009, while value added per employee saw more than a one hundred percent increase. This successful operation is the result of investments in improving employee skills and in production, which have been realised in the last seven years.

“It is important that we have recorded positive operations in all three business units, also by increasing the share of sales of products with higher added value. The latter proves that the business strategy of investing in production and employees and entering new markets and segments, which Steklarna Hrastnik has been pursuing for the last seven years, has been the right decision. This allowed us to achieve not only excellent results but also to influence cost optimisation,” said the outgoing General Director of Steklarna Hrastnik Andrej Božič at the presentation of the results, adding that: “In the first half of the year, we invested almost €1.6 million into improving working conditions and the quality of our production. The investments focused on automation of production, ergonomic arrangement of workplaces in production, and on production employees’ training on correct working methods.”

Peter Čas, who is taking over the operational management of Steklarna Hrastnik as of 1 August, said that the company, moving forward, will continue with its focus on the niche segment of the highest quality. This will be achieved with further intensive investments into key areas of operations, i.e. employee training and improving of working conditions, upgrade of production efficiency, including operational excellence and the strengthening of the market position. “We will increase the market share among brand owners and key distributors. We will predominantly search for new opportunities on previously defined key markets, i.e. England, Ireland, France, Italy, Poland, Scandinavia, Russia, and the Near East,” said Peter Čas, the new General Director  of Steklarna Hrastnik.

Assuming his new role as consultant to the glassworks owner on strategic development as of 1 August, Andrej Božič said that there are already a number of activities being implemented with regard to the future strategic development of Steklarna Hrastnik. The first challenge is to set up a holding, which will enable the glassworks to grow both through its connections and takeovers in the industry. There are currently various concepts being considered together with partners. A timeline has been prepared, which will serve for the key decisions being made in the last quarter of the year as regards the possibility of setting up a holding.