Marlex doubled their insulating glass output a assisted by LiSEC

In 2006, the management at Marlex decided to produce their own insulating glass. Domestic glass manufacturers could no longer keep up with the booming demand or the required level of quality.

The company was founded in 2003 by Marian Raus and Alexander Vugrek, and the start-up grew much faster than expected. Marlex now has 260 employees and is the clear market leader in Croatia, supplying windows and doors made of aluminium, PVC and wood-alu or PVC-alu, with revenues of 18 million EUR. In recent years, the company has invested over eight million EUR and nearly doubled the number of employees.

There are many reasons for this fast-paced growth. Ilija Ponjavic, Executive Director at Marlex said, “We‘ve experienced high growth, and not only in the Adriatic region where a real construction boom is happening right now, with numerous hotels being built, creating a correspondingly high demand for insulating glass.”

“In the last three years, EU subsidies have become available for private homes: 40 percent of the costs for windows and doors are being subsidised, in some regions even up to 80 percent. People have started to look into thermal insulation on the Internet and there they find us, too.

“Another reason for this growth can be found in the uncompromising quality of the final products,” Ponjavic added. “We only work with the best. This means that products we offer to our customers as standard are referred to as ‘special’ by other companies. For example, the Energeto 4S window.”

4S stands for 4 seasons, it means pleasant temperatures all year-round. According to Marlex, this solution’s G value is 30 percent better than conventional glass in the summer.

And the export market? Ponjavic said, “Originally, we planned on having more export business, but the demand in Croatia is so high that we can’t export more than 35 percent.” When Marlex windows and doors leave Croatia, they are bound for Italy, France, Germany, Slovenia and Austria.