Our company is a leading European producer of industrial fixtures. Our products are known worldwide and compete successfully with similar products from western manufacturers, Zetkama President and Director General Leszek Jurasz tells Polish Market’s Jerzy Bojanowicz.

Zetkama appeared on the market in 1946 and has since gone through several proprietory and organisational changes. A consistent investment programme, modern management and a recent debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange make for the company’s reputation as a modern-day unit.
Q: Zetkama has been on the stock market since 2005, where it is quoted as a capital group.
A: In keeping with our growth strategy in the first quarter of this year we took over the majority packet in the company Śrubena Unia S.A. z/s in Żywiec. In May we leased a casting and fixture manufacturing company from the official receiver of the company Metalpol z/s in Węgierska Górka. Such steps will allow us to raise our turnover to PLN 300 million.
Q: How would you place your company among similar enterprises?
A: We’re an unquestioned leader in Poland – some of our products have an over 40% market share. In 2007 our net sales came to PLN 86,1 million (PLN 81 million in 2006). We expect the 2008 figure at about PLN 95 million. We’re also one of the main fixture manufacturers in Europe and export to over 40 countries worldwide, mainly to western Europe.
Q: Do you specialize in any fixture sort?
A: Our industrial fixtures mainly consist of elements of installations used to transmit non-aggressive media. They are chiefly used in heating and air-conditioning systems and in special cases in shipping industry. Our clients are also industrial plants, which operate various technological installations.
Q: Who buys your castings?
A: Our main customer is a foundry in Ścinawka, 65% of whose production we use for our fixtures. The rest is sold as machine-tooled and raw castings to various industries like the motor branch and engineering companies which manufacture machinery for other industries.
Q: Zetkama has its own research labs. Howe important is R&D for you?
A: All our products are designed by our own engineers. We have a well-developed R&D section dealing with construction, technology and metallurgical matters. That’s where our new products are born and existing ones improved.
Q: This year you expect a 10% sales rise. How come you’re so optimistic if more than 80% of your produce is sold abroad and the Polish zloty keeps appreciating all the time?
A: Our planned sales rise to PLN 95 million is an effect of recent investments. Funds we obtained from the stock market went into enlarging our machine pool and the construction of a modern fixture plant in Ścinawka Średnia. The PLN 35 million plant launched production in August 2007.
We also put up an environment-friendly painting section and invested in noise-reducing systems. At the moment Zetkama meets all environmental norms, thanks to which we obtained an integrated license.
The new plant considerably raised our output and enabled us to put through some important inhouse reforms. Therefore, although we do feel the strong złoty and the high steel, energy and coking coal prices, we nonetheless want to keep our promises to the market – and by all indications we’ll succeed.
Q: How much of your produce is sold in the east?
A: At the moment this is about 20%. We are quite established in Russia, we’re also present in Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. We also sell to the Mideast.
Q: You’ve received numerous awards. Which one makes you most proud?
A: Quite certainly our Polish Business Leader title won at the 16th Polish Business Leader Competition. We received it for our „consistent and successful growth and export strategy and constant product improvement signifying exceptional concern for customer satisfaction with offered products and services”. We also lay great weight on the European Medals we received in 2003 (for bellowed stop valves) and 2006 (for fast-closing stop valves).
I am also proud of my Honourable Distinction for Achievement in Work Protection granted me by the Chief Labour Inspector on a motion by our crew and trade unions.
Q: And your future plans?
A: We’ve wound up restructuring the company, which since 1991 has been a joint-stock enterprise. Ahead of us is still a lot of work connected with the enterprise we took over and the one we leased.