32
Facing harsh realities
Radoslaw Koelner
CEO, Koelner Group
As always during Practical World the rumour mill worked overtime, and events in the Koelner Group were top of the list. Time with
Group CEO Radoslaw Koelner during the show was, not surprisingly, at a premium. Phil Matten opted instead to fly to Koelner’s
headquarters in Wroclaw a few weeks later to secure an exclusive, in-depth interview.
In October 2006, the last time this reduce our forecast for net profit to 4 million research and development and the
magazine interviewed Radoslaw Koelner, he euros, mainly because of the serious losses distribution operation for the UK market. The
confidently and accurately projected that we incurred in the UK.” A large operational Glasgow workforce has been reduced by 36
turnover would exceed 98 million euros for loss was compounded by the shift in currency from a total of 81. “That does not include the
the year. Considering the Group debuted on exchange rates in the last quarter of 2007. external sales team, which we will strengthen
the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2004 with “We saw a big drop in the value of the Pound in order to develop our presence in the UK
annual sales of 13.5 million euros that was no to the euro, which impacted the balance market,” says Koelner.
mean achievement by any growth standard. sheet because of the euro loan the business Decision and process have clearly proven
In fact, this family business owes its roots personally painful to Radoslaw Koelner.
to 1982, starting to produce plastic plugs in “This has been one of my biggest personal
Wroclaw in 1986. In January this year a disappointments. I truly believed that I
new injection department came on line, would be able to help Rawlplug with the
with over 100 injection machines, working resources and scale of our group.” 1.5
24 hours a day with a team of just sixty million euros was spent on the new
operators. It is now voraciously consuming boltmaker and associated equipment. In
copolymer at nearly three times the rate of addition new assembly equipment was
just a year ago. installed, the warehouse reequipped office
The expansion was crucial – just to meet buildings renovated. “This was a large
the growth Koelner branches are achieving. investment but our losses were simply
“Our plastics capacity in the factory here becoming bigger. It was impossible to
was full in the second and third quarters of keep production alive in an environment
last year,” says Radoslaw Koelner. “That was servicing.” that, as we discovered, had been irretrievably
limited our growth potential. For example in As a result Radoslaw Koelner made the damaged by 15 years of previous
Romania our branch grew by 18% last year, decision to relocate the main elements of management. We require modern, high level
but it should easily have been 30-40%.” anchor production from Glasgow to Srubex, engineering to support the performance
It’s a familiar story for Koelner – decisive the Polish bolt making factory, which the critical products that we supply to a highly
investment to drive up production capacity to Group succeeded in acquiring at the beginning competitive market. That is the unavoidable
support an expanding branch network. It is of 2008. “We moved the two bolt makers, reality and it was not being delivered.”
formula that has generally reaped rewards – including the new Nedschroef 518, to Ła´ncut In hindsight he acknowledges decisive
witness 2007 Group sales of 160 million and, right now, we are making the necessary action was required earlier. “I should have
euros. “In general the turnover for the Group changes to our European Technical Approvals made this decision in 2006, but it is the
was good,” says Radoslaw Koelner. to include production at Srubex.” Assembly of Koelner family way to invest trust in people.
Anticipating the inevitable next question he anchors remains in Glasgow to ensure the We expected there to be real motivation to
continues, “It was necessary, though, to finished quality of the product, as does change, in view of the commitments the
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