Clearview National November 2014 - Issue 156 | Page 72

machinery

‘The best windows are made in
Bytów,’ says Polish manufacturer
»»Originally founded as a
production site for fence nets of all kinds in
1985, DRUTEX is now the largest producer
of PVC windows and doors in Europe. With
5,000 windows produced per day, an export
rate of 70% and an annual turnover of 130
Million Euros, DRUTEX is a success story,
which the company, in part, attributes to
working with machinery supplier, LiSEC.
Bytów, a city in the North of Poland, less
than 100 kilometers south of Gdansk, may
as well be called the European Mecca for
windows. It is the home of DRUTEX, a
company that has built up its reputation in the
windows industry by consistent investment in
state-of-the-art engineering and technology.
Until 1994 the company’s main area of
business was metal processing for wires and
fence nets. In 1994 the company installed
its first production line for PVC windows
and one for laminated glass. In the year
1999 DRUTEX started the production of
aluminum doors, windows and facades.
Three years later it launched the production
of timber windows and doors, and in 2007
the production of PVC profiles using
its own mixing plant. Today more than
2,000 employees contribute to and realise
DRUTEX’s ambitious goals.
The cooperation between DRUTEX and
LiSEC started in 2000 as DRUTEX bought
its first production line for insulating glass.
“All five LiSEC machines we have in our plant
run like clockwork. They are all precise and of
high quality,” says Grzegorz Płaksa, Production
Manager. DRUTEX is equipped with the
most modern glass processing solutions from
LiSEC including software tools like GPS.prod
for dynamic production optimisation and a
full software package that enables interaction
and communication between machines. In
total DRUTEX has five LiSEC insulating glass
production lines.
Ambitious goals, ambitious
brand ambassadors
The latest investment made by DRUTEX
is proof of its eagerness to grow and to
drastically expand its business. The company
has just finished the first phase of a huge,
multi-million project called the European

72 » N OV 2014 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

Woodwork Centre. Through this investment,
DRUTEX will double its production capacity
at a stroke and estimated 1,000 new jobs will
be created in the region.
The 28,000 square metre production
hall was finished in July this year. Bogdan
Gierszewski, Production Director, explains,
“The new hall is equipped with state-of-theart machinery for the manufacturing of PVC
windows and also with lines and machines for
glass processing and tempering. Also here we
opted for LiSEC glass processing machines
and software.”

The LiSEC lines and machines installed
include a FlyOver loading system, which can
move diagonally above the storage racks when
empty. This process allows minimum cycle
times, as the suction cup bridge does not have
to move out from in between the racks after
each cycle. Further LiSEC machines installed
include a washing machine, sealing machines
and glass cutting tables. The
LiSEC solution is designed to handle large
size glass sheets of up to 5000 x 2500 mm and
include the newest machines - DRUTEX thus
setting the pace within the industry.
The DRUTEX growth program is
supported by a multi-channel marketing
campaign in which soccer players like
Lahm, Piro and Blaszczykowski become
brand ambassadors. With TV spots and
advertisements in industry magazines
DRUTEX targets the German, Italian and
Polish markets.
Trends are a matter of
reaction time and speed.
Bogdan Gierszewski is convinced that,
“Trends on today’s building elements market
are set by customers, their needs and their
preferences.” Every manufacturer who
wants to grow needs to reply to these trends
accordingly. “However, only a few are flexible
enough to react in time and can even exceed
expectations”, he adds.
The major trends according to DRUTEX
are energy efficiency and sound proof
technology, with investors and individual
customers paying a lot of attention to both
these issues. “That is why high quality glass
is so important and why we invest more
and more in technological solutions and
equipment. I am sure that through the intense
cooperation with partners like LiSEC we can
learn from each other, expand our mutual
knowledge in modern glazing technology
and thus provide customers with products
that exceed their expectations,” explains
Leszek Gierszewski, Chairman of the Board at
DRUTEX.
“What we appreciate most about LiSEC
is their dynamics in development and their
ability to respond to customers’ needs,” he
adds.