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At the head of Vetrim as General Manager since last January, Andrzej Lepich looks ahead to the formidable opportunity to further develop a company that has already experienced considerable growth over the last three years. The potential of the entire Eastern European market is ready for transformation and promises further tangible results. We asked Andrzej Lepich to tell us what his plans for the future are in a market situation that nowadays, in addition to opportunities, is also showing signs of a more perilous side.
What is Vetrim's current area of business?
Vetrim’s activity can be divided into two primary areas:
What prospects are opening up for Vetrim with the new market situation, generally?
One of Vetrim’s strengths is its geographical location. The building market in eastern part of Europe has grown rapidly in recent years. Although the growth rate is lower now, the building industry has still high potential of development. It means that Vetrim has an opportunity to continue its sustainable growth by increasing its sales to existing customers as well as winning new customers entering the Insulating Glazing (IG) industry. Vetrim can offer its customers wide range of high quality products as well as very good service.
We receive inquires from new countries (e.g. Moldova ,Georgia) which yet have quite weak economies. However if there is a good climate for economic changes in the countries like these we will be interested in closer cooperation with new customers.
In your opinion, what are the probable developments of the building market in the East Europe?
As the current situation of building market in the East Europe varies country by country, its development will mainly depend on factors affecting local markets. In some countries (part of Russia, Ukraine) the building market will continue to develop at double digit rate as the effect of economic changes. In countries like Poland it will be the result of development of local economies supported by foreign direct investments as well as subsidies from European Union. In Poland and Ukraine the building industry will take an advantage of European Championship in 2012. As far as the individual building market is concerned there is still an excess of demand over supply. Only in Poland more than 1,5 million of flats are still lacking. I can observe rapid growth of number of houses under construction being the effect of more liberal regulations. With reference to IG industry the introduction of new norms and standards will enforce the application of products, sale of which should have positive effect for companies like Vetrim.
On the other hand in some countries the building market is approaching its mature phase so only slow development can be expected in the nearest future. Beside microeconomic factors the development of the building industry in the East Europe will be affected by global situation. Crisis of financial sector which can be more and more clearly observed in Europe will not by pass the building industry. At the time being it is difficult to estimate its size, so its influence on building market is still a question mark.
Is the problem of the energy savings highly considered in the eastern European market?
In my opinion more and more attention is being drawn to problem of energy savings. Continuous increase of energy costs forces companies as well as individuals to undertake actions to limit the energy consumption. Especially for production companies, where energy accounts for important cost factor the problem is a matter of concern.
What are the implications in the business relations of Glass Alliance?
As a part of Glass Alliance Vetrim takes advantage of long-term experience of its members in IG industry. For customers who are part of international organizations the membership in Glass Alliance assures the same standards of service and quality of products across Europe. One of fundamental factors is a synergy effect achieved through very close cooperation of its members in many areas.
