ARGO-HYTOS Poland Presents Itself

Mr. Noworyta, would you please describe us your company? Where is it located, how many people work there?
We are situated in the small but fast developing town Zator in the south of Poland. This location gives us a lot of advantages:

• It is close to Upper Silesia and Lesser Poland - the most industrialized regions of Poland
• In a range of 60 km there are three prestigious Technical Universities
• We are located in a special economic zone which is a part of Cracow Technological Park – one of the fastest developing industrial areas
• Close to A4 motorway – crossing Poland from Germany to Ukraine and close to Cracow airport

It gives us not only a good starting position but also a big chance for further development.
Additionally, this part of Poland is also well known and very interesting from a touristic point of view, both due to its history and its nature.

Two years ago, we moved to a brand new ergonomic building. While designing it, we took full advantage of the experience acquired in the ARGO-HYTOS Group during several construction phases all around the world. These helpful hints were complemented by our local creativity. During a series of meetings and discussions, sometimes very hot and emotional, step by step we were shaping and improving our ideas. It really isn‘t an overstatement to say that almost every member of the ARGO-HTYOS Poland team contributed in final effect to this development.

We have a team of 26 full-time employees. The staff is relatively young but already experienced, both from technical and marketing point of view. Additionally, we have 4 young students in training – one of the advantages of the close cooperation with the local technical school – a kind of our investment in the future.

During 10 years on the market we have built a net of 12 dealers covering all most important parts of Poland. Through this channel we generate about 30% of our turnover. The rest of the business is run directly with OEM’s or end users.

Which product lines do you produce?
We have been developing our own production since the very beginning in 2006. At the start it was just the assembling of small tailor-made powerpacks and manifolds. Very soon we started to receive inquiries for more and more complicated hydraulic and lubrication systems. During the last 10 years we have gathered considerable experience and now we are able to design, produce and put into operation even quite sophisticated systems. This knowledge and understanding collected in systems fields is also very helpful in the efficient sale of components. It is highly appreciated by our customers – we are able to give them real technical support.
Now, beside standard trade activities we can distinguish three main product lines:

• Designing and assembling of hydraulic and lubrication systems – this is the fastest developing part of the business. The biggest parts are small and medium units but we are also able to produce power packs up to 2000 l tanks and 55 kW power.
• Fluid Management products – by now we have already moved the production of portable units to Poland and until the end of 2016 it is planned to produce also a range of stationary aggregates.
• Hydraulic blocks machining – we have two DMG five-axis machines running in two shifts six days a week.

Can you describe us one of your recent customer success stories?
There were several interesting projects in 2015. One of the most complex ones was the project for the company INMET. We have been developing that business for years, starting just as a supplier of solenoid valves, as an alternative to ATOS. Now we are comprehensive supplier of hydraulic stations and control blocks for their machines. Last year, working closely with INMET, we designed, built and put into operation, lines for metal sheet profiling and perforation. The customer was really pleased with the cooperation, appreciating this solution as the fastest available technology in metal sheet working on the Polish market.

The key success factors were both our engineering competence and suitable ARGO-HYTOS product range. As the line works on high pressure (320 bar) and is extremely fast (full cycle of cylinder below 0.5 s) – in this case only high performance components were taken into account. Oil condition and monitoring were also critical issues. That is why the station was additionally equipped with a set of ARGO-HYTOS off-line filters and oil monitoring sensors.

Another important challenge was the energetic efficiency. Deep understanding of functions and cycles of the machine enabled us to design a tailor-made station with hydro-pneumatic accumulators what dramatically decreased the installed power of the system. Our energy-saving design was highlyappreciated and gave us competitive advantages.

And last but not least: constant technical support and service. The machine was not only supplied but also assembled and put into operation by the ARGO-HYTOS Poland team. Delivering a comprehensive solution, reliable on every stage from designing to start-up, was the key to win the project. All settings and the adjustment of the control system took a few long and nervous days – but the final effect was even better than planned.

Can you tell us something about your other production expertise?
Our strongest points in production expertise are still hydraulic, lubrication and filtration systems – as described in above mentioned example. However, there are some important groups of proficiency, developed after moving to the new building.

Fluid Management Products – together with our colleagues from ARGO-HYTOS Germany we are transferring the production of filter aggregates to ARGO-HYTOS Poland. During this project we have been able to go deeply into details and understand these products both from technical and marketing point of view. Thanks to that, we observe a significant increase in the sale of these products in Poland. The transfer is still in progress but our team has a lot of ideas for future development of this segment of business.

The second fastest growing competence is the hydraulic blocks machining. The early days of this project were much more difficult than we had expected but after two years we have gathered a lot of experience and we have a significant improvement in results in this business unit. Since the beginning, our main customer has been ARGO-HYTOS Czech Republic whereto we still supply almost 70% of the production. However, our local market is continually growing. We are focusing our marketing activities on a goal of getting more real ALMA projects –where we will supply not just machined blocks but full service starting from design (in Hydroman or Creo), going through machining and including assembling of valves.

And finally the hydraulic service – for the last years we have started to be more active also in this area – as a complementary activity to our main products. It was a natural step in the business development – especially as we have a strong competence and knowledge. At the moment we are concentrating on piping, putting into operation and maintaining our hydraulic systems (including oil service). This part of business is important from the marketing point of view. Acting not only as a supplier but also as a service team, we are even closer to our customers, getting better understanding of their needs.

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