Over the last three years, the level of brand recognition among PZL Sędziszów customers has almost quadrupled. What factors had a decisive influence on it?
Since the moment when the company was privatized in 2012, over 200 new product elements have appeared in the offer of PZL Sędziszów. Last year alone, the world leader in the production of filtration devices produced 4 million products, including 2.7 million filters. The company’s portfolio includes, among others all kinds of filters intended for the automotive and industrial sectors.
These are filters: air, oil, fuel, as well as cabin or hydraulic. “What largely determines the company’s development is the fact that our products are distinguished by the highest filtration efficiency, excellent absorbency (in the case of a certain group of filters, even exceeding the required standards) and very high quality of workmanship. We are constantly improving our products, introducing innovative solutions, and using filter materials from leading foreign suppliers, ”says Adam Sikorski, president of PZL Sędziszów SA.
The technical value of the filters of the Subcarpathian company is evidenced by the fact that they enable the reduction of up to 99.98% of pollutants. At the same time, they have a long service life as well as very good tightness. Such high parameters are achieved, among others thanks to the fact that the manufacturer is constantly working on new technological solutions. “Our offer includes, among others air filters made of a special self-extinguishing filter material, which ensures the highest safety of filter use – says Adam Sikorski and adds: non-return valves to prevent oil from returning to the sump when the engine is shut down. This is especially important the next time the engine is started, when oil is already in the lubrication point from the first rotation of the starter”.
Benefits of cooperation
Offering new technological solutions, successively introduced to the market, is part of the activities of PZL Sędziszów. By offering products that are more and more functional and with better filtering effects, the company successfully gains new customers, but also develops cooperation with leading companies operating on the domestic and European market. This allows you to create new filters tailored to the needs of individual contractors, while ensuring the possibility of their sale.
At the beginning of this year, the company signed a framework agreement with Solaris Bus & Coach SA. As part of cooperation with a leading Polish manufacturer of buses, the construction and technology departments of both companies design air filters.
In the long term, both companies are planning joint R&D work with the main goal of developing filtration solutions in buses.
At the same time, the company started a joint technological project with a globally operating producer of advanced systems for drive systems. “Last year, we established permanent cooperation with BorgWarner. The production line from Germany was transferred to the PZL factory. We produce elements for automatic transmissions, which are assembled by BorgWarner in Jasionka near Rzeszów. We realized this project in a professional and lightning speed, which is why BorgWarner wants to entrust us with further elements for production” argues President Adam Sikorski.
On these projects, the company’s development strategy, the basis of which is cooperation with well-known brands, who are potential recipients of filters from Sędziszów Małopolski, does not end there. In the coming months, at the turn of the first and second quarter, a new EKO filter assembly line will be introduced at the company’s plant. The original technological solution in this case is embedding the filter elements in heated lids without the use of glue or polyurethane. This solution not only allows you to improve the tightness of the product, but also – and perhaps most importantly – during the disposal process, it is safe for the environment.
… Because they take care of the vehicles
One of the basic elements of the company’s operating strategy is the search for new industries and markets that may be prospective for the company. Therefore, at the moment PZL Sędziszów plans to intensively develop its offer for agriculture and transport.
“We see the greatest development prospects in the broadly understood automotive industry. According to GUS research, the revenues of the entire Polish auto parts market in 2014 amounted to over PLN 110 billion. What is particularly important from our perspective, almost 80% of Polish drivers change the oil filter once a year, and over 20% even more often. It is not uncommon to replace air filters (once a year in over 60% of vehicles). The data shows that Polish drivers take care of their vehicles. And this is very good news for us – emphasizes Adam Sikorski and adds: – The agricultural and transport markets have been developing dynamically in recent years in Poland. They have great potential. We intend to expand our offer to meet the needs of both markets. As for the so-called heavy zone, we have established contacts with the largest transport companies, we reach end users directly. It is similar in agriculture, where we work with our customers to a large extent without intermediaries.”
At the current stage of development, the priority market for PZL Sędziszów is the Polish market. The company is looking for partners who could act as salesmen. At the same time, the company constantly offers cooperation to Polish entities operating in the same industry, which, like PZL Sędziszów, have been successful on the market and successfully retained their own brand.
The manufacturer does not only focus on domestic development. The company is constantly working on expanding the distribution range of filters to new markets. For this purpose, it participates in numerous international fairs and conferences. Currently, PZL Sędziszów filters are exported mainly to European markets, including: Germany, France, Italy, Finland, Russia, Hungary, Slovakia, Belarus and Ukraine.
The company is also starting to gain markets on other continents. In 2015, the company established cooperation with FBK Europe sp.z o.o., one of the leading distributors of automotive parts on the African and Arabian markets. For this reason, also in these regions of the world, filters from Sędziszów Młp. Should be used more and more commonly.
New components
The dynamic development of the plant in the last few years is the result of combining two basic elements. On the one hand, this is due to the consistent and long-term activity on the market, and thus – the creation of a solid brand. On the other hand, in 2012, 85% of the company’s share capital was acquired by Unimot Express sp.z o.o., thanks to which the company was recapitalized.
Since the privatization, the company has undergone many changes, which resulted in an increase in the recognition of the PZL Sędziszów brand. Costs have been reduced, incl. by optimizing production processes, introducing automation at certain stages of production and reducing the purchase prices of raw materials. In addition, new filters were introduced for sale, which were created with the automotive, agricultural and heavy industry markets in mind. “How do we combine the tradition of the plant with modernity? Most generally speaking, the technology in the field of filtration has remained the same for many years. On the other hand, the components are changed, because their quality is constantly being improved, as well as the devices that we constantly modernize and automate. There is most to be done in this area”emphasizes Adam Sikorski.
At the moment when PZL Sędziszów began to operate according to new business rules, the company became a member of the Podkarpackie Business Club, as well as the Aviation Valley association, which brings together companies from the aviation industry from the south-eastern provinces. Last year, the Aviation Valley received the status of the National Key Cluster, which on the one hand may indicate the rank and prestige, and on the other hand enables, inter alia, effective acquisition of EU funds for research and development. “The company was accepted as a member of the Association of Aviation Industry Entrepreneurs” Doliny Lotnicza “in 2012. Thanks to this, we have the opportunity to present ourselves on an international scale during a number of events. This brings benefits in the form of greater recognition of our brand in the aviation industry, and thus, establishing new business contacts” says the president of PZL Sędziszów.
The company from Sędziszów for the needs of the aviation industry produces, among others oil filters, fuel filters, indicators, valves, and other elements subject to machining and assembly. For joint activities within the Aviation Valley, the potential of PZL Sędziszów can also be used in the field of cold working. For the needs of the industry, the plant has a sufficiently large stock of machinery (presses from 20 t to 250 t) and qualified constructors. It is not surprising that the manufacturer cooperates, among others with companies such as WSK “PZL-Świdnik”, WSK “PZL-Rzeszów”, Sikorsky Mielec, WSK “PZL-Kalisz” or Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No. 1 and 2.
Strict requirements
The specificity of PZL Sędziszów operations consists, among others, on the fact that the dimensions and shape of the filters are selected according to the specific request and demand of the customer. This is made possible by the design and construction skills of the company’s employees. This allows you to create new innovative solutions that meet the needs of individual customers.
Therefore, the technological process, according to which subsequent contracts are carried out, may proceed in a slightly different way each time. “All new implementations are carried out in accordance with the applicable procedure, although they differ from each other because each client has different requirements and needs. At the beginning, technical parameters are agreed. The next stage is the construction of the product. After the customer’s approval, a technological process is created, according to which the filter will be produced, and then the process is implemented on production lines, says President Sikorski, and adds: – The selection of parameters and then the construction of filters is based on the customer’s requirements. These parameters are checked both at the stage of production of individual components and at the stage of the finished product. The most important parameters of our products are filtering accuracy, absorbency, efficiency and quality of workmanship. Our clients are guided by these values”.
The parameters of the filters produced in Sędziszów Małopolski, as well as the appropriate operating strategy for the coming years allow the company to be optimistic and bold development plans. It is not surprising then that the company plans to expand its product range, strengthen its position in new industries, and enter new markets around the world.
Importantly, the company continues to develop, although for years it has been at the forefront of companies in the filtration industry. “Many factors contribute to the leadership position, but what distinguishes PZL Sędziszów from the competition is primarily 75 years of experience in the filtration industry. We have excellent specialists who are real experts in the field of filtration. We also have our own research facilities that can meet the high expectations of customers. Our great pride is that we meet the stringent production requirements for aviation and the army – summarizes President Adam Sikorski. – You work for success for years. However, the history of PZL Sędziszów since its privatization in 2012 shows that good marketing, thoughtful investments and the potential of the workforce can bring great results in a short time. This is evidenced by, inter alia, dynamic increase in the recognition of our brand among customers, which has almost quadrupled in three years”.
PZL Sędziszów specializes in the production of all kinds of filters for the automotive and industrial sectors. The wide range of products includes both air, oil, fuel, cabin and hydraulic filters. Their main advantages are: the highest filtration efficiency, very high absorbency (in some filter groups exceeding the required standards), as well as the quality of workmanship.
An extremely important element of the company’s operations is the continuous improvement of its products, as well as the introduction of new, innovative solutions to the market all the time. Only in the last three years, more than 200 new product elements have appeared in the PZL Sędziszów offer.
