Insight

To celebrate its 30^th anniversary in 2020, Klimas Wkret-met Sp z.o.o implented a two year period of investment to once again increase its manufacturing capacity for high-quality production and guarantee it stays at the forefront of the fastener industry.

Wojciech Klimas, owner at Klimas Wkret-met, explains: “From the very beginning Klimas Wkret-met has stood for high-quality production – even at a time when Polish companies were busy concentrating on importing products, we were investing in our production. Firstly, we expanded our manufacturing capabilities with the introduction of two new fastener categories, which were quickly followed by subsequent investments in machinery, the employment of high-class specialists, as well as partnerships with manufacturers from various industries. This all helped ensure we were able to provide quality products that met all required technical standards. So much so that in 2005 the company obtained its first European Technical Approval for its products – we now have 20.”

Klimas Wkret-met continued its investment strategy with a further expansion in 2010 with the opening of a second, large-scale production plant with a warehouse. The company was then able to add self-tapping screws – for fixing metal roofing tiles, construction chemicals, frame fasteners (including KPR-FAST), carpentry screws, and chemical anchors, to its manufacturing capabilities.

Now, 30 years on from its foundation, the company boasts four production plants with a total production area of over 80,000m2 – located in Kuźnica Kiedrzyńska and Wanaty near Częstochowa. Overall, these plants house over 100 injection moulding machines, 200 presses and rolling mills, a cutting-edge tool shop with advanced processing centres, as well as a high-bay warehouse and a modern quality control department – meeting the highest requirements of the domestic as well as international markets. The company is able to produce 10.5 million screws daily with 6.5 million of those plastic fasteners.

Klimas Wkret-met’s wide range of fastening systems includes fasteners for thermal insulation, drywall, fasteners dedicated to light housings, thermal and waterproofing systems for flat roofs, as well as a wide range of products for frame installation and anchoring. Products dedicated to joinery, as well as a wide range of products for roofers and carpenters, are also at the heart of the Klimas Wkret-met brand.

“To keep one step ahead it is important to have the flexibility to adapt to the specific market needs of our customers and recognise trends. By far one of the strongest trends in the fastener industry at the moment is sustainable development. Ecological and therefore long-lasting, or 100% recycled materials, are becoming a benchmark to help minimise greenhouse gases,” comments Wojciech. “For Klimas Wkret-met, this means the development of fastening techniques made of new materials – something we have  invested heavily in with our portfolio of wood construction screws.”

Wojciech continues: “The safety and strength of any structure depends on the quality of the connections between the various components. Often the joints are the most critical part of the structure – fasteners are more than just fixings. They are also used to align elements, for example when installing roofing or wall cladding. It is even more important that the ideal fastener provides a connection design that will not cause any failure. The entire product design is invalid if there is even one such defect. Therefore, ideal fastening should be based on a more extensive range of standardised fasteners. We take care of this at every stage of the process – taking full responsibility for our products and their quality.”

Quality control at Klimas Wkret-met is a standard part of the production line, facilitated by specialised devices such as measuring microscopes and X-ray spectrophotometers. This enables the company to test a variety of parameters including length, core diameter, thread diameter, head size, socket design, thread pitch and length, as well as drill bit. All products also undergo a series of detailed tests including axial load tests, as well as fastener load capacity tests in-house.

“We have been building our image of a family business for over 30 years and quality is a huge part of that. Today’s world economy is becoming more open and at the same time more competitive. Increasing internationalisation and globalisation brings many risks, but at the same time can become a source of opportunities,” states Wojciech. “However, opportunities have to be diagnosed, defined and adapted to individual markets, which is another reason we closely follow the trends and the demand for products in order to adapt our offer to any given country.”

With the company operating within the global construction market, different requirements vary geographically. For example, the requirements for corrosion protection coatings, legal regulations for fasteners, as well as different market needs. Poland, for instance, has a larger proportion of flat roofs compared to Western countries where the same solutions are far less popular.

“Depending on the culture in which we operate, we conduct business on the basis of our own companies or the cooperation with our trading partners. We analyse each of these models and adapt them to specific conditions. This focus will help us pursue our strategic goal of becoming the market leader in fastening technology production not only in Europe, but also all over the world.”

Another step towards this goal is digitisation. “2020 and 2021 will be remembered as the years that changed everybody’s approach to digitisation – forcing companies that have been postponing the implementation of IT solutions to take action. In the construction industry, which seems to have been slow adopting digitisation, there is a process of increasing integration of IT solutions. They are aimed at facilitating work of particular links in the construction process, starting with BIM solutions, specialised calculation programs, tools supporting production processes, sales tools such as eCommerce, or tools for product portfolio management. In order to not be left behind words such as ‘Big Data’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence’ are no longer just slogans – they are real issues that have entered our reality.”

“We are consistently pursuing our strategic goal of becoming the market leader in fastener production not only in Europe, but also all over the world. To do this we must keep investing in our future,” concludes Wojciech.