Insight

Next year, Klimas will celebrate its 35^th anniversary as one of the largest manufacturers of construction fasteners in central and eastern Europe. Ahead of this milestone, we speak to President Wojciech Klimas about how the company has grown to produce up to 30 million screws a day, as well as how it is investing heavily in its product range for wooden construction, as wood becomes the ‘material of the future’.

Established in 1990 by Joanna and Wojciech Klimas, Klimas initially operated in local markets, but has grown to export its products to 70 countries worldwide. Klimas is able to supply a variety of screws and fasteners for wooden constructions, such as high-quality woodscrews, carpentry screws, construction screws for the roof truss, wood fasteners for fixing roofing and wall thermal insulation to wooden substrates. In addition the company is able to supply terrace screws for floors and terraces, as well as three dimensional carpentry connectors such as wood angles, carpentry nails, plugs and decorative rosettes.

 Wojciech Klimas underlines: “Being in the construction industry for so many years, I always felt that wood construction would grow in strength, which could be related to environmental protection requirements, but also to the growing awareness of investors. Woodscrews will always hold a special place in our hearts, with our products used in a variety of applications and environments around the world.” 

This includes a wooden mountain chalet in Mount Assiniboine at an altitude of more than 2,000m above sea level in Canada, as well as a 27 storey building of arcaded glulam beams in Singapore, or the unusual Marmormolen wood complex on Copenhagen’s waterfront. 

“By all means, this is the direction the world is heading – wood is the material of the future, especially glulam, which enables frame structures to be erected quicker than ever before. This type of construction carries economic advantages, such as the lack of need to store the material on the construction site and the speed of the project – as the structure is assembled from ready made elements already on-site. An equally important issue is the sustainable nature of wood and thus the reduction of the carbon footprint in the construction process of a given building. Investors are increasingly understanding that this kind of responsibility is their duty to the environment. However, despite this recognition, few European companies produce woodscrews because of the complex technology needed to manufacture quality products,” explains Wojciech.

Klimas’ four integrated production facilities located in Kuźnica Kiedrzyńska and Wanaty near Częstochowa, are equipped with Industry 4.0 technologies with over 100 injection moulding machines; 200 presses and rollers; a tool shop with advanced machining centres; a high storage warehouse; as well as a modern quality control department – to meet the highest requirements of both domestic and foreign markets. 

Klimas’ production process is independent from start to finish. From the coiling of the wire to the process of packaging and distribution of various finished, hardened and coated screws, to provide customers with an uninterrupted supply chain – regardless
of the dynamically changing circumstances of the European and global economies. 

“The last few years have shown global manufacturers that all it takes is for one piece to be missing from each plant’s logistical jigsaw puzzle and the entire supply chain suffers. Through the crises of Covid-19 and the armed conflict in neighbouring Ukraine, Klimas came through without much perturbation, which I believe is largely down to our production independence,” comments Wojciech.

“Challenges in recent years have also been joined by those related to ecology and sustainability. At Klimas, we were fully aware several years ago that the world would move towards sustainability, so we acted then to stay ‘one step ahead’ by recovering heat used from production to heat buildings, as well as having a vehicle fleet consisting largely of hybrid cars. Going forward we will look to invest further with the planet in mind,” adds Wojciech.

Focusing on quality and innovation

After more than three decades, Klimas continues to focus on development and innovation, which is apparent in its patented products. This includes the Klimas’ SQ Ceramic coating – a chromium-free and environmentally safe multi-layer corrosion protection – or the milling tip, which speeds up work with woodscrews by up to 40%, saving not only contractors’ time, but also tool batteries.

“When it comes to innovation, I set the technological bar high enough so our products are among the most innovative on the market, despite the constant challenges and technology moving forward at a tremendous pace. To ensure we are a global leader, we must continue to keep up with these ever changing needs and requirements by striving to be the best, as well as focusing on quality and innovation,” highlights Wojciech.

In order to further guarantee quality, Klimas has its own in-house laboratory, research and development centre, as well as testing area for inspecting manufactured products. Specialist equipment, including a logistical measuring microscope and X-ray spectrophotometer, make it possible to check the entire batch of a product after production, before packing. The company tests parameters such as length, core diameter, thread diameter, head size, drive design, thread pitch and length, drill bit and others. Screws that pass the test are sent for packing, while those found to be out of standard are rejected. 

“In order to meet the expectations of all markets, we must be sure our products are of the highest quality, as well as carry the appropriate European safety certifications. This includes European Technical Assessments and, in the case of some mechanical anchors, also seismic testing, which ensures customers safe products from a trustworthy, reliable manufacturer,” proudly states Wojciech.

35 years of change

“Thirty-five years is a lot and is often a whole professional life, however when compared on the scale of European manufacturing companies, Klimas is a relatively young brand. That is why I am proud that Klimas still competes boldly with the biggest players on the continent, as well as having successfully entered Asian markets including India, Sri Lanka and Nepal,” comments Wojciech.

He concludes: “I am inspired by the actions of many companies, sometimes competing ones, because I realise how much effort and sacrifices these successes cost. You need to have some humility in life to be able to appreciate your opponent, even more so if you have been in this industry for years and know how much daily work it takes to achieve a high position in it. For a family owned company to achieve such prominence in business, it takes not only knowledge and persistence, but also a commitment to values and with them a sense of security and customer confidence, which has given Klimas a place as a leader in European construction fastener manufacturing, which we hope to maintain for many years to come.”