Insight

Welcome to the 2024 Janus Perspective, a unique feature that includes a wide cross section of global fastener business leaders. Named after the Roman God 'Janus' – who had the ability to look to the future and to the past, and was often depicted with having two faces – this feature brings together thought leaders from every facet of the industry, from around the world, to give us their retrospective on 2023, as well as prospects and challenges for 2024.

Wojciech Klimas, CEO

To fully illustrate the passing of 2023 in the construction industry, it is necessary to outline the broader context. The economy is like a set of interconnected vessels, any geopolitical change means far reaching consequences for it. 

In 2023, we had to face as many as two armed conflicts: one in Poland’s neighbourhood between Ukraine and Russia, the other between Israel and Palestine. Although the latter conflict has been going on basically uninterrupted for nearly seventy years, since October we can basically talk about open war. Regardless, both armed conflicts have had powerful impact on the distribution of power in the world and the formation of more or less official coalitions between the most powerful countries. It has now been known for a long time that war drains the pockets not only of the countries directly involved, but also of the allies of both sides. So, in addition to the fact that the geopolitical situation is unstable, we are also facing a difficult economic situation, which was also in no small part influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. As we all predicted, the pandemic is over, but we will have to deal with its economic consequences for years to come.

These geopolitical changes can be seen, for example, in China, which in July 2023 saw the biggest drop of more than 20% in exports to the USA. However, it can be expected that 2024 could bring further perturbations in this regard. This is a year of presidential elections in the United States, and there, a possible change in office usually involves a modification of the country’s internal and external policies. Thus, depending on the election results, the position of the Russian, Chinese or Taiwanese economy may change.

The situation we faced in 2023 in Poland was not easy either, in the spring inflation was over 18% and although it has now dropped to single-digit levels (in September it was over 8%, in October it was 6.6%) it had an impact on significant price increases, especially for fuel or utilities. In addition, 2023 was also a year of change on the political scene in Poland. The October elections took away the parliamentary majority from the party that has been in power for the past eight years, changing the country’s political orientation. This, in turn, paves the way for the country to obtain funds from the EU Reconstruction Fund, the disbursement of which the EU has blocked – criticising changes in Polish courts and violations of the rule of law. The cash injection is expected to amount to nearly €134 billion, which will be used to develop the economy, innovations or environmental investments.

The entire set of circumstances mentioned above has an overwhelming impact on the economy, in large part because a great deal depends on the supply chain. All it takes is one missing element to force significant logistical changes, even disrupting the flow of supplies and ultimately taking a toll on companies’ budgets.

Klimas, as the market leader in construction fasteners in central and eastern Europe, has always been a guarantee of an uninterrupted supply chain for customers. It was no different in 2023, although the economic trends reflected in the industry, such as the significant increase in raw material and product prices, made it necessary for the company to demonstrate even greater flexibility and strategic planning skills.

Once again, we have seen that the construction industry here is like a litmus test, immediately picking up global economic trends, which is why Klimas, through 33 years of market activity – first domestic, then European and now global – has adapted to operate in such a dynamically changing environment. Despite some of the instability that the industry faced in 2023, the company is setting its next big goals and courses of action.

Naturally, one of them is ecology in the broadest sense, which at Klimas has become an impetus for action in two basic fields. On the one hand, we listen to the needs of the market and respond to them with an offer tailored to the needs of investors. On the other hand, we introduced a number of changes inside the company, thanks to which every year we minimise the impact of our activities on the environment.

When it comes to observing the market and responding to the changing needs of consumers, an excellent example of this were the two products launched in 2023, the full-threaded screws, which are one of the most versatile solutions for wooden construction. This great return to wood construction is, by the way, one of the most important industry trends we announced for 2023 – not without reason. Back in June, we held an international Mass Timber Meeting conference, because we are convinced that the popularity of large scale timber construction using CLT technology is only a matter of time. In any case, in terms of products, we are ready for these changes.

Ecology is related to another very clear trend, namely energy conservation. Here our ETICS systems have already made themselves well known in the world, enough to mention that in Italy, for example, they are among the top three leading brands in this field. In 2023, we premiered our ThermoDrive V2 thermal insulation stud, which, thanks to its unique design, makes it possible to eliminate minor construction errors during the installation of thermal insulation. We understand how important an element of any modern investment is in the issue of energy savings, which is why we are carrying out further work and research so that our portfolio not only keeps up with customers’ expectations, but even stays one step ahead of them – providing choice and a complete offer.

All these activities reflect the changes brought about by the sustainability strategy on a European scale. At Klimas, we are already working on the most optimal solutions that correspond to the ‘Ready for 55’, which is the legal modification to achieve the European climate target (reducing emission by 55% by 2030). In addition, we make sure that sustainability means, with us, a broad respect for the environment, including the one in which we operate on a daily basis, i.e local communities, associations or informal groups. Thanks to this, Klimas has become recognised as a company willing to support projects aimed at improving the ecological situation (co-financing the construction of a sewage treatment plant), but also levelling the playing field (a number of educational, cultural and charitable activities).

To sum up, we are aware that geopolitically and globally we are all at a rather difficult moment, and as a result of political movements the fate of business is again at stake. However, with more than 30 years of experience in the dynamically changing European market, we as a company have been able to cope well even in such a turbulent environment. This is shown, for example, by the number of new products introduced in 2023 – while other companies focused on surviving, we invested resources, constantly developing our offerings and tailoring them to customers’ needs.

Our ‘GO GLOBAL’ strategy is unchanged, for several years we have been working diligently to become a leading brand no longer only in Europe, but also in the world. That we have taken the right direction is evidenced by the excellent development of our company in India or the fact that Klimas products are being used, for example, in Canada to build a hostel in the very demanding mountain conditions of Mount Assiniboine.

In addition to being fully ready for the 2024 season, and securing the supply chain, we are working on a daily basis to develop offerings that will encourage green solutions in construction. Klimas is also constantly introducing new solutions that bring the company closer to sustainability.