Hungary, training is the key to our strategy

How has Mapei’s presence in Hungary changed and grown since it began doing business in the country back in 1991?

Mapei Kft. was founded in 1991 with 4 people. At the first year, the turnover of the company was 24 million HUF (66,000 Euro). Turnover for the second year, which was a full year, was 63 million HUF (about 174,000 euro). Mapei was not known at all in Hungary, either as a brand name or for its products. In the beginning, we only distributed products for the installation of ceramic tiles, stone materials, resilient and textile materials, concrete repairs, as well as admixtures for concrete.

By today Mapei has become a dominant company in the building chemical market in Hungary. The number of employees exceeded 200 people and the turnover was over 22 billion HUF in 2020 (over 63 million Euros). We have two powder mixing lines and a small concrete admixture mixing plant.

At the start, everyone was doing almost everything. Nowadays, there are clearly defined departments and roles with fixed processes that ensure efficient operation and continuous growth.

What are Mapei’s strategies for strengthening its position on the Hungarian market?

One of the main elements of our strategy, which has remained unchanged for 30 years, is the continuous training and development of our professionals, designers and partners. We are constantly concerned that the contractors who use our products receive from us the knowledge that will enable them to create the best quality and long-lasting results.

We extended the training sessions to the sales agents of our trading partners. We hold sales trainings and organize company management, personnel management, sales and communication training for the professionals of our industry.

Besides, we are permanently looking for areas of opportunity to help our target groups to contribute to their success. This is also the mission of our company: to help building companies and professional partners to make their construction dreams true by using our solutions.

The building industry is still the driving force behind Hungary’s economic growth: which business sectors will Mapei be focusing on in future? Will there be fresh investment on various levels?

The construction industry is still the engine of the economy in Hungary. The Hungarian government supports the development of the construction industry with a wide variety of subsidies and programs. Our company focuses on 3 important areas, because these areas are expected to undergo major investments, as for both new constructions and renovation projects.

The first field is the production of flats and the construction of new single-family houses. Many companies establish subsidiaries and install production facilities in Hungary and we also focus on these investments: the construction of manufacturing facilities and the projects to strengthen the existing production lines. Over the next few years, substantial governmental investments are expected, such as those devoted to stadiums and sports halls, as well as to infrastructures, both for the construction of new highways and the renovation of old roads.

Research, innovation and sustainability are the latest frontiers of the Hungarian economy, too: does Mapei have any trump cards to play in this respect?

In order to achieve sustainable development, R&D and innovation play a very important role for us. Perhaps, the most important element we deal with is made up by human resources. We develop and train colleagues but we also train the partners’ staff who choose and use the final solutions for building and make the buildings serve their purpose on a long term.

We continuously keep on researching the market; we are monitoring the needs of our partners and taking these into account, developing new innovative products in cooperation with the Mapei central R&D laboratory, based in Milan. When developing new products, we always try to use raw materials that are safe for human health and as many recycled materials as possible.

Innovation is not limited to the development of new products: we also continuously innovate and improve the operation processes of the company, so that they are as efficient and sustainable as possible.

Which product lines are most popular with the Hungarian market?

Our most popular product lines include products to install ceramics, stone, resilient and textile materials. However, part of our strategy is to introduce all Mapei product lines to the Hungarian market, as with them we can help our target groups and the market in a much wider area to create durable and reliable buildings.

The pandemic has slowed down the growth of the Hungarian economy, which, however, is now starting to recover: what conclusions can we draw from this tricky period, even as regards Mapei?

Of course, the pandemic and its consequences have affected all businesses, including Mapei Kft. We helped both staff and partners with continuous and accurate information and a package of infection prevention. However, this situation also turned to have some benefits. It has made us aware that we have communication tools which we can use to save time, energy and cost, and that we can speed up the process without damaging our contacts. This period also made us see that we need to constantly look for ways to help our employees more and better to make production even more efficient and effective, and to help partners make their lives easier.

What measures has the Government in Budapest taken to help the post-Covid 19 recovery?

The government took number of measures in order to facilitate recovery:  VAT on new housing construction was reduced to 5%; maximum 3 million HUF (over 8,000 Euro) subsidy is provided for home renovation; wage support is provided to entrepreneurs; a significant pay rise was given to medical staff; credit moratorium for families and businesses; young people under the age of 25 are assured an exemption of personal income tax; interest-free loan of 10 million HUF (27.600 euro) for businesses.