Investment and training for a booming economy

Once again Mapei Kft’s annual press conference turned out to be an ideal opportunity to inform the press about the “head-spinning” figures the Group’s Hungarian subsidiary can boast as proof of its success on the local building market. On 20^th March, Veronica Squinzi (the Mapei Group’s Global Development Director), Marco Squinzi (the Group’s Research & Development Director) and Bela Markovich (General Manager of Mapei Kft.), met with journalists to review the targets achieved and forthcoming projects for the Hungarian market.

Once again in 2018, as in the previous few years, the subsidiary has grown considerably, exceeding its sales figures for 2017 by 30% with income of over 51.5 million Euros and a manufacturing output of over 63,000 tons of solid products and over 1,600 tons of liquid admixtures.

How did Mapei Kft. achieve these results? Firstly, we must take into account how well the Hungarian economy has been performing (its GDP rose by 4.9% in 2018), the 22.3% growth in the local building industry by the end of 2018 compared to 2017, and the investments in the construction sector of approximately 10.4 billion Euros. But that is not the whole story.

Mapei has been operating for a long time in Hungary and has a solid position on its market. Mapei Kft., the Group’s Hungarian subsidiary, was originally founded on 1^st September 1991 for manufacturing and marketing building material in Hungary. Thanks to its manufacturing plant in Sóskút in the north-east of the country, Mapei Kft. has grown over the years, achieving notable success in all realms: the number of staff has risen from 4 to 176; the offices in Budaörs are being extended; the plant has been extended several times and its output has gradually grown; the subsidiary has received prestigious awards such as “Best Workplace” in 2006 and 2015 for the quality of its working environment, several Construma Product Awards in 2015 for a range of innovative products, the “Business Ethics Prize” in 2016, and it was also commended for being a successful business by the Hungary Ministry of Economic in 2017. This year it also won the “Nicest Booth Award” for its stand at the Construma show, Hungary’s flagship event for the building industry.

Over the last year Mapei Kft. has not rested on its laurels: more specifically, it has maintained its traditional focus on training getting over 7,000 people involved in its training programs for professionals working in the industry, 2,000 people took part in webinars, and a community of approximately 1,300 experts in the building industry was created. Considerable attention has focused on installers organising specific training events, an information channel based around newsletters, TV campaigns, a company magazine called “Mapei Krónika”, and various other projects.

Mapei Kft. continues to be committed to young people, too: for some time now, the subsidiary has been promoting jobs in the building industry in primary schools to attract more students to the trade and counteract a lack of specialist manpower in the building industry. In 2015 it launched the “Master of Masters” prize to reward the work of professionals involved in the Hungarian building industry. After publishing its own little book about building trades in 2017 and handing it out to primary/middle school children in areas around Sóskút, the subsidiary continued promoting jobs in the building trade (and their great appeal) getting about 700 students involved. It also sponsored PSZC Reguly Antal installation school, supplying materials, equipment and work gear.

So, it is hardly surprising that once again in 2018 Mapei Kft. has contributed to the construction and renovation of such prestigious building as Budai Vigadó Theatre in Budapest, an ultramodern residential complex in Siófok in central-western Hungary, and the keeper’s lodge at Budapest Castle, now used as a casino.

STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE

But it does not end there. Mapei Kft. has no intention of slowing down on its enviable process of growth and plans to make the very best of opportunities offered by one of the most promising macroeconomies: indeed, this year it is estimated that the Hungarian economy will grow by 3.5% and the building industry by 5%. Hardly surprisingly, Miklós Zórándy from the Hungary Federation of Building Industries claim that “We have reached a point when we can talk about a florid building industry that is growing strongly, so all leading players need to make serious plans”.

And Mapei Kft. already has its own plan: it is determined to grow by 16%, so that its income exceeds 60 million Euros by the end of 2019.

How does it plan to do this? Firstly, by continuing to improve its facilities: a new production line for liquid admixtures for concrete has recently been brought into operation at its manufacturing plant in Sóskút, which has also been extended. All this called for an investment of approximately 9 million Euros allowing the installation of a new plant for manufacturing admixtures for concrete, the introduction of a second production line for manufacturing powder products, investment in robot technology, a rise in manufacturing output from 55,000 to 110,000 tons, and an increase in storage space of approximately 15,000 m². Other areas of the manufacturing plant have also been extended: the staff dining hall, gym, locker rooms, and parking facilities for bikes and motorbikes.

“This investment is both a cause and consequence of the economic growth Hungary has enjoyed over the last few years”, so Balazs Rákossy stated, Minister of State for Utilization of EU Funds, who attended the event organised by Mapei on 20^th March at the plant in Sóskút. Lots of the subsidiary’s customers and various local authorities were also invited.

“The Mapei Group has complete faith in the Hungarian economy and sustainable growth in the building industry. Not only do we believe in this growth, we also want to make an active contribution to it. We want our investment, our know-how and our safe, eco-sustainable products to help businesses and contribute to the construction of the buildings of the future. That is why the Group has supported growth in the Hungarian economy in a substantial way”, so Béla Markovich told us.

“We are Italians in Italy and Hungarians in Hungary. This means we have a better understanding of the country and local demands, so we can develop products that adapt to the market’s needs”, so Veronica Squinzi stated, the Mapei Group’s Global Development Director.

In addition to its facilities, Mapei Kft. will continue to be fully committed to training and communication: in 2019 Mapei Kft. plans to get almost 4,000 people involved in its training events, attract 2,400 people to its webinars, and organise plenty of inititatives tailor-made for installers. There are also plans to take part in the fourth conference of professionals working in the Hungarian building industry and other leading national trade fairs like Construma, organise five “open days” in schools to promote the building trade, expand its own community of building experts, and promote the “Constructive Penna Award” for journalists paying due attention to the building industry and the professionals working in it.