A quarter of a million of hydraulic cylinders

In 2008 Skraw-Met’s manufacturing output equalled 60 thousand, and in 2015 – over 240 thousand of hydraulic cylinders. This year’s plans are even more ambitious - the Company intends to produce 20 thousand more.

 

“There is no other so large a manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders in Poland, either in terms of the output or the range of products manufactured. 65 per cent of our manufacture is sold domestically and 35 per cent – abroad. Among our customers there are producers of agricultural machines as well as the manufacturers of equipment used in the sector of utilities (presses and garbage trucks), building construction, forestry and mining,” says Krzysztof Janowicz, the head of procurement, logistics and sales. He also stresses that Skraw-Met’s manufacturing processes rely on the solutions created by the construction department of the company and the cylinders are made according to the instructions of the recipients.

 

Many of renowned Polish manufacturers of agricultural machines are among the customers of Skraw-Met, including: Metal-Fach, Ursus, SaMASZ, Sipma, Hydramet, Unia Grudziądz, Metal-Technik or Kongskilde from Denmark (the largest European company representing this industry with a plant based on Kutno). Ros-Roca – a company producing garbage trucks sold all over the world, is the Company’s most important foreign customer. Skraw-Met also sells cylinders to companies from Germany, France, Denmark, Hungary, Austria and Switzerland.

 

To gain a competitive edge, the Company replaces its manufacturing equipment every few years and enlarges its production floors which currently cover the area of 8 thousand square meters. The company also owns 5,000 sq. m. of warehouse space. In 2014 Skraw-met built a floor of one thousand square meters which it gradually equips with state-of-the-art CNC tools. “So far, we have spent PLN 3.5 million on that project,” says Arkadiusz Gracka, director of Skraw-Met. “In 2016 we intend to build one more production floor with the area of approx. 1.4 thousand square meters, and a warehouse and storage area. Then, over the years 2017-2018, we are going to add another floor covering 4.2 thousand square meters,” boasts Arkadiusz Gracka. “We are two kilometres away from the German border, so there is still some room left for us to expand,” he adds jokingly.

 

The development of infrastructure is financed from the Company’s own funds.  Skraw-Met complies with ISO-14001 environmental standard.

 

The management admits that business development is hampered by lack of professional workforce.

 

"There are fewer and fewer specialists with apt technical skills.  We invest in training our employees, but the company will be able to reap the rewards of these efforts in 12 or even 18 months, providing the people we will have trained are willing to stay on - one needs to keep in mind that German and Norwegian markets offer better pay and thus often prove more attractive to skilled staff,” admits Krzysztof Janowicz.

 

At present Skraw-Met employs over 200 persons, including a dozen or so Ukrainians. To provide lodging for the staff from other localities, the Company plans to rebuild and extend its employees’ hotel.

 

Hydraulika Siłowa Skraw-Met was established by Eugeniusz Gracka (currently the president of the company’s management board) in 1969. At first, it functioned as a co-operator engaged in machining power hydraulics elements. Its current business focus has remained unchanged for fifteen years, with Eugeniusz Gracka and his sons: Adam i Arkadiusz Gracka as the company’s owners.

 

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