When in 1993 we started our work under the supervision of Zbigniew Karaś and Klaus Michaelis, we did not dare to presume that one day our team will consist of 230 employees who will use 240 specialist machines, manufacturing every day chimney and flue systems for all heating devices. Today, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company in the new headquarters.
At the very beginning the company operated on only 1500 sq m space – currently 11 times more! The year 2000 brought groundbreaking changes. At that time we created a modern laser cutting center and implemented the Quality Management System ISO EN 9001 and Environmental Management System ISO EN 14001. In 2010, we introduced the ERP system and took over the daughter German company: MK Schornstein, changing the company name to MK Deutschland. Two years later, a French branch investor, the Joncoux Group, decided to invest in our company.
The acquisition of MK by the Joncoux Group enabled us to exchange industry experience, modernize technology, negotiate raw material prices, and test all systems in our own laboratories.
The Joncoux Group, which we are part of, is currently the European leader in the production of stainless steel chimney and flue systems. This is confirmed by last year’s turnover of €80M. The amount of steel used during the year is also impressive – it is over 5700 tons, of which over 4000 are stainless steel. These indicators place the group at the forefront of the largest steel operator in the chimney industry. Currently, the group has six production plants: three in France, one in Belgium, Italy and Poland.
The philosophy of our company has remained unchanged for years. We want to design, manufacture and sell chimney systems for all types of heating devices.
– We need to move forward in order not to be left behind. The next step was to move to the new premises – says Anna Rotkis-Dziadul, Director of the Sales and Marketing Office in the MK company – The new headquarters has nearly 17.000 m2, which is 9.000 m2 more than we had previously. The production area has increased from 4.500 m2 to nearly 15.000 m2, and office space from 860 m2 to over 1.000 m2. Modern machine park ensures continuity of production. More square meters create more opportunities, and thanks to the concentration of the entire company structure in one place, we can guarantee even more efficient logistics. Every day, we produce up to 5.500 standard items. We offer both solutions for residential and commercial applications.
On June 7, together with the invited guests, we had the great pleasure to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Interesting lectures on the history and plans of the group were given by Jacques-Olivier Joncoux, the owner of the Joncoux Group. The director of our plant – Ireneusz Koman – presented a technological story about production processes, machine park and modern technologies of steel processing. He also told about the organization and culture of work and the role of training and long-term plans for the development of the company and employees. Managing director – Kinga Pachnik and the director of domestic sales, Krzysztof Słaby, emphasized in their speeches the importance of the human factor in the company. The presentation ended with delegating the duties of sales director to Anna Rotkis-Dziadul who, on this exceptional occasion, communicated to the guests extension of the warranty period for selected chimney systems to 25 years.
After the official part was over, the new plant was opened to visitors. At the same time, the companions of our customers could visit the most interesting places of Żary and have fun playing boules. The culmination of the evening was a festive banquet with lots of attractions. During the evening we also handed jubilee awards to long-term employees as well as souvenir plaques to commercial partners. The evening gala was hosted by Beata Tadla, a journalist, TV presenter and winner of Polish “Dancing with the Stars”. An amazing attraction was the concert of Dżem, the legendary Polish rock and blues band, as well as the performance of the Avinski Show dance group. All these have been complemented by the flames coming out of the enormous chimneys installation set in the ballroom to the rhythm of music.
We would like to thank all our guests for the opportunity to celebrate our 25th anniversary together and wish them all more fruitful years in the chimney business.
GALLERY
