W
ith a new facility in Russia, room for growth in the boat building and automotive markets, and great potential in waste water and wind, Germany-based P-D Glasseiden GmbH is looking for organic growth. According to company and group managing directors Stefan Jugel and Joeran Pfuhl, it is looking for “step-by-step” expansion, cementing its position in established markets and steadily making a name for itself in new areas. “We will always have our own production facilities but in addition to that, we will always have a processing section of our operation that is much larger. This means we will always be able to process more than we produce – and that capacity will allow us to move forward,” said Mr Jugel.
Focus on fibreglass
The company itself was originally founded in 1960, in former East Germany. It moved into the fibreglass market in 1967 and became part of the Press-Daimler group in 1993. “The whole portfolio of the company changed in the 1970s and 80s,” explained Mr Pfuhl. “This was when it really started
the business of producing just fibreglass.” Today, the product range at the group varies from textile yarn, mat and roving to chopped glass, complexes and mesh. The main business is fibreglass production and its processing. “In 1993, we started to focus on our reinforced products portfolio at the Oschatz site,” he said. “Yarns and lightweight fabrics were moved to our sister company in Latvia and are now made there. This was a good decision at the time. The company then carried out a great deal of investment at Oschatz. Where it had formerly operated with a number of small furnaces, it moved to using one large one.”
Chopped strand mats
Key markets for the company include automotive, motor sport, transport, electronics, sport and leisure equipment, architecture, industry and wind power. P-D Glasseiden is known for all its products but is considered a leader in the field of chopped strand mats in Europe, said Mr Jugel. “We have customers based all over the world but our target market is really
in Europe,” he stressed. “Boat building is a big market for us, as is automotive (car liners) and trucks. Our aim is to try to grow with our customers. We are doing this particularly in the area of chopped strand mats, which was why in 2007 we decided to build the factory in Russia.”
New plant
The factory in Russia was launched with a joint venture partner, Tatneft Oil AG, and enjoys optimal access to raw materials and the associated cost potentials in energy. With P-D Glasseiden GmbH contributing scientific and technical know-how to the joint venture, work began in July 2008 on construction of what was to be the most modern fibreglass plant in Russia. The project saw €85 million of investment and the creation of 300 new jobs. The site will produce 21,000 tonnes of fibreglass every year. It will largely serve the needs of the Russian fibreglass and fibreglass fabrics market. “We would like to strengthen our position in the market. This is a region where we see a lot of potential,” said Mr Pfuhl. “Over the next Industry Europe 153
