10 minute read
We are bound by tradition, and we want to continue to grow
According to its CFO and COO Miroslav Záhorec, the group‘s companies are healthy and have exciting potential for further development. The Covid-19 pandemic has merely reinforced this. Despite the global business cooldown, all companies in the group managed to handle the pandemic well and without much difficulty. Záhorec thinks this comes down to financial stability and good management capable of taking the right decisions quickly.
The MTX GROUP companies managed to grow in 2020, despite all the uncertainties that the first year of Covid brought. “Our group has the advantage that there is a very short path from senior management to middle management,” says Miroslav Záhorec. “In a way, this short path can be challenging for some managers because personal responsibility is very visible, as we have no large hierarchical structures, but on the other hand, it means that all communication about events in the company and decision-making are very prompt and flexible. We consider this kind of management to be highly effective, and it allows us to make major strategic decisions very quickly,” adds the group’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. This management style has been proven to work during the pandemic. MTX Group, for example, has operatively increased stocks in its companies so that their functioning is not limited by various Covid measures and supply disruptions. The group also has not stopped investing. On the contrary, it has continued to prepare future development projects for individual companies. Investing in self-development is essential for every company; MTX Group approaches it very pragmatically. “If an investment has a good return and is promising both for the product and the customer, then we can always find money for it. This development motivates the employees and management alike. Companies put together the documents for approving the investment, and if everything fits, thanks to the flat structure and simple rules, we will quickly approve it.” Záhorec explains how the group’s ability to react quickly affects basically everyone in it. “We are not a corporation that needs three advisory committees for everything and then has difficulty approving it at several meetings of the Board of Directors, or that needs to discuss it with the parent company abroad through a lengthy approval process. That would annoy a lot of people and it is not our way. We have our own efficient system of approving things that is based on clear rules,” Záhorec adds. Thanks to this approach, the companies managed to withstand the difficult pandemic well beyond expectations. They succeeded in compensating for drops in demand or the loss of clients in other industries, and production has not stopped. Záhorec claims the group is now experiencing an economic boom. People want to make up for all the restrictions and measures. “Last year, thanks to the huge commitment of our employees, we managed in many cases to keep the sales volumes at the same level as the year before, and now their efforts are helping us cope with the current onslaught of orders. For this, everyone deserves a huge thanks,” says
Miroslav Záhorec
Photo: Barbora Mráčková
He joined MTX Group in autumn 2016 as CFO and COO. He oversees financial management of the Group and is in charge of production and investments. Záhorec is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors at one of the group’s subsidiaries, Strojmetal Aluminium Forging, which is based in Central Bohemia. As an economist, he says he likes to use his systematic approach to resolve technical issues. “In the industrial companies I have worked in, you have to actually operate the machines and you have to understand them,” says the experienced manager. “I would like to make MTX Group a holding company full of opportunities and professionalism associated with Czech as well as global growth and make it a part of global business that stands on Czech traditions, know-how and experience. I’d like to move this brand further into constant and long-lasting competition, where the only thing that counts is the result. To have the ability to perceive, to have an eye for detail, while being able to look at things from a broader perspective. Our competitors do not sleep, so we must both focus on the details and look at the big picture,” adds Záhorec.
the director, praising his co-workers. Thus, hard work and diligence are sought-after traits in the group’s management. “No manager is perfect, but there is always room for improvement, and managers need to know how to keep developing and how to be good leaders. As a group, we must be able to boost areas in which we do not excel,” Záhorec reflects. “We are not one of those companies that goes home on Friday after lunch and that resolves things remotely from home or that talks things over during long lunch breaks,” he smiles. And he adds that a systematically hard approach, respect for tradition and hunger for development are things that can motivate people to work for MTX Group. It is simply a “traditional” group of engineers and businesspeople who are aware what the group is based on. “Some of our companies are 100 or 200 years old, and when you learn their history, you are grateful for having the chance to develop the company further,” adds Záhorec. Tradition is binding but not limiting, he says. “For us, tradition definitely does not mean stagnating or using old things and procedures. On the contrary, we like to look ahead like our predecessors did, and innovate to maintain this tradition for future generations,” he notes, explaining the basic philosophy of MTX Group companies.
Sustainability is the way to go
He says people think the manufacturing industry is a tough business, which it sometimes can be. What Záhorec disagrees with, however, is when people say that manufacturing industry cannot be sustainable and follow modern trends. “Several examples exist that prove that this can be done. And it’s not just companies in our holding,” says Záhorec. He believes the environment and sustainability are essential priorities for every MTX Group company. “All of our firms meet all environmental norms, and we even go beyond them and invest to reduce our environmental impact as much as possible,” he says as the CFO. He admits some plants are more modern in this regard than others, such as those manufacturing food packaging, while others, such as coke plants, may lag a little behind. “In recent years, OKK Koksovny alone has invested billions of Czech crowns to become more sustainable. We want to be as green as possible; it is important for us,” explains Záhorec. Sustainability was why MTX Group focuses on aluminum so much. It has several environmental benefits. It is easily recyclable. Aluminum products are light, which means less transport emissions. To reduce car emissions, for example, vehicle manufacturers use aluminum components. The CFO says the group wants to invest in recycled aluminum even more. “When you use less primary aluminum and increase the amount of the recycled one, you significantly reduce your carbon footprint,” explains Záhorec. Yes, steel is also recyclable, but unlike aluminum, it does not offer other means of reducing emissions. However, it is not aluminum alone that makes our carbon footprint low. MTX Group, for example, has invested and will continue to invest considerable resources in the development and maintenance of its plants – for example in Strojmetal, where Záhorec works as a CEO and which manufactures aluminum suspension parts. “When we took over the factory from the former owner and gained full control of it, we started to transform the firm. We wanted to change the company culture, from a firm that used to be managed by one person to a firm with established rules and procedures,” Záhorec says, adding that it is definitely not about making the establishment more “corporate”. “But it is important to establish responsibilities and new ways of motivating people to develop further. We care about employee loyalty, about maintaining integrity, and we want to be a customer-oriented company that produces profit. We want to have meaningful and sustainable products and follow the rules for environmental protection,” explains the group’s CFO and COO.
Photo: Barbora Mráčková
Growth on all levels
Záhorec uses Strojmetal as an example of how the whole group is making an effort to be a good neighbor. “After we took over the company, we started to decrease the noise levels it generated. We had to manually go through rooftops of all our plants,” he says with a smile, adding that he himself participated in this inspection. “We are doing this everywhere. We meet all legal limits and overall, as MTX Group, we invest in soundproofing and environmentally cleaner production significantly beyond the scope of our obligations. We really want to be a good neighbor,” he explains. “On the other hand, the Strojmetal factory was built in 1822 and for many decades has provided a livelihood for locals and sponsored many local activities. And I feel like people sometimes forget that. Today, almost everyone wants to drive a car, but they don’t want it to be manufactured. The same goes for our coke plant, the AL INVEST factory and our other operations. From this standpoint, the current situation is slightly strange,” Záhorec suggests, saying he does not agree with some current social trends. That is why MTX Group is also looking for ways to expand in areas other than the traditional ones. For example, Strojmetal is developing a new plant in Bruntál, where the company is installing two forge lines and a brand-new machining line. “We would like to use our aluminum forging expertise and develop it further. We need a new space for that, which is where Bruntál comes in. We want to produce high-end machined forgings that will satisfy even the most demanding clients, such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche or BMW,” says Záhorec. “The group wants to move away from supplying semi-finished products to become a supplier of finished components and products with added value,” adds the Group’s CFO. MTX Group is planning several investments. For example, the group will expand the AL INVEST Břidličná plant, a major European and largest domestic producer of packaging and rolled aluminum intermediate materials. It is exploring the possibility of using recycled aluminum in food packaging. Packaging is also developed at TAPA Tábor. For example, Měď Povrly will expand its production capacity. However, the group does not invest only in production facilities. “Recently, we have invested significantly in information systems and cyber security,” says Záhorec. “It was our own idea, and we see that it has paid off. We are prepared for cyber threats that at some point could cost us a lot of money and hard work,” he suggests, adding the group has managed to successfully identify a relatively critical area.
