Global refrigeration specialist EPTA Group

Lipik Glas is Croatia’s largest glass manufacturer, its continued success the result of a long tradition that goes back to the early 19th century. It is also able to take advantage of being a part of the Italian Finind Group, one of the world leaders in the glass industry.

The company serves a number of industry sectors in which high-quality glass is required. The main types of glass manufactured by the company are thermally tempered and laminated.

An adventure that has paid off

Lipik Glas started its international journey in the automotive industry and that sector remains one of its most lucrative markets.

“We are an export-oriented company,” says Mr Marin, “with almost 99 per cent of production ending up abroad. The automotive industry is becoming intensively global and if we consider the increase in the car business and competition in the glass sector, it is obvious that we have to maintain diversity and quality in our product portfolio in order to stay competitive.”

Lipik Glas got its first big international opportunity in 2003 when Bentley Motors Ltd contracted it to provide glass for its new car model. This major contract win opened doors for partnerships with well-known international car manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Lotus and Pininfarina.

Apart from standard automotive glasses such as windscreens, side and rear windows, partitions and sun roofs, the company also offers specialist grades of glass with acoustic and thermal insulation, bullet resistance and so on.

In the railway sector Lipik Glas collaborates with some of the leading manufacturers of railway vehicles (such as the Italian AnsalodBreda, British Bombardier Transportation and so on), specialising in offering not only specifically tailored glasses, but also glasses built into the aluminium frames, ready for final assembly.

The company also manufactures glass for ships and yachts and for the construction sector (for facades, barriers etc). It boasts high-quality glass for staircases, featured for example in Apple stores across the globe.

Market presence

Lipik Glas intends to increase revenue and production volumes by developing new projects. As mentioned above, almost 99 per cent of its production is for abroad, mainly the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany.

“At this point we are not present in the domestic market because the automotive and railway industries are not developed in Croatia,” says Mr Marin. “As for new geographical markets, we do not choose them randomly, but instead markets are choosing us. If a manufacturer in the USA wants our products, we are ready to deliver fast and efficiently to the automotive and rail sectors.”

Since Lipik Glas has always been strongly present in the major European markets, Croatia’s recent incorporation into the EU has simplified logistics somewhat. This means that the company is now an even more attractive prospect to potential customers thanks to faster delivery options.

Shift in production policy

In the coming years, Lipik Glas is expecting to increase its production of safety glass, for which it already holds all the necessary certificates.

This production policy shift was adopted after an extensive and overwhelming flood of cheap Chinese products experienced by the European glass industry in the past few years.

Despite the fact that Lipik Glas has an enviable list of reputable customers, it took a while to recover from the economic crisis. Although once a pioneer in the production of solar cast glass, as a result of these new import dynamics Lipik Glas had to stop manufacturing it.

“The next market we intend to win,” explains Mr Marin, “in terms of capitalising on our well-established production experience, is the market for bullet-resistant glass for vehicles (cash-in-transit vehicles and similar). So far it has been under-represented in our various production programmes. Since we are a part of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of bullet resistant glass (Finind Group), it does not come as a surprise that we have plans to develop in this segment. The majority of our current investments are aimed at rebuilding manufacturing plants, buying new equipment and investing in a line that could produce bullet-resistant glass for vehicles.”

The major advantage of Lipik’s bulletproof glass is its combination of glass and polycarbonate, which gives it additional safety. The company is the only Croatian manufacturer of this kind of glass.

Prospective plans

Apart from the direct partnerships with wellknown partners in the automotive industry, Lipik Glas is delivering products for the new Rolls Royce models through their suppliers. These models require the highest quality of glass, but are produced in smaller series.

Lipik Glas is also attempting to work with automotive companies that manufacture models in larger series. “We would like to offer our glass for cars such as Porsche or Jaguar,” explains Mr Marin. “This is a chance for us to test how competitive we can be with companies that produce up to 50,000 vehicles annually. We hope we can live up to that challenge.” n

Visit: www.lipikglas.com

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GLOBAL REFRIGERATION SPECIALIST

The EPTA Group is a renowned global leader in the commercial refrigeration market. Despite the challenging economic climate it has been growing continuously in the past few years. Industry Europe looks at the company’s recent global expansion and dedication to innovation.

EPTA Group is the European market leader in commercial refrigeration and a widely respected global partner for food retailers, with its five main product areas of cold rooms, refrigerated packs, special cold cases, mainstream cases and their installation and maintenance. Offering five wellestablished commercial refrigeration brands, EPTA appreciates its position as the partner of choice for retailers looking for turnkey solutions. Its brand portfolio, including Costan, Bonnet Névé, BKT, George Barker and Euro’Cryor, has allowed it to continue to grow throughout the global recession.

Active worldwide, EPTA is currently strongest in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Its extended portfolio still has potential for growth in both emerging markets and traditional markets where commercial refrigeration for the food sector has either room to grow or would welcome increased competition.

Acquisitions and partnerships

During these challenging economic times the company has focused on gaining market share domestically, throughout Europe and even farther afield. Its strategy is to acquire companies within the commercial refrigeration sector to support its long-term aims. For example this year (2013) the company expanded in South America after announcing the acquisition of Portanuova SA’s commercial refrigeration division – a distributor of leading-brand products in Chile, Peru and Ecuador, with a turnover of around €11 million in 2012. This transaction has led to the establishment of Epta Pacifico Sur SA.

In addition to acquisitions, Epta has continued to focus on gaining market share in its traditional European market. One means through which it has been able to achieve this is the establishment of strategic partnerships. For example, in February 2013 it announced a strategic union with IARP – an Italian leader in the production and marketing of plug-in units. With this move, the Epta and IARP groups have created one single group whose size and production capacity, at international level, can meet any market challenges. The new group is expected to have annual revenues of around €650 million, with 12 plants in Europe, Asia and South America.

Another reason for Epta’s consistently strong performance in a difficult economy is the fact that it serves the entire food industry.