THE WIELTON WAY In just 18 years Poland’s Wielton has grown into one of the leading manufacturers of trailers and semi-trailers in Europe. It is also widely recognised throughout the industry as a pioneer in the latest manufacturing technologies. Peter Mercer spoke to marketing and communications Director, Jacek Kurowski.
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ielton is Poland’s largest producer of semi-trailers and trailers. It is also the largest manufacturer of trailers in the central-eastern Europe (CEE) region and one of the top ten in Europe. Established in 1996, the company achieved sales in excess of 520m in 2013 and produced a record total of 6505 trailers, an increase of more than 10 per cent on 2012. In Poland itself Wielton sold 2360 trailers last year, making it the third largest supplier in its home market; the remaining 64 per cent of output was exported, mostly to countries within the CEE. Russia remains the largest export market, taking just short of 2000 trailers and semi-trailers in 2013. Wielton currently offers the widest range of trailers and semi-trailers on the Polish
market, with more than 60 different product types that can be adapted to the specific requirements of customers. “Our strategy is to maintain our dominant position in both Poland and the whole CEE region by continuing to invest in our production facilities and introducing the latest manufacturing technologies,” says Jacek Kurowski. “We have a reputation for innovation in both our products and our production processes; of the €11m that we have invested over the last five years, a third has been spent on new plant and machines. We have recently installed 32 welding robots – and there are more to come – and have completely modernised our paint shop. We currently also have a planning application in for a com-