Innovation in special purpose truck bodies

IGLOOCAR is the largest manufacturer of special purpose truck bodies on the Polish market. With 39 years of operations and business experience, the company continues to grow dynamically and achieve excellent year-on-year results. Piotr Sadowski writes for reports.

The development of IGLOOCAR has been closely associated with the economic growth of Poland and this was certainly been the case in 2014, when, alongside the economic upturn, the company’s sales also significantly increased. “Part of our strength lies in the fact that even in more challenging economic times the company’s market share and cash flow do not suffer,” says Krystyna Jaskowska, member of the board and operations director. “The company’s stability is appreciated both by suppliers as well as our staff, who work in a safe environment and receive competitive remuneration. Looking at the results of the first two quarters of 2014, we expect our sales to grow further in 2015.” IGLOOCAR is perceived as a good and responsible employer, offering safe jobs and a competitive bonus scheme based on individual results, which introduces production improvements driven directly by staff feedback.”

IGLOOCAR is one of the three leading Polish manufacturers of enclosed truck bodies and despite economic challenges over the past few years, annual sales have been reaching PLN 40–50 million. The company’s high production standards are regularly confirmed by technical audits, while truck manufacturers always point out how innovative the products are, many of which are custom-made according to individual requirements.

“Our strong market position also results from many years of utilising a cost control mechanism set out by the Consolidated Results Card, which ensures our truck bodies are competitively priced and maintain high quality,” adds Ms Jaskowska. “The Card has proved to be an effective management tool, which we are continuously improving.” In fact FORBES has included IGLOOCAR in its ranking of companies which are gaining value most rapidly in the PLN 5–50 million sales range. The company has also been placed amongst the ‘Golden Hundred’ companies of the Podkarpacie Region of Poland and has received the ‘Business Gazelle’ title from the leading Polish business magazine ‘Puls Biznesu’.

Latest innovations

Introducing innovative solutions is written into the company’s everyday operations. IGLOOCAR addresses the needs of its clients and is inspired by components and production materials offered by its suppliers. The company launched the production of a ‘plywood’ type truck body for transporting small goods, which has been received particularly well by logistics and distribution companies. Another solution, the very light 3.5 tonne DMC truck body with ‘honeycomb’ type side walls is excellent for transforming light items of high content volume. Another innovative product is a solution for transporting flowers, in which channels installed in the floor distribute heat for protecting plants during transportation. In addition, IGLOOCAR has launched the production of the small distribution vehicles Fiat Doblo and Fiat Scudo based on specialist undercarriages.

An important factor which constitutes an ongoing part of all product development work is the need to reduce the weight of truck bodies, using lighter materials and construction solutions. Depending on the type of truck body the company uses lighter, yet highly resistant, laminates. New, more affordable and lighter insulating materials which nevertheless retain their excellent insulation qualities have been introduced to

HORPOL J.I.A.T. Horeczy Sp. J.

HORPOL company has more than 35 years of experience in making car lamps and reflective devices. Our products are designed primarily for trucks and vans, buses and agricultural machinery. In addition, our lighting can also be used for trailers, tow trucks and special vehicles.

The beginnings of our cooperation with IGLOOCAR go back to 2008. At that time, we proposed to install our LWD 535 LED interior lighting lamps into the IGLOOCAR specialist bodyworks. From the very beginning HORPOL did its best to meet the high demands of its customer on product quality and timely delivery.

Compared to conventional incandescent lighting our lamps consume less power and produce more light. Their prices are also competitive due to the good optimization of design and production process maintaining high standards. This is why, the HORPOL products are installed in the IGLOOCAR bodyworks to this day.

With the enhanced photometric laboratory we are able to carry out advanced research and measurements of the most important lamp properties (including lighting measurements, colour measurements and light spectrum measurements). Our highly qualified team of professionals takes care of the continuous improvement of our products performance and their innovation in terms of design. HORPOL also has its own tool department, which performs all the moulds, dies, etc. required for the production of lamps. It is a very big advantage, since we are able to design and make a product dedicated specifically to our client, or to make quick changes in the product to adjust it to the individual customer needs.

All lamps from our range of products are manufactured in our factory. We place great emphasis on quality and excellence in the creation of a product at each stage of the production. We carefully select suppliers of materials and components used in the manufacturing process. During the implementation of a new lamp on the market we follow the analysis of customer needs and the latest trends in the automotive industry. Our car lamps and reflective devices enjoy huge popularity both in the domestic market as well as abroad. We are committed on improving the quality and innovation of the lamps. We appreciate the confidence that our partners place in us and long-term cooperation.

Therefore, we introduce new products systematically: car lamps: marker, fog, reversing, stop, number plate lights, indicators and reflective devices, interior lighting, multifunction lamps and working lamps.

smaller truck bodies, which has resulted in lower weights and production costs. “These are difficult challenges as the construction needs to ensure the required heat insulation and resistance to difficult road and climate conditions,” explains Ms Jaskowska. “Our suppliers are aware of this and are offering very thin yet reinforced materials. Lower weights have also been achieved by using special aluminium profiles for thr construction of some truck bodies.”

In 2013 new legislation on European homologation came into force, which has meant that previous national homologations became invalid. IGLOOCAR has carried out all the relevant tests on its vehicle solutions to ensure they are fully compliant with the European Directive. The resulting EU homologations have strengthened the company’s market position and will drive even higher sales in Poland and abroad. “We are also finalising works on modernising our IT system by integrating ERP-class solutions,” adds the operations director. “It will take our management standards to a higher level.”

This modernisation is part of the ongoing investments at IGLOOCAR. These were particularly significant following the floods of 2010 which destroyed a lot of installations at the company and led to major renewal of equipment as well as production halls. Heating, lighting and ventilation systems were all replaced and have led to IGLOOCAR having a highly modern, safe and staff-friendly working environment. The company’s website and intranet were revamped, while telephone systems were changed to a digital IP Internet integrated solution, including Web Access, which reduced costs and improved the quality of communication connections.

Maintaining a strong brand and market position

The company has excellent direct relations with central offices and dealership networks of importers of service vehicles in Poland. It participates in the preparation of demonstration and testing vehicles, including with truck hire

Since 1988 market leader for truck’s bodies components

HEWEA SP. Z O.O. Byków, ul. Przemysłowa 1 55-095 Mirków (k. Wrocławia) Tel: +48 (0)71 345 60 00 E-mail: info@hewea.com www.hewea.com

companies. A key role in maintaning a strong brand is played by the company’s own trading and service offices located throughout Poland, with new ones being opened every year. “Our strong brand and well-earned reputation is crucial for our business,” says Ms Jaskowska. “90 per cent of our production consists of insulated (isothermal and refrigerated) truck bodies, which means that our main customers are companies involved in the wide-ranging distribution of food items, as well as food producers themselves. Around 80 per cent of sales are generated in Poland, while the remaining 20 per cent is sold to Scandinavia, through a Danish partner, Ukraine and Latvia, with single product sales to Germany, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary.”

The excellent reputation that IGLOOCAR has amongst its customers also applies to the relationship with its key suppliers. These include well-known businesses such as: BASF Polyurethane Poland Ltd (PUR foam), Kęty Group (aluminium profiles), INTERCAR Ltd (Marocol glue, laminate), LOCK SYSTEM (door and truck body accessories), PECOLIT Poland Ltd (laminate), POMMIER Poland Ltd (door and truck body accessories), RAMM Ltd (metal sheet with polyester coating), STOMIL SANOK (seals), ThyssenKrupp Energostal (steel and aluminium foundry products).

“Close and effective cooperation with clients and suppliers will continue to be a very important element of our ongoing organic growth, supported by the positive economic growth of the market,” concludes Ms Jaskowska. n