Up on the roof Palram Industries

UP ON THE ROOF

Leading multinational manufacturer of semi-finished extruded thermoplastic sheets Palram Industries has both 50 years of experience and a fresh approach to new product development. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to marketing director Hanock Goldman to find out more.

Founded in Israel in 1963, Palram Industries has grown to become a leading multinational provider of semi-finished extruded thermoplastic sheets and finished products. Its extensive portfolio all centres around its over half-century of knowledge of both polycarbonate and PVC sheets. As the world’s only manufacturer in its field that offers both materials in this form, Palram Industries is proud to promote its unique offer.

Designed to suit a diverse range of applications in various markets, the Palram portfolio includes panel sheets and panel systems that are manufactured from polycarbonate and PVC and meet all of the relevant internationally recognised quality standards. Primarily active in the agriculture, construction, architecture, sign & display, Do It Yourself (DIY) and fabrication sectors worldwide, the company’s advanced products and services are all carefully created to meet the specific needs of each industry.

Marketing director Hanock Goldman spoke to Industry Europe to explain how the

company’s 50-year history has contributed significantly to its success today. He said, “Our unrivalled production and application experience is expressed through our extensive product offering that includes architectural panel systems and finished consumer products. We have a unique corporate culture too; we always have the courage to think outside the box and we really make things happen. For over 50 years we have been forging the way forward in developing and producing thermoplastic sheets and I believe it is thanks to the combination of hard work, a positive attitude, creating high performance products and truly listening to customers.” Expand and develop

Its ability to offer unique, high performance products is what brings customers back to Palram Industries time and time again. With a reputation for delivering on time and on budget, the company knows that customers must be totally satisfied with its products in order to maintain its market leading position. Mr Goldman continued, “We continually strive to meet our customers’ needs while maintaining our agility as a key differentiating factor. We provide our customers with competitive products that deliver on quality and value. It is only by adapting existing products and also creating new ones that we can be sure that we are meeting the demands of an ever growing and evolving market.”

Palram Industries’ focus on production technology and product innovation is also integral to its ongoing achievements. With a continual product and plant development culture, the company’s portfolio is an evolving offer. Its product segments are broadly flat sheets, corrugated sheets, panel systems, speciality products and finished products, with its well-known brands including the Sunglaze panel systems and Suntuf Rooflights corrugated sheets.

With eight production sites strategically placed worldwide, Palram Industries is able

to service its customers’ needs wherever they are located. Currently its core territories are Australia, America, Europe and the Far East, with rapid development ongoing in Asia and India. Mr Goldman explained, “We’ve been working on some really exciting projects across the world and we are open to discussing any project wherever it may be. Even though the Israeli national football team didn’t qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Palram Industries was very proud to be there, as our Suntuf 2mm thickness roofing panels covered the Arena Castelao in Fortaleza. The stadium was revamped for the competition and the Palram Project Support Team was asked to provide an architectural solution for the roof skylight – a 7000m2 transparent front-edge roofing specially designed to be completely watertight yet let in natural daylight.”

Positive people

Investing in people is also a major consideration at Palram Industries. The company puts a lot into the education of its employees to encourage continued excellence in their specific fields. A dedicated Palram College was established to achieve this objective, providing both entry level programmes for new employees and programmes that advance the skills of management and senior production staff. Mr Goldman noted that this helps to preserve the existing knowledge within Palram and also helps to support employees in their professional development.

Palram Industries’ expectations for the coming years are every bit as ambitious as its achievements over the last half-century. Plans to add specific new solutions for the global signage industry are almost ready to be launched on to the market and 2015 will also see new products for industrial applications. Mr Goldman concluded, “We’re adding special solutions for profiles for roofing to our portfolio soon and we have quite a number of new items in our pipeline for the coming year. We’re also going to keep supporting our customers in building interesting projects with Palram products. We’re ready to talk to customers directly whether they’re building a balcony or a massive industrial roof. Our expertise adds value to our products.” n