For a good night’s sleep Relaks

FOR A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

The Polish company Relaks has been supplying customers with the highest quality mattresses, boxsprings and upholstered beds in Poland and throughout Europe for 18 years. It is part of the international capital group Fey & Co, which was founded in 1926. Piotr Sadowski reports.

The opening of its first factory in Śliwice in 1998 launched Relaks’s production in Poland. Only two years later the decision was made to expand its manufacturing space and in 2002 the Relaks Mattresses Factory was opened in the town of Topole near Chojnice. This location, in an area of outstanding natural beauty, obliges the company to respect strict ecological and environmental protection norms. In 2007 the production space was expanded further while the breakthrough moment came when Relaks launched the production of continental and upholstered beds. Since then the company has been recording continuous dynamic growth.

Today, Relaks operates from three locations in Poland and employs around 400 people. The main headquarters are located in Topole, where the final product is completed. Apart from upholstery and mattress production, this factory is fitted with a storage facility for raw materials and finished products, along with a logistical centre. In Chojnice and Śliwice the company has sewing departments, which sew covers for mattresses and beds.

Strong focus on exports

Relaks is a truly European enterprise. While its core operations – management, logistics, production – are carried out from Poland, exports are also extremely important for the company. Overseas sales reach over PLN 100 million per annum, which makes up over 80 per cent of the overall turnover. Exports are predominantly to Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, where both mattresses and beds are offered to customers. Relaks is also involved in various EU co-financing programmes related to cooperation with job centres to employ people up to the age of 30 and over 50 years. In addition, EU financing is used for work experience placements, intervention works, and retrofitting and fitting of work stations – the latter enabling the company to purchase specialist machinery.

Apart from its strong exports, there are also a number of other factors which differentiate Relaks from its competitors, the most important of which are: professional customer service, short turnaround times on completing orders and a high percentage of fully satisfied clients. Add to this its many years of experience, very precise workmanship and the use of the best, carefully selected materials and it’s easy to see why the products manufactured by Relaks have become a renowned for their comfort and quality.

Keeping up with market trends

There is strong demand on the Polish market for upholstered beds and mattresses. The majority of clients focus on the traditional sleeping system, which is made up from a bed, rack and mattress. There has been a noticeable shift in this market in that clients have been moving away from popular pocket mattresses towards solutions which offer higher utility parameters, such as highly-elastic and thermo-elastic foams. In particular, its thermo-sensitive products are rapidly becoming the company’s biggest-selling line in Poland.

The situation looks very different in western Europe, where clients mainly purchase continental beds which are already fitted with a mattress. These beds are higher, built from several elastic layers and are, therefore, more comfortable than upholstered beds.

Strong cooperation and future development

Relaks is a dynamic and modern company. For many years it has been offering its products in the largest furniture chain stores in Poland and Europe, jointly creating the trends on the furniture market. It also offers special products for hotels and guesthouses, or products such as mattresses for maritime passenger ferries. However, at the same time, the company does not neglect its retail clients and smaller stores.

The company has a large portfolio of business partners both in Poland and abroad. By cooperating with many suppliers it is able to reduce the risk of delays and is therefore well-known on the market for its reliable delivery service. It is continuously looking for new solutions and markets from which it will be able to source the highest quality products.

This year Relaks began work on a new extension of to its production and storage area, as well as offices, in Topole. When completed, the area should be extended by almost 4500m2. With this enhanced production capacity, Relaks is hoping to conquer new markets in countries where it has not previously operated (such as France, the Middle East and Asian countries); to this end, in May this year the company participated in a furniture trade convention in Dubai. Another important driver of growth for Relaks for the near future will be the vertical consolidation of production. n

AGRO International GmbH & Co. KG

Relaks and AGRO have been business partners for more than 13 years. AGRO is considered to be a reliable supplier for both Bonnell and pocket innerspring systems. Referring to its core values, AGRO strongly focuses on high quality and durability of its products, as well as customer-oriented service and future-oriented sustainability. Furthermore, within the business relationship with Relaks – a company that follows trends of specific markets in a highly purposeful way – AGRO proves to be a supplier offering a high range of different comfort levels and satisfying exactly the particular market requirements.