The year 2021 was mainly a continuation of the pandemic and the struggle with the irregularity of supply chains, raw material prices and staff shortages. Despite the changing situation, Noyen managed to maintain sales of machines at a level very similar to the previous year, and in the case of industrial chemicals sales increased by over 15%, which, taking into account the market conditions, they consider a success.
In the fall of last year, the company also started the implementation of an important for the company investment worth €6.5 million. Within this investment Noyen is going to implement the project entitled Development of an innovative cleaning machine equipped with a system for automatic preparation of bath contamination samples and a self-diagnosis function subsidized by the Operational Programme Eastern Poland 2014-2020. The investment consists in the expansion of the company’s production plant – almost 7,000 m2 of production and laboratory space will be created. The implementation of the entire project will take the next 3 years. The investment is related to the plan to launch the production of innovative professional cleaning machines, as well as to increase production.
Interview with Zbigniew Kurant, CEO Noyen.
Easy Engineering: What new products/services will be launched this year?
Zbigniew Kurant: In the new year, we strongly focus on foreign expansion. Last year, we launched a machine service in Germany. What to a large extent contributed to this decision, were the pandemic-related constraints. Travel restrictions and numerous difficulties associated with them made us decide that we want to be closer to our clients on a permanent basis. We want to react quickly and comprehensively if necessary.
In addition, in 2022 we will develop cooperation with clients and partners from Central Europe – the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Due to the dynamic development of these markets, the demand for new solutions in the field of machines and automation is also growing.
When the pandemic began, we started looking for a way to diversify our sales. So far, our company has been associated mainly with the automotive industry, but we have found that our products are also very popular among companies from other industries. We have reached the first clients from the aeronautics industry. We are currently exploring this industry very intensively – the associated cleanliness requirements are at a very high level, which makes the development of the entire industrial cleaning technology a challenge. However, we have adequate resources to cooperate with such companies, and the development of this cooperation is one of our goals for this year and the following years.
E.E: How did the market change in the last year?
Z.K: The changes that took place on the market in the last year are the aftermath of the pandemic and related problems, such as problems with continuity of supplies, volatile prices of raw materials, increased unforeseen absenteeism and staff shortages. All this translates into problems with the work schedule and estimating the production costs of given goods and in many cases the inability to meet the expected deadlines. As a result, the development of many industries has practically stopped. On the other hand, clients are increasingly striving to make production processes independent of the human factor, and more and more often they look for solutions that ensure the greatest possible autonomy of processes and the longest possible machine operation time without supervision. Automation is no longer a luxury reserved for large production plants – its implementation is more and more often decided by enterprises with a small machine park. Clients want to ensure a constant level of efficiency and quality of production and protect themselves against the influence of external factors.
E.E: What were the best-selling products of 2021?
Z.K: A good part of the products we sell are tailor-made solutions. In 2021, the vast majority of projects sold by us concern automation based on the devices from our Expert and Robotics series. As I have already mentioned, clients are increasingly implementing elements of Industry 4.0 in their plants that help them collect and analyze data, and thus – increase the level of control over the process. Our machines make it possible, and our statistics perfectly reflect the changes taking place on the market.
E.E: What sector of business do you think is expected to grow this year?
Z.K: At the beginning of the pandemic, we saw a significant slowdown in investments due to economic unease around the world. Recently, however, we have observed an increase in inquiries regarding devices and projects related to process automation – especially many inquiries come from companies in the automotive sector. We feel the market waiting for the moment when the investments will start in full swing. Clients are very interested in new products and technologies; we conduct many talks and consultations. Everything bodes well to the fact that this moment is close.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?
Z.K: Our main goal for 2022 is to complete the investment in the expansion of the plant and the acquisition of new production capacity, purchase of new machines and change of production technology. The growing interest in our products shows that without this investment, we would not be able to meet the needs of all clients. We also strongly focus on expansion to Central European countries. Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary are emerging markets when it comes to the automation of production processes and industrial cleaning. We have a lot to offer them, therefore we are happy to establish contacts not only with new clients but also partners, an example of which is the recent opening of our first showroom, which took place in cooperation with our Romanian partner – Klarwin – at its headquarters in Romania. We want to be closer to our clients and comprehensively respond to their needs.
E.E: A short message for collaborators for the beginning of the year.
Z.K: First of all, I would like to thank our partners, suppliers and clients for fruitful cooperation. In recent years, it was necessary to introduce many changes in our companies and adapt to new conditions. However, we have found out that in each change one should look for an opportunity to find new solutions. I wish all entrepreneurs a quick end to the pandemic and the problems it has generated.
NOYEN Sp. z o.o.
Braci Krausse 6
20-270 Lublin, Poland
Tel. +48 81 745 05 98
E-mail: biuro@noyen.com