Dariusz Matczak, Sales Channels Director at Hilti Polska. Not a temporary trend but a longterm strategy – innovation at Hilti

Innovation seems to be your natural environment. You have your own research and design laboratories and cooperate with the best technical universities worldwide. How does this translate into your business?

Nowadays, many companies wishing to develop both in creating new products and improving existing ones are guided by innovation. At Hilti, however, this is not a temporary trend, but a long-term strategy that has accompanied the company since its inception. This has helped us develop a unique position in the broadly understood construction market, by offering our business partners truly comprehensive solutions meeting their current needs.

Our offer includes technology, services as well as software. In the digital age, Hilti has no intention of giving up its leading position and role as a trusted partner for the industry and construction sectors. The company undergoes a carefully planned digital transformation process involving the implementation of innovative technologies both in handling internal processes and expanding its product and service portfolio.  Still 10 years ago, sales of products accounted for over 95% of our company’s revenue in Poland.

Currently, over 35% of revenue is attributable to services and software, and this area grows very dynamically year-on-year. This change is primarily due to the changing expectations of our customers, that are always our priority.

Which of the services offered by you is the most technologically groundbreaking and why?

I think it is our digital ON! Track service for managing assets in companies. In terms of technology, and primarily processes, it enables our customers to effectively manage the company’s assets. Although the asset management processes themselves have been known for years, our product is the first one that popularizes this service for end customers of any business scale. What is more, our partners are also offered Hilti’s knowledge and 70 years of experience in working with companies in this market. Therefore, before implementing the software, all areas in which our service will be able to generate specific and measurable benefits are analysed together with the customer during the productivity analysis process.

The Polish construction technology and software market is developing dynamically. What do you think the reason for this trend is and how long will it last?

Indeed, the technology and software market for the construction industry is developing very dynamically in Poland, but we are only part of the global trend that changes the way of operation in the sector. Three years ago, McKinsey Global Institute issued a report entitled “REINVENTING CONSTRUCTION THROUGH A PRODUCTIVITY REVOLUTION”, in which we can read that productivity has been growing dynamically in the main industries for many years, e.g. in 1950 – 2010, productivity in agriculture increased 16 times, while that in the construction sector grew in the same period by 1.1. 

The results clearly show that the construction industry has great potential for increasing productivity, forced also by increasingly limited availability of employees, in particular professionals. That is why it is vital to use every minute of a professional’s work at the construction site or in the office as much as possible. There is space here to use technology and software that is able to increase employee productivity, whether by digitizing the design process, logistics or managing the company’s assets, including the tools used by the employee at work. This is a very important aspect of the operation of the enterprise, that besides having at its disposal the best specialists, must also have appropriate tools in the right place at the right time to be able to perform their task efficiently. That is why I think that with our latest offer in this area we are in the right place at the right time to help our customers improve their productivity on their way to success.

Last Updated on December 4, 2020 by Karolina Ampulska