Intersafe a Lyreco companyis strengthening its presence in Poland inthe personal protective equipment sector. Ryszard Szefler, Safety Business Line Director at INTERSAFE a Lyreco company

In cooperation with Intersafe, Lyreco is launching a new Safety Business Line. What changes does this entail for you and the market? 
The Safety business line combines key competences in terms of selection and deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) and services supporting logistic costs optimisation such as i.e. vending machines as well as dedicated deliveries of work wear & PPE to individual workplaces. The combination of Lyreco’s H&S expertise and logistics facilities provides a unique opportunity to scale up the business, ensure efficient deliveries and customer support nationwide. We focus on experience, expertise and knowledge, developing structures. We invite to our project talented individuals who share our passion for safety. It is important to emphasise that INTERSAFE is developing parallel business lines in other European countries i.e. in Italy, Spain and the Benelux. It allows us to offer our clients not only locally available solutions and PPE products, but also ensure an access on attractive terms and conditions to the offer of the world’s leading PPE manufacturers, for whom INTERSAFE as a leading integrator in distribution has become a key partner.  

 What experience and knowledge of Intersafe does Lyreco benefit from? 

INTERSAFE’s experience and history, dating back to 1934, undoubtedly provide a solid basis for further development. For example, as part of our business line, we are planning to use for our service department an IT system developed by INTERSAFE to support our clients in managing and optimising dedicated deliveries of PPE.  Currently, the ESM (Employee Safety Manager) platform is used by more than 2,100 companies in France and the Benelux. The service department carries out customised deliveries to more than 360,000 employees covered by the system.    
As part of the group, INTERSAFE is also negotiating the terms and conditions of cooperation with leading manufacturers, which in practice gives us an access to a wide range of innovative PPE solutions. The combined turnover of the Group’s individual business lines provides a negotiating power and guarantees a competitive offer for our clients.

I would like to emphasise that an INTERSAFE representative is also active in the European Safety Federation (ESF). It gives us access to up-to-date information on legal and regulatory changes concerning safety and PPE,

enables us to actively participate in shaping them. In addition, combining Lyreco’s and INTERSAFE’s potential provides our clients operating in various European countries, including Poland, with access to an efficient service under pan-European contracts in the area of PPE and work wear supply.

As the head of a newly created business line, you are likely to face challenges related to its organisation and development. How are you going to fulfil the tasks ahead of you?  
At the outset, we defined the goal and where we were aiming for and developed a plan and an adequate budget. We are aiming high, as our goal is to ultimately become the leader of  the PPE market in Poland. We consistently prepare for this ‘marathon’, strengthening and expanding our structures with the most talented specialists, focusing on knowledge, education, as well as developing products portfolio and services. Our structures today are composed of include well-prepared sales experts teams operating nationwide, dedicated to predefined market segments, and Lyreco’s vital logistics facilities, including a central warehouse with 12 regional distribution centres and a fleet of more than 130 couriers. Our various category departments are operating synergistically on a daily basis. Ultimately, our goal is to continue to grow organically. Still, we may also consider an acquisition, if we can find a partner that shares the values and organisational culture of INTERSAFE, a Lyreco company. 

Ryszard Szefler – Safety Business Line Director at INTERSAFE, a Lyreco company. A professional with over 22 years of experience both as a regional PPE category management director in pan-European corporations as well as in sales in the CEE region. He successfully developed and implemented private label products in the CEE region, but also in the markets of Western European countries. An MBA graduate and author of a number of publications on PPE selection. As a practitioner passionate about safety, he enjoys sharing his experience and knowledge with postgraduate students.