We will discuss the history of KH-KIPPER S.C., dangers and future plans, with company president, Mr. Andrzej Kamionek
The company was founded 24 years ago as a small, family company. What was the key moment that decided the company’s success?
It’s hard to Pinpoint the deciding moment. The company has always seen stable growth. We have been expanding our offer by latching onto the previous years best market, along with more orders coming in, we were forced to increase production. Most of products are exported to foreign markets. Our success with given conditions in international markets was decided by first of all, flexible approach to the client, which allows us to operate out of our own project office, good quality comparing to the price and rich experience gained by working with clients all around the world.
What prompted you to take on the risk of starting up a family company? Did you expect this much success?
The company was founded by father Konstanty and his associate, in 1997. When establishing KH-KIPPER, my father already had few decades of experience as a construction worker in the famous SHL steelworks company based in Kielce and Chief of production at Schmidt Poland, at this time he and some friends ran a cistern servicing company. Thanks to experience and contacts in the industry, he made his way into the niche that was in the market at the time. Today KH-KIPPER is the biggest manufacturer of body casings for trucks above 12T Transport limit, and an equally worthy competitor on the international market. Two production plants near Kielce employ nearly 500 people. I suspect that the huge success he gained in 1990’s was not expected, it’s a testament that the professional career path he took was the right one.
KH-KIPPER and the pandemic. Did it affect company growth and amount of work? If so, how?
Just like in many other companies, the pandemic also affected our business. From april up to august 2020 we had reduced working hours and production fell by 50%. Later we managed to recover from the losses, thanks to many contracts flowing in. Unfortunately we are still suffering from lack of supplies and problems with supply of materials and components.
What are the companies plans? Are you planning any changes in the nearest future?
We want to continue to grow in production and perfecting our products. It is important to stay competetive on the international market. In the nearest future we are planning on improving organization, production and work quality.
The company is working efficiently and has monumental success here and abroad. Are there any difficulties affiliated with work and success on the international arena?
There are many factors, such as local regulations dealing with vehicle registry, various demands by clients that are influenced by their country’s regulations and requirements concerning the body casing of their trucks. We remain flexible and dedicate our product to the market. We fulfill international contracts and have to keep in mind our service and repairs department, because the client values maintenenace as much as price or technical specifications. Working closely with quite a few business partners in Europe and Russia, clients have access to the best post-repair service where these vehicles operate. With such huge global competition we have to work on the image and company recognition – benefits of our products we showcase at the biggest, but also at local exhibitions in various countries.
How would you summarize development of road construction in the past few years?
The EU and our neighbours to the east we see a dynamic increase in new construction projects, this includes road and condominium construction. We specialize in installations for the construction sector. So prosperity in this industry goes in hand with rise in sales at KH-KIPPER. At this time we are not seeing losses and we hope it stays that way.
Last Updated on July 5, 2022 by Anastazja Lach