Summary of 2020 and forecasts for 2021.
NSG Group's Architectural Glass division in Poland.
The year 2020 will be remembered as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite numerous difficulties, a way of dealing with the coronavirus was worked out rather quickly and life returned to a relatively stable track. Krzysztof Granicki, CEO of Pilkington Polska and Pilkington IGP, talks about 2020 from the perspective of the glass market, as well as the prospects for 2021.
The pandemic undoubtedly affected the economy - from your perspective, which changes had the greatest impact on your daily work?
Krzysztof Granicki: Lockdown and the social distance order made the company's headquarters deserted overnight, and only key employees remained on site. The most demanding was the implementation of a remote work system in the administrative or customer service area; for example, all employees of the Shared Service Center supporting NSG's operations in other countries on a daily basis from our office buildings switched to remote work. This required adjusting the business infrastructure and preparing appropriate procedures to ensure the smooth functioning of all processes.
However, not all employees of our companies were able to switch to a remote work mode - as a manufacturing company, we had to maintain the continuity of our production processes, which meant, for example, that we had to keep working 24/7 at the Sandomierz glass factory. Of course, this was not without difficulties, but we quickly implemented the appropriate procedures and sanitary work regime. This made it possible not only to maintain continuity of production and supply, but also to minimize the risk of infection between production workers.
Glass production 24/7 in a sanitary regime
© NSG Group / Pilkington
How did the architectural glass market perform in the past year?
Krzysztof Granicki: The first forecasts for 2020 were worrying, especially in the area of architectural glass, but more difficult were only the first two months of the pandemic, in which we recorded declines of several percent. Then there was a rebound - since mid-May we have seen a clear upward trend, and our sales have remained strong in both the base and processed glass areas.
2020 was a year with strong pro-environmental measures (e.g., the European Green Deal) - how have pro-environmental measures translated into your business?
Krzysztof Granicki: We have been supporting environmental protection for years - in 2019, the NSG Group announced an ambitious climate target of its own, i.e. a 21% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2018 - and we are constantly working in this direction. In Poland, one of the actions has been to replace the lighting in Pilkington Polska and Pilkington Automotive buildings and surrounding streets with LED fixtures, which will allow us to reduce energy consumption. In addition, we are successively improving the closed water cycle at our plants in Chmielów and Sandomierz, which enables monthly savings of 6,000m3. We are constantly increasing the share of cullet in the production process and want to show that glass is one hundred percent reusable.
Technology is developing all the time - have you implemented new solutions to make your work easier in 2020?
Krzysztof Granicki: We did not stop working on new glass technologies, but the coronavirus pandemic pushed them to the background. Only now, after almost a year in pandemic conditions do we really know what to expect, and as a result we are looking to the future of the market and our technology solutions with hope. We spent a good part of 2020 minimizing the damage caused by the pandemic, as well as reducing infections among employees and introducing and improving the remote working system.
Pilkington IGP Bialystok Branch manufactures insulating glass units, as well as a wide range of metal glass racks
© NSG Group / Pilkington
What do you think was the most important event at NSG Group in 2020?
Krzysztof Granicki: Undoubtedly, it was the launch of Pilkington SaniTise™ glass, which we worked on for many years. It is an antimicrobial glass coated with TiO2 [titanium(IV) oxide - editor's note], which eliminates microbes from its surface under UV light. It not only ensures sanitary safety, so valuable in this day and age, but also does so without any decrease in other glass properties, such as sound insulation or light transmission. Pilkington SaniTise™ can be used in public buildings, means of transportation, exterior and interior glazing, allowing to maintain a microbe-free space.
What are the forecasts for 2021?
Krzysztof Granicki: Although we have been living in a pandemic environment and regime for almost a year now, thanks to the introduction of appropriate procedures at our facilities, we are able to continue our production activities and deliver our products to customers both at home and abroad without any downtime. I think that for all of us, however, the coming months represent a great deal of uncertainty regarding, first and foremost, the pandemic situation in Poland and the EU countries, as well as the possibility of conducting business activities on a continuous basis.
We hope that the problems with vaccine supply will be temporary and we will be able to vaccinate the majority of the population quickly, but we must also be prepared for negative scenarios. Nevertheless, looking at the growth dynamics of our customers and our domestic and foreign sales, we allow ourselves to make an optimistic forecast for 2021.
Growth may be modest, but all indications are that it will be stable, which is the most important thing at the moment.
