Crucial factors for achieving such success are maintaining high standards in production, innovation and customer service.
How to become a successful firm not only at home but also abroad is a question asked by companies every day. The age of globalisation and the internet is favourable for firms that have lower production costs and a comparatively good quality product. Therefore, savings are usually sought in costs and through utilizing cheaper alternatives to quality materials, policies which end up in further loss due to a greater number of complaints.
How is Fatra facing up to such challenges? Simple. For over 80 years it has considered quality to be one of the key aspects of success. While it is necessary to adapt to today’s market conditions, the policy at Fatra is to do so but never at the price of diminishing the quality of products, and subsequently impacting the confidence of customers. That attitude has ensured a stable position for the company on the Czech market and abroad. In fact, Fatra exports nearly 66% of its total production, meaning plastic products from Napajedla can be encountered in more than 50 countries across the world.
Creating value for customers requires more than manufacturing high quality products, since providing services throughout cooperation with a client has been another building block in Fatra’s success. The provision of specialized customer solutions – from development and production to consultancy – are all integral to quality, ensuring the long-term and future growth of the company. Fatra’s key products to have found favour abroad include floor coverings, insulating foils, technical foils, welded inflatable products, breathable films and laminates, films for food purposes and extruded and injection-moulded products. The use of waste in the form of granulate in production underlines the social responsibility of the firm, thanks to which Fatra has repeatedly been awarded ‘Responsible Care’ certification for its responsible conduct in the chemical industry.
Succeeding in a foreign market means learning about the customer and the competition
What good would it be to have quality products without getting to know the customers buying them? Fatra seeks to learn about their needs at trade fairs (primarily abroad), while also discovering what competitorsors are up to. Participating at such events has entrenched the position of Fatra in those markets. Listening to customers in their home environment simply pays off.
Fatra’s floorings and insulation foils can be encountered at international fairs held in the United Arab Emirates, China, India, Canada, Russia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Uzbekistan and elsewhere. The company has also participated in important foreign trade fairs focused on such things as packaging and hygiene. Some fairs are inspirational not only with regard to developing the assortment of products, but also in furthering the company. The experience gained from fairs has led to us establishing a daughter company – Fatra OOO – in Russia, where the firm trades mainly in flooring and waterproofing foils. The company also has a significant presence in the UK, Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia. Therefore, Fatra ranks as an international firm, extending its business connections across the world. When travelling abroad, it might just be that the floor came from Fatra in Napajedla, in the Czech Republic.
About Fatra
The history of the company Fatra dates back to 1935. It is now a member of the AGROFERT concern. The company operates advanced technologies for processing plastics in production plants in Napajedla and Chropyně, in the Czech Republic. It has long ranked amongst the important European plastic converters. In total, it has 1,300 employees. In its plants, Fatra produces PVC floor coverings, water-proofing foils, products from technical foils, plastic profiles, BOPET films for food purposes, breathable foils for hygienic needs, injection-moulded products and PVC granulate. In 2017, its sales of products and services reached CZK 3.8 billion, and more than two thirds of the production were directed to foreign markets.