Dryvit builds on Polish success

Dryvit, a subsidiary company of American RPM International, has been present in Poland for 15 years and now intends to expand in Western Europe.

Within the next five years the company wants to become a leading producer of insulation products. To speed up the process, Dryvit has opened a distribution center in Brussels, but Poland will remain the company's European headquarters.

"Dryvit Poland will be the platform from which we will make the expansion effort. But to achieve our target we plan to continue our export expansion. Our second strategy is to introduce new innovative value-added products [such as] stone finishes or interior finishes. You can't get that kind of growth through expanding new products or exporting to new countries. We have to do that through the acquisition of companies," says Steven E Wachtler, president of Dryvit Poland.

Dryvit is currently looking at companies in Spain, Germany, France and Poland that would be complementary to the company's distribution network. Because Dryvit is so well-positioned in Poland, it has been a channel into the Polish market for all the other RPM companies.

In Poland Dryvit systems were first used in Warsaw 30 years ago. The plant in Radziejowice, on the outskirts of Warsaw, has been operating since 1997. Last year it manufactured almost 100,000 buckets and 450,000 bags of Dryvit material, which were exported to 30 countries.

Last fiscal year's financial results have been the highest in Dryvit's history and sale profits exceeds $125 (zł.359) million. The company is now present in 50 countries on six continents. Last year, RPM's turnover amounted to $3 (zł.8.6) billion. According to Wachtler, in the next five to seven years it is supposed to reach $10 (zł.29) billion.