Yet another year in WIŚNIOWSKI's history is drawing to an end. It was a very special time for us – focused on the company's 30th anniversary – filled with significant events that will impact the coming decades of its operation. Which ones are sure to linger in our memory?
Without a doubt, the most important moment of this year was the day we started celebrating our 30-year anniversary. On 31 July, we held a press conference for the media at our Wielogłowy plant. The journalists toured over 3 km to see the heart of the company, which is our manufacturing halls fitted with advanced technological solutions, where our products are made. We are currently building not one, but three plants in Wielogłowy – to manufacture garage doors, fences, and joinery.
These are the three main areas of our activity. Such division is necessary in order to optimize processes and ensure efficient operation. With this investment, our manufacturing area increases to 27,000 square metres. We already employ almost 2,000 workers.
“30 years of operation may seem like a short period, but the passage of time can best be seen in our employment structure. Our company employs not only our first employees' children, but also their grandchildren. And we might also get to see their great-grandchildren in the future,” said Krystyna Baran, President of the Board at Wiśniowski.
But 2019 was also filled with other prominent events. We compiled a short list of the most meaningful events of the passing year that have now become part of WIŚNIOWSKI's history. We encourage you to relive these moments with us.
In 2019, we strengthened our relations with professional sports. Over these 12 months, we supported not only sports teams, but also popular events which fire the spectators' emotions.
Our logo is featured on the jerseys of Girondins de Bordeaux – one of the most popular football teams in France. We also support the Norwegian football club, FK JERV, which plays in 1. divisjon Obos Ligaen.
Already back in 2018, we became the Bronze Partner of Vipers Kristiansand, one of the best Norwegian women's handball teams. This season, the Vipers players are leaders in the REMA 1000-ligaen women and hold the second place in the group series of the Champions League.
For every company, presence on new European markets is not only a chance to find new customers, but also an opportunity to tackle different needs and expectations. Just like in sports, facing new challenges makes you stronger and motivates you to reach for even better results. After being around for three decades, we are now present in almost every European country and we still intend to grow.
The launch of the high-speed TRAFFIC gate was one of the more significant moments of the first months of 2019. An economical version of the special-purpose V-KING gate instantly became a popular solution for gated communities, warehouses, guarded car parks, and logistics centres.
As a leading gate, garage door, window, door and fence manufacturer, we developed a product that will meet the specialist needs of the industry and all the sectors where speed and reliability are key.
Folding gates boast a number of structural features, for instance they need less operating space both on the driveway and on the sides of the gate, and additionally, they are fast and secure. The TRAFFIC gate was built using the proven structure of the V-King gate. It was designed for heavy duty operation up to 250 cycles per day. The reliability and speed of operation of 0.6 m/s are optimum parameters enabling the gate to operate efficiently in areas with high traffic, and at the same time provide a high level of access control.
More than 5 years have already passed since the launch of the PRIME sectional door. Meanwhile, it turned out that there is a high demand for luxury class products all over Europe. Great design, durability, safety, and security have all been perfected in the PRIME door and became a template for an ideal sectional door. So after a couple of years, time came to present the PRIME door from a different perspective. From the inside.
PRIME Black Edition – launched this autumn – retains all the advantages of the traditional PRIME door, but the internal finish is all black. This project is a leap forward in thinking about garage functionality and design.
The black internal finish of the PRIME Black Edition is a unique solution in the market. It makes the interior of the garage simply beautiful, while keeping its functionality. This is especially important today, when the garage is enveloped in the building and becomes its integral part.
In 2019, the WIŚNIOWSKI product range was expanded by PVC windows. The launch of the PRIMO 82 and PRIMO 70 is an another step towards building a comprehensive offer for homes. It allows our customer to buy all their joinery and fence products from a single manufacturer with a guarantee that all the elements: garage doors, windows, doors, gates and fences will share the same level of durability and a matching design.
The PRIMO 82 and PRIMO 70 are windows based on Class A PVC profiles with 82 mm and 70 mm installation depth. They are fitted with single- or two-chamber glass units with perfect thermal insulation parameters. The windows are also available with an aluminium cover plate, a low threshold, and in an anti-burglary version, or as patio doors: the tilt and slide PSK and the lift and slide HS.
In 2019, WIŚNIOWSKI attended trade fairs across almost the whole of Europe. We participated in global events in Munich (BAU), Milan (MADE expo), and Paris (Batimat). Apart from that, we took part in Bauen&Energie in Vienna, Paysalia in Lyon, France, and in the 2019 Zaunteam fair in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. We also took another step forward in growing our presence in the Scandinavian markets thanks to the BYGG REIS DEG trade fair in Lillestrøm.
This year, we have strongly emphasized our relations with architects and designers. In the Italian market, this resulted in two meetings during the Infoprogetto events in Milan and Brescia, where we talked about our major products, their complementary and universal character. We also presented solutions and designs dedicated to architects, e.g.: BIM/CAD libraries.
The next chance to meet us at a fair is just around the corner! On 14 January 2020, we will be attending the Perimeter Protection trade fair, which kicks off that day in Nuremberg. It is quite early, but we would already like to encourage you to take part in the event and visit our stand no. 417 in hall 12.
This year, we introduced WIŚNIOWSKI’s latest MOTO drive unit powered by Somfy. It is not just a new product, but a symbol of the changed approach in the home products sector.
The MOTO garage door drive unit is a result of our cooperation with Somfy – a global leader in smart control and automation solutions. Following the success of our first joint project, the METRO drive, we decided to go a step further and come up with a product that would fill the niche of universal automating operating units for garage doors.
The launch of the MakroPro 2.0 was not just a presentation of the new sectional door for the industry. It was the beginning of a new way of thinking about solutions for professionals.
The MakroPro 2.0 door series was designed by professionals who build the WIŚNIOWSKI brand on a daily basis and are aware of the needs of rapidly growing companies. The design features the best solutions for thermal insulation, comfort, and safety. With its unique structure, the MakroPro 2.0 door can be fitted up to 20% quicker than doors of similar sizes from other manufacturers.
The current image of the company seat is the result of the expansion that started two years ago. This year – which was key to this investment – the area of the company reached 27,000 square metres. Following the investment in the production area, we also increased employment. Today, the company founded by Andrzej Wiśniowski employs almost 2,000 people, including nearly 200 students educated in the company's “Praktyk” vocational school.
The scope of the investment involved the expansion of three autonomous factories that manufacture WIŚNIOWSKI garage doors, fences, and joinery. The most prominent result of the company's ambitious plans is the new office building which was raised just by the trunk road connecting the Nowy Sącz region with Kraków.
Technologies available today allow us to bring harmony to a completely new level. Garage doors, windows, doors, gates, and fences no longer match up only in terms of quality and design – they also share control capabilities. All these features are concentrated in one of the WIŚNIOWSKI brand's most important projects – WIŚNIOWSKI Concept.
WIŚNIOWSKI Concept is a comprehensive offer for the home in a single design connected by the smartCONNECTED feature. When buying the garage door, windows, doors, gate, and fence from a single manufacturer, each element is guaranteed to be of proper quality, but they are also sure to be connected by the same design and the same control system – without multiple keys, remotes or smartphone apps.
This was 2019 for us in a nutshell: investing in innovations, a revolution in thinking, and new product launches. It also allowed us to make steps towards further development along the lines of Industry 4.0. Thanks to these changes, our customers can fully make their dreams about garage doors, windows, doors, gates, and fences come true. We create made to measure solutions – perfectly tailored to their homes and needs.
2019 is almost over and another 12 months of work and growth are now ahead of us. We will continue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the WIŚNIOWSKI brand. Three decades filled with success cannot be celebrated in any other way than by further growth. A time of more changes, revolutions, and new products is coming, and they are sure to cause quite a stir!
