"Always find new paths"

"Before Corona, everything went according to plan for us," explains Ivica Maurović, speaker for the management at GEALAN Fenster-Systeme, "we had a strong first quarter 2020". But the shutdown that followed was also clearly noticeable in the vinyl system provider. Countries like Italy, Spain and France were hit particularly hard. Sales losses in April and May could not be avoided. But after that, GEALAN quickly returned to an even and steady course: "Since June the company has performed better than in the same period last year. After the third quarter, we are even slightly above last year's level," Ivica Maurović describes the positive trend in times of crisis, and has an immediate explanation: "Especially in Germany and the Netherlands, the window industry has been and continues to be in a very good position. And so are many of our customers".

GEALAN itself has actively contributed to stability in times of crisis. "We have always closely monitored the situation after the outbreak of the pandemic. We followed the course of events, took necessary measures and of course adjusted our budget to the new realities". Then there are the employees, who are explicitly highlighted by the Managing Director: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank them in particular. They are the central pillar of our company and have always been our backbone, even in the difficult months. Even during the time when we had to go into a period of reduction in working hours, all our customers could rely on the service they were used to". 

In addition to the corporate goals, which can be measured in figures, strategic goals were also set for 2020. On the one hand, there is employee satisfaction, which is particularly important to the company management. In addition, the focus at GEALAN is on growth, innovation and efficiency. "We want to grow with the development of innovative, high-quality products," Ivica Maurović specifies. "Our main focus for 2020 has been and will be to strengthen and expand our S 9000 system platform in all relevant markets. To this end, we want to position ourselves as a champion in our unique surface technology acrylcolor, which has been tried and tested for decades and provides long-lasting finishing and protection for vinyl windows. And to focus even more on our expertise in various adhesive and foam technologies".

Next, the digitalisation of processes and additional automation in production are to be further expanded. This is how GEALAN wants to become even more efficient. But also through the responsible use of resources, which has been part of the GEALAN corporate philosophy for decades. "GEALAN uses green electricity, recycles window profiles. Our environmental goals are planned, measured, reviewed and regularly questioned. But even here we can and want to continue to develop further.

The mission and vision of the company provide GEALAN with clear strategic principles that guide our actions. "Even in this time of crisis, we have always kept them in mind, which has proved successful. That is why we are developing even better than expected in terms of these strategic goals," Ivica Maurović looks back with satisfaction. 

Many events planned for 2020 had to be cancelled and in some cases cancelled without substitution. Here too, it is important to find new solutions quickly and flexibly, as the GEALAN managing director knows: "We already made the decision in August to bring our established International Future Forum to a virtual stage for the first time as a digital event in January 2021. That means we are setting up our own digital presentation, discussion and networking platform". Preparations for the proven event in a new format are in full swing. The launch of the new company website in September was also a milestone on the way into the future: "It will be the basis for our digital communication, which we will strengthen even more in 2021," Ivica Maurović points out the path: "And our GEALAN Academy has also gone digital in the meantime; colleagues have already held numerous training sessions for our clients, architects and other industry partners. This shows that it is always going forward, that one can and must always find new paths - and we are happy to lead the way".