„MS beyond WINDOWS” - M&S Pomorska Fabryka Okien

In the global business ecosystem, in which all commercial enterprises acting on an international scale work today, there is a number of paradoxes, which contradict the logic of the functioning of organizations, which occupy leading positions in specific industries or industry sectors. One of these paradoxes concerns the matter of recognition of companies or brands by the average Customer. In assumption, the more awards won by the company, the broader the scope of its activity, the more satisfied Customers of the organization, the higher rate of recognition of the company and its products. Unfortunately for many companies, this assumption does not work. Of course, the value of the rate of recognition depends largely on the industry, in which the firm operates (luxury goods are definitely privileged) and the financial outlays that the company spent on marketing activities, still, the privilege of quality, yet generally unindetifiable companies and the duty of such magazines as Manufacturing Journal is to carry on such an activity, which would have to change the state of affairs, described above. So, with great pleasure we would like to present MS beyond WINDOWS - a company appreciated in many countries, but still little known.

The History of the Company
MS beyond WINDOWS was established in 1991. Since the beginning, its development was characterized by vigor and dynamism, although originally the company had nothing to do with its current area of activity, starting in fact as an advertising agency! Only a year later the company owners decided to start different kind of business activity, beginning the production of window frames. Since then begins the proper story of the organization that we know today. Focus on continous improvement of the company’s offer and its gradual expansion, resulted in constant improvement of company’s financial situation, so that already in 1997, M&S Pomorska Fabryka Okien was transformed into a limited liability company and increased its workforce to more than 200 Employees. Expansion of the company was followed by an increase in spending on advertising activity, which resulted in a TV campaign in 2001. Strategic decisions connected with marketing policy proved to be accurate, which accelerated the process of strengthening the company’s competitive position and helped to start the international activity, mainly in Western Europe. Yet, the work aimed at establishing the company’s position as one that sets the industry trends and technological primus among competitors has not been neglected. Consistent improving of the quality of products and the continuing desire to develop new, more efficient and attractive design solutions, coupled with continous optimizing of production processes has led MS beyond WINDOWS to a leading position of manufacturer and supplier of building components for home and construction industry introducing this year the third generation of TITAN WINDOWS.

The Pillars of Success
To better understand the reasons for the rapid development of MS beyond WINDOWS Group, I spoke with Mr. Artur Romanik, the company’s Vice President, who described the nuances of industry and drew attention to several key aspects of the company’s activity, thanks to which the organization builds its success. The basics of the functioning of each company are their Employees. MS beyond WINDOWS is no exception. The company’s Employees are the core of the strategic potential of the organization. The most important issue for managers operating in this particular industry is the level of Employees’ experience. Therefore, MS Group brings together in its ranks mainly Employees with more than a decade of working experience, so that the Customer can have the guarantee of high quality products and services offered by the company. Company policy also envisages every possible effort to create the best possible working conditions, irrespective of the position in the company’s hierarchy, whether we speak about line Employees, management staff or design team. MS beyond WINDOWS Group employs at the moment more than 430, perfectly prepared for their tasks Employees and carries on efforts to continously improve both soft and hard skills of its Employees. The construction industry is strongly influenced by dynamic changes in terms of technology. The company’s Employees’ professionalism alone is not enough to ensure the efficiency of production processes, which is why it is so important to invest in the improvement of the machines and software used in the organization. What is typical for this industry, is the fact that it is not possible to purchase directly specific tools, which would execute optimally the company’s production plans, which is why the company’s experts had to prepare appropriate equipment and calibrate it, so that it could meet the needs of the organization. The whole process took the company two years. The organization also owns specialist facilities, essential to maintain high enough parameters of products manufactured by the company, as well as proper software that supports all processes taking place in the organization. Technological advantage over its competitors has always been a priority of the company’s policy. Both the quality of offered products and services, as well as their range are in fact the key to achieve to achieve the primary purpose of the enterprise: absolute satisfaction of the company’s Customers, regardless of their needs. MS Group focused on the specialization of the various production centers. At the momet, the Group consists of six plants, concentrated on their specific part of production. M&S Pomorska Fabryka Okien is the most important element of the Group, because within its operational structure acts the Group’s board and the company itself is responsible for manufacturing the most relevant product offered by the Group: PVC window, which generate more than 60% of the company’s turnover. Product range, however, is much broader and includes also wooden and aluminum doors and windows, PVC doors, roller shutters, mosquito screens, stone and marble that decorates building elevations and interiors. In the current situation of strong competition in the global market, companies wishing to succeed must not only prepare the highest quality products, but also provide a wide range of Customer Services. the company’s target Customer is an individual building or renovating his home, thus adopting a policy of individual approach to every order so that all Customer requirements are met, maintain competitive prices and flexibility in preparing products for event the most demanding needs and suggestions, and a wide range of after – sales services. These factors and the careful selection of suppliers and dealers and creating an extensive networks of sales partners, has resulted in very good reception of the company not only in Poland, but also abroad. The organization based in Słupsk successfully exports its products to the higly developed and demanding markets, including Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom and Canada. It is worth mentioning that around 45% of the company’s products is manufactured for the needs of Western markets. MS beyond WINDOWS builds its values based on today’s requirements in this regard. The company is characterized by a high level of business acumen, as evidenced by its activity in the filed of CSR and environmental policy. The company acquired a lot of certificates, both Polish and abroad that provide the highest international quality of the company’s activity, in its every aspect, including strict technical specfications of the company’s products, providing adequate level of safety of the Employees, as well as with the procedures connected with the issue of Human Potential management in the organization. The company’s achievements and the level of its development has been properly appreciated by the industry experts, as evidenced by „VIP Energia Premium” award, granted last year by infookno.pl. for outstanding results of the company’s windows in terms of noise reduction and many other prizes. It appears that MS beyond WINDOWS is developing in the right direction and hopefully with time, the MS brand will be much better recognizable, not only among Poles, but also worldwide. 