"THE RIGHT MOMENT IS DECISIVE"
Wywiad z Prezesem Szczepanem Kwiatkiem w biuletynie InForm
Szczepan Kwiatek founded the Kartpol Group in 1996. In the meantime the company has progressed to one of Eastern Europe's important producers of cartridges. Entirely new perspectives have been opened to the successful Polish enterprise in Wolomin with the integration in the Canadian Wentworth Group two years ago. It is planned to double the production capacity by 2016.
Mr Kwiatek, please give us some data on Kartpol.
I set up the company together with a partner in 1996. Today it is a trading company. We produce cartridges and
print cartridges. Our enterprise has been established in its present location for eleven years. We employ just under 50 persons. Central and Eastern Europe are our main markets.
Why cartridges?
It was in the time after the change of the political system in Poland when I looked for a product which would be present on the market for a long time without modification. A suitable product might be the packaging of everyday products which are used everywhere. One day I came across such a product, it was a cartridge.
The point in time was no doubt favourable!
I considered entering this business for the first time alreadyin 1991. But after a market analysis I concluded that things weren't ripe yet for quite a while. The market wasn't ready for a product of this type. This is why we held back with the investment and the founding of the enterprise for some years until there were producers who wanted to fill their products into cartridges.
In the meantime Kartpol in Poland has won an entrepreneur award already for the sixth time. Of what significance is this to you?
The Business Gazelle - this is the name of the ranking - is awarded to the companies with the most dynamic development in Poland. One of the conditions is that the company has been active in the market for at least three years and that it is transparent as regards its obligations towards the state and the banks. It is a big plus in marketing, of course, if one achieves this ranking year after year. A company which is annually represented in this ranking is seen with entirely different eyes by banks and business partners. And
this is very important to us.