You have been with Melaco for many years. What were the beginnings of your career in this company?

I started as a technologist. Later, with changes in personnel, I moved up and became deputy manager. The next step in my development was to become plant manager and then manager. I’m currently working as a production preparation engineer and so far I’m doing very well.

19 years is a long time, and next year you will be celebrating your anniversary. How do you think the company and the industry have changed over the years?

Melaco has always relied on modern technology and machinery, and I think this has been its greatest strength from the very beginning. We started with the production of kitchen worktops – it was the only product available – and now we have a wide range of different products, finishing materials and, above all, technology. This is important because the market is constantly changing and we have to adapt to these changes in order for the company to grow.

Implementing more and more new solutions is certainly a challenge for the staff. And it hasn’t always been easy?

Yes, it has always been a challenge, but that is what keeps the company growing. Introducing new technologies and products does not just mean more work. For employees, it is an opportunity to develop and learn new skills.

It is also important to consider the needs of the market. The demand for furniture worktops eventually dried up, so we had to move into something new. For example, we had this technology of wrapping slats in foil. Then they were stained, wiped, stained, varnished, folded. But all this came to an end over time, because production in this industry is very dynamic. In any case, these processes were also very labour-intensive. When machines came along, this work became more efficient, more comfortable, and we were able to start working on new products.

Read also: In the service of precision – an interview with Lukasz Malinowski, milling machine operator at Melaco

Let’s talk about these machines and technologies. How did everything go from your point of view? Are there still technologies that you remember from your early years?

There are technologies that I remember from 1996. For example, production on MDF, milling the fronts and gluing them with a vacuum press – this is a product that has been, is and will be around for a long time as it is still very much in demand.

On the other hand, the production line for thick board and laminate kitchen worktops, which we used at the very beginning, was sold at some point. The company bought a machine for veneering chipboard or MDF with foil, which enabled so-called surface finishing. In the beginning there was a huge demand for this, I remember that this line was running up to six times a week, there were so many orders. Today the market has changed again, customers are looking for even more advanced products, which in turn are more expensive to produce. So we run the line less often, but the type of orders, the targeting of premium products, compensate for that.

So customers are expecting higher quality. Do you see any other trends or changes in consumer habits?

Consumers are forcing us to improve technology, quality and innovation because they need it themselves. Our business customers and the end consumers for whom these products are made are now much more selective.

As far as Melaco’s customers are concerned, they are really different. Some just need a board or, for example, veneer parts that they drill themselves. On the other hand, there are those who want their products to be precisely finished, pre-drilled and well packaged.

The most important thing today is to increase the quality and precision of production. Customers are becoming more demanding and we have to meet their expectations.

You are in direct contact with production and observe trends, so you must have your own predictions for the future. How do you see the company and the industry in the coming years?

I think the industry will continue to move towards precision machining. More and more jobs require high precision and quality, and we have to be ready for that. Twenty years ago, minimal defects were acceptable, but today this is out of the question.

A big challenge for us at the moment is working with mirror effect film, which requires a very high degree of precision, but we feel that there are great prospects for the future here. The same goes for three-dimensional surfaces. We certainly need to invest in new machinery, including a five-axis milling machine, which will open up the possibility of taking on new orders.

Read also: Confidence, determination and innovation. 30 years of MELACO from the point of view of its founder, Zbigniew Haczkowski

This year Melaco celebrates its 30th anniversary. What would you wish for the company in the coming years?

First of all, stability. After the turmoil of the pandemic, after that moment of uncertainty, we are now seeing an increase in orders, and I hope it continues. I would also like us to continue to grow and invest in new technologies to meet our customers’ expectations, but also to acquire new skills.

We agree with these wishes and will certainly do our best to ensure that Melaco continues to grow. This is, of course, possible thanks to employees like you. We thank you for the past 19 years and look forward to many more years of fruitful cooperation. Thank you for this interview.