Matic, a manufacturer of machines for making awnings, curtains, and large-format advertising, has decided to contribute to the industrial recovery of the country by investing in the capital of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in delicate situations. The initial plan was to allocate 8 million for these operations, and at the moment, two operations are already underway, currently in the audit phase of the accounts.
Jordi Carbonell, CEO and representative of the second generation of this family-owned company founded in 1969, explains: "We want to contribute to the resilience of industrial companies of merit, in line with our business culture." In this profile, you can find everything from machinists to engineering firms that may offer technological breakthroughs. "We want them to be able to make investments to recover, exporting."
At the same time, the company from Granollers is in a phase of resizing, and its plant in Cornellà de Terri (Pla de l'Estany), where cutting machines are manufactured, will increase from 800 to 2,300 m², while industrial land has been reserved to progress from 2,500 to 3,000 m² in Granollers, where sewing, welding, and packaging machines are made. All this will require an investment of 3 million euros. In addition to this sum, 250,000 euros will be allocated from next year for the implementation of process digitization and artificial intelligence.
With a turnover that reaches 12 million euros per year, with the forecast to reach 14 by the end of this year, Matic materializes 70% of its business in foreign markets, with 30% of sales in Spain and Portugal; 30% in EU markets; 30% in the U.S.; and 10% in Asia, Oceania, and South Africa. The company has reached this position of strength, becoming one of the European leaders in its niche market, by demonstrating adaptability and self-demand over the years. As Jordi Carbonell says, it was crucial that they were not initially "a recognized brand," which forced them to show in Europe that they could be "better than the Dutch and Germans, and stay two steps ahead of the competition." One of the virtues that has contributed to the company's growth has been the ability to offer customers comprehensive solutions: "We supply cutting machines, welding, packaging, laminating, storage, and accessories, and integrating everything sets us apart, giving us a clear competitive advantage." The ability to sniff out what the market really needs was put to the test after the turning point in 1995, when the company filed for bankruptcy, a victim of outsourcing, which took the manufacturing capacity of many of its clients to Asia. It was then that they thought they had to move towards the sector of large machinery in the textile industry, "towards a more voluminous, technical, specialized product," assuming that in this case, the cost of transportation was excessively high in the context of a globalized market. This is how they started offering tailor-made solutions to customers in the rolling industries, awnings, exterior screens, technical curtains, pergolas, or digital printing. Jordi Carbonell insists that in this whole process, they surrounded themselves with collaborators who were very helpful: "We developed the product, but we didn't do everything."
One of the features of Matic that Jordi Carbonell is most proud of is its particular governance style. He, officially the CEO of Matic, meaning the one who should dedicate the entire day to coordination and control tasks, has transformed this role and makes himself available to the team, the foundation, which is the one that really makes decisions, "to resolve doubts or consultations." Fully convinced, Carbonell explains: "For the past five years, the management model of our company has been horizontal, and this is non-negotiable. When I realized that I was doing everything, that I had an excessively prominent role, I became aware that I was a bad entrepreneur, that things only worked while I was there, and I started to delegate." In this model, hierarchies disappear, and solutions are thought out collectively. This way, Carbonell can dedicate himself "to thinking, visualizing the medium term to make more strategic contributions."
Source/Author: L'econòmic/Jordi Garriga Riu
PDF