Polish roofing felt manufacturer enters Germany thanks to PAIH

"Our roofing felt is tailored to the needs of different markets. For some, price is a requirement, for others it is quality. I can proudly say it is the quality that Germany’s TRUS has appreciated the most and the reason why decided to distribute our products in Germany,"- Paweł Borgieł, Export Manager, Lemar, says. He admits that the company has known the German contractor for several years, but the formalities were an obstacle to entering into regular cooperation. However, everything changed last year.

"Thanks to PAIH in Frankfurt, we managed to get satisfactory answers from the German counterpart of the Building Research Institute, which issued an official letter in our case. This in turn made it possible for us to return to talks with TRUS in the second half of 2018,"- Paweł Borgieł explains. He adds that Lemar enabled TRUS to operate independently in the German market. Therefore, the company's activity is to support sales as much as possible. "We carry out many activities ourselves, but we also talk with PAIH about the possibilities of promoting the Polish brand in Germany," Lemar exports representative says.

He reveals that winning a partner in Germany was a strategic goal for the company. "Germany, along with countries such as Great Britain, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Hungary, will join our portfolio of partners. This year, we plan to intensify our activities in Scandinavia, Austria and Croatia. This year, we will present our products at the national stand during Norway’s Bygg Reis Deg trade fair for instance,"- Paweł Borgieł points out.

In 2018, Polish construction industry exports to Germany totaled PLN 143.6 million. As Paweł Borgieł points out, the German building materials market is extremely tempting for Polish companies. However, as he emphasises, it is also very hermetic.

"We have been cooperating with Lemar for nearly a year. We are impressed by its determination and we are glad that we could support it through the negotiation process with the local distributor. We are ready for further cooperation,"- Łukasz Chrabański, head of the PAIH trade office in Frankfurt, says.

The PAIH trade office in Frankfurt has been operating since the second half of 2017. As, Łukasz Chrabański, points out, since then his experts have replied to over 500 inquiries of Polish and German companies from such industries as cosmetics, food, IT, machinery and construction.

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Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) works to increase the inflow of investments to Poland and the outflow of Polish FDI. It also does it best to intensify the Polish exports. Supporting entrepreneurs, the Agency assists in overcoming administrative and legal procedures related to specific projects as well as helps to develop legal solutions, find a suitable location, reliable partners and suppliers.