What we sow now, we will reap in the future!

That’s why Eastern Europe’s largest roofing manufacturer has chosen to include the responsibility for the environment and our planet in its corporate strategy, in addition to the responsibility for the community and its own employees.

Horațiu Țepeș, the owner of Bilka, chose the entrepreneurial path in 2007. At the time he wondered whether in 10 years he would be able to have a major impact on the roofing market, the economy and the community. He was optimistic, firmly answered “yes”, and after 10 years the expectations were beyond all initial plans.

Currently, Bilka is the largest roofing system manufacturer in Eastern Europe. “In recent years, our status has become a responsibility as we have become the market benchmark. We set the quality standard for products and services in our industry. At the base of our business, development and investment strategy there was a culture of responsibility towards our customers and partners with the products we make, responsibility towards the employees with the jobs, conditions and opportunities we offer, and responsibility towards the community in which we operate. I believe it is time to add responsibility towards our planet to our strategy and treat sustainability as a competitive advantage. People need to understand that the planet has limited resources and unlimited needs. Thus, what we sow now, we will reap in the future”, the entrepreneur pointed out.

Steps to reduce carbon footprint

In an ever-changing world, Bilka representatives are aware of their impact on society and the company wants to remain focused on its goal of contributing to global development, but in a sustainable way. “This year, when it comes to sustainability, in addition to the other actions that we have carried out in the past and will continue to do, the goal is to continue to align Bilka’s development and performance with the needs of society. To this end, we take the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the UN Sustainable Development Goals seriously and do our utmost to reduce our carbon footprint, but also to allow our customers, through the products they buy, to reduce their carbon footprint. We have always believed that our actions today influence the entire industry of tomorrow. It is a responsibility that we have always taken seriously in our business, but also in terms of sustainability. We are determined to become a landmark in this direction as well,” explained the owner of Bilka.

Roofs made of “green steel”

In terms of roofing manufacturing, steel is and will continue to be the material of choice for roofing. The metal roofing market has been growing steadily and still has great potential, so the consumption of steel used in Bilka’s business will also increase. Given that steel accounts for about 90% of Bilka’s business and products, the most important step in the company’s approach to reducing carbon emissions is to support the manufacturing of “green steel” with zero carbon emissions. “To this end, we want to develop long-term partnerships with our suppliers who have the same goal when it comes to sustainability. Thus, we already have an agreement with one of our raw material suppliers and, starting next year, we will also have roofs made of green steel in our range. The target is that by 2030 we will use 50% “green steel” in the manufacturing process, and by 2050 we will approach to 100%, Horațiu Țepeș said.

The importance of the carbon footprint of a house

He stressed that such measures are needed now, because society needs buildings, but their carbon footprint is currently too high. “We think customers will also see this as a great opportunity. We agree that at the moment few people are aware of the importance of reducing carbon emissions when building a house, but in the future the number will increase and we need to be prepared for that. Bilka’s success has been due to our determination to provide the best possible customer experience. Year after year we have continued our strategy of continuous innovation and development of new products and have been wise in anticipating new trends. Now we see a new trend, a future need of society and our customers and this is “green steel”, concluded the entrepreneur from Brașov.

Article published in fwdBV magazine, copy editor, Ionuț Dincă

Horațiu Țepeș, the entrepreneur who owns Bilka Steel, a metal roofing company, aims to exceed RON 1 billion turnover in 2021, after significantly having approached this threshold last year.

“Bilka ended 2020 with a turnover of RON 795 million (EUR 163 million), 20% higher compared to 2019, when its turnover was RON 655 million. The financial results are in line with the goals set at the beginning of 2020. Our goal for 2021 is to exceed the turnover threshold of RON 1 billion. The investments made in the development of production capacities and the growth of the product range, together with the nationally developed distribution network and the market demand are the main factors we rely on to achieve this goal”, says Horațiu Țepeș.

Although the start of the pandemic brought a drop in sales for Bilka in March and April 2020, a drop caused by the state of emergency, since May business has recovered and sales have started to pick up.

“2020 was a difficult year in which the pandemic was by far the biggest challenge for everyone, companies, employees, institutions or governments. For us in 2020, managing investments in the new context, adapting to new conditions and especially uncertainty have become part of our daily work. The fact that over the years we have had a sound growth strategy and a long-term strategy has helped us during this period not to have to take drastic measures at business level.”

Bilka Steel currently employs 550 people, both in the production process and TESA staff

“We are continuing to recruit in almost all departments, so by the end of 2021 we expect to reach 600 employees,” adds Horațiu Țepeș.

Bilka is now in the process of building a new insulated panels factory, part of a wider investment plan totaling EUR 25 million. Two years ago, the company acquired the industrial platform Hidromecanica 2 Brașov, next to the halls it already owned, in order to expand.

“For Bilka, we expect that 2021 will bring a new factory. If there are no more bureaucratic bottlenecks for authorizations, by the end of the year we should have completed the last investment stage of the programme started in 2017, totaling over EUR 25 million. Thus, this year for us the priority is to invest in the inauguration of the insulated panels factory.”

Besides the investments in the production area, the company continues this year as well with the increase the degree of digitization in order to streamline processes.

“The pandemic reiterated our need for adaptability to new conditions and the need for sound business strategies that can withstand an external shock.”

From 2 employees to 600

Horațiu Țepeș created the business in the year before the financial crisis. An engineer by profession, he started the Bilka Steel business 14 years ago, at a time that was not ideal for a construction business, on an immature market dominated by multinationals with decades of experience in the field.

After graduating from university, Țepeș worked for four years at the Slovak company Rova, which was later taken over by the Swedes Lindab, with whom he now competes. In 2007, Rova was to be sold, which is why Horațiu Țepeș made the decision to set out on his own on the road to entrepreneurship.

Thus, Țepeș started the Bilka Steel business together with a colleague, with the money he earned at his first job, the Rova company.

Bilka started with two employees, a metal roof tile production line and a 4,500 square meter hall, at the doors of which the economic crisis was knocking. For the opening of the factory in Brașov, the investment was made with own funds and amounted to EUR 200,000.

The company is named after a village in Bulgaria. A short, impactful name was needed, and when he chose it, Țepeș was in his office with a map of Europe on the wall and the brand was born.

The roofing market is poised for growth next year, according to industry players, who are calculating even a small advance over last year or at a slower pace, no doubt an advance. Demand for more expensive, premium products will become increasingly high, they add, and the balance will shift between consumption for new constructions and the one for renovations, a ZF analysis shows.

The local market for building envelopes reached EUR 237 million in 2019, up 10% compared to the previous year, according to Neomar Consulting data. By comparison, ten years ago, in 2009, the market was worth EUR 125.9 million. Thus, in a decade, the sector has grown by 88%. The center and north of the country are the regions attracting the highest demand for roofing on the local market, Neomar data shows.

In 2019, metal roofing accounted for the largest share of the total market, controlling nearly EUR 159 million. (….)

Article published in Ziarul Financiar, on 8th February 2021, author: Alina-Elena Vasiliu

Their number could increase depending on the development of production

Bilka Steel from Brașov hired 60 people from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in November. General manager Horațiu Țepeș says he had to resort to hiring foreign workers after he could no longer find labour on the market.

“We’ve taken care of everything, we’ve even found accommodation, now they just have to work. It is not cheaper than hiring a Romanian worker, because the accommodation is also part of the salary benefits and is taxed, so basically we pay more than for a Romanian worker, but there is no more labour force available on the market”, explained the quoted source. Țepeș says he will continue to attract workers from abroad if necessary. “They are hard-working and get on with their work.”

The company has also invested in automation in recent years. “If we were to use only human labour, at the production we have now, we would have to have 850 to 900 employees, compared to the 550 we have now,” the quoted source mentioned.

Bilka Steel is not the first manufacturing company from Brașov to use employees from Asia. Another company that has brought in Asian employees is Galli Gallo, the manufacturer of the Peneș Curcanul turkeys.

Bilka Steel from Brașov, specialised in roofing manufacturing, is engaged in a large investment plan, totaling EUR 25 million, which should result in the expansion of production capacities. The investment plan for 2021 aims to complete the first stage in the development of the industrial construction product division, following which we will open the insulated panels factory and other profiles for use in industrial construction, and then we will start other stages of investment to further develop the product range.

Forbes Romania magazine has launched the “Top 500″ listing, which brings together the top 500 Romanian companies, as well as a special ranking, “100 Business Heroes”, made to “celebrate the business people who have marked the Romanian economy”.

Bilka Steel ranked 26th in the ranking of the most valuable Romanian companies, taking into account the calculation methodology made by Forbes Romania, which is based on turnover, net profit and a set of coefficients applicable for 2019.

Forbes magazine included in this issue a special editorial, “100 business heroes”, made “to promote and support the leaders who have contributed and who are contributing through their actions to the good functioning of the economy and, by extension, of the whole Romanian society.” Horațiu Țepeș is one of the “100 business heroes”.

“Horațiu Țepeș – Graduate of the Faculty of Engineering within Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu and founder of one of the most successful building materials manufacturers in Romania. Bilka became the leader in the roofing market and ended 2019 with a turnover of RON 655.6 million, up 30.7% compared to the previous year, when the business reached RON 501 million. In all its years of activity, Bilka covered over 200,000 houses and made investments exceeding EUR 30 million. Bilka products are exported in countries, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, The Netherlands, Austria, Ireland or Ukraine.”

Article published in the Top 500 listing, Forbes magazine, November 2020

The roofing manufacturer Bilka in Brașov has invested EUR 5 million in 2020 and will deliver a new insulated panels factory next year

In the first nine months of 2020, Bilka Steel recorded sales of RON 595 million (i.e. EUR 122 million), after a 20% increase compared to the same period last year.

Roofing manufacturer Bilka Steel in Brașov, owned by businessman Horațiu Țepeș, invested EUR 5 million this year, part of a larger investment project started last year.

“This year we continued, as planned, the investments we had underway for the development of the industrial sector, and the total investment in 2020 amounted to EUR 5 million. The development project totals more than EUR 25 million. Postponing or cancelling investments amid the pandemic would have been a mistake that would have cost us future development,” says Horațiu Țepeș.

Thus, the company has planned investments in the coming years as well. Bilka is engaged in a large investment plan, totaling EUR 25 million, which should result in the expansion of production capacities for the development of the industrial product division. Two years ago, the company acquired the industrial platform Hidromecanica 2 Brașov, next to the halls it already owned, in order to expand.

“The investment plan for 2021 aims to complete the first stage in the development of the industrial construction product division, following which we will open the insulated panels factory and other profiles for use in industrial construction, and then we will start other stages of investment to further develop the product range.”

In the first nine months of 2020, Bilka Steel recorded sales of RON 595 million (i.e. EUR 122 million), after a 20% increase compared to the same period last year.

“Although in March-April (2020 – editor’s note), sales were down due to the state of emergency, since May business has recovered, we have resumed the normal delivery conditions and have exceeded our initial forecasts for the first nine months. For the end of the year, we expect to maintain the growth rate of the first nine months, a business development of more than EUR 167 million, about 20% more compared to the level reported last year. We have come through this period, in the context of the pandemic, much better than was estimated at the beginning”, also says Horațiu Țepeș.

However, the economic, political and health uncertainty of this autumn means that the contractor is cautious about his plans for next year.

“For our business model, it is important to have significant growths on all lines: the residential division, the industrial division, national sales or exports, as was the case this year. This ensures that external factors do not strongly affect the business, which also makes us optimistic for the evolution of company’s sales next year.”

In addition to investments in production, Bilka Steel is also focusing on digitization and technological processes at the company level to streamline the way of working.

“We’ve run all our scenarios and we’re prepared for the worst-case scenario. We have looked and continue to look constantly at revenues, costs, investments and the size of the apparatus, but in all this time we have taken no action based on fear of what will be. We have mainly focused on the signals we received from industry and partners than on the ones from the public space.”

Bilka Steel officials have taken precautionary and hygienic measures for the safety of employees, measures that have since become a habit. The company employs 550 people, including 350 in production, all in Brașov, where the factory is located.

Article published in Ziarul Financiar, on 27th October 2020, author: Alina-Elena Vasiliu