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

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

Capital magazine has launched the “Top 300 Companies” listing, produced out of a desire to “decipher Romania’s economy and understand which companies are operating as a locomotive for it.” The ranking was based on the following criteria: turnover, profit, turnover evolution, profit evolution and number of employees.

Roofs of the future

Bilka Steel is a 100% Romanian company, established in 2007 in Brașov. In its 13 years of existence, it has become recognised as the market leader in roofing. It ended 2019 with a turnover of RON 655 million, approximately EUR 130 million. The company’s management expects a growth of around 20% compared to last year’s reported level, and a net profit of EUR 20 million, up 45% compared to 2019.

Despite the pandemic, Bilka has continued its successful investment plan, with a focus on developing a product division for the industrial sector. The total investments amounted to EUR 5 million, part of a project started in early 2017 worth over EUR 25 million. Next year, the company plans to complete the first stage of the development of its industrial construction division, which will result in the opening of an insulated panels factory. In the medium term, if the economic market continues to be stable and the medical crisis is kept under control, Bilka proposes “the possible acquisition of companies in fields related to our field of activity and we are also considering opening a production unit abroad”, according to the statements of Horațiu Țepeș, the company’s CEO, for Capital editorial office.

Where opportunities were lacking, they created them

The biggest challenge was the medical crisis generated by the pandemic, but just as every economic actor was affected by it, Bilka Steel management acted quickly by forming a new operation model. They became much more cautious, imagined all possible scenarios and constantly checked the company’s revenues, costs and investments. They acted strategically and focused on their cooperation with the business partners. “We were more concerned about the signals we received from industry and partners than from the public.”

During the crisis, the company continued to operate cautiously and this proved to be successful. “It has been proven that in our industry things have quickly returned to normal parameters and that any measure to stop or reduce the activity, investments, or the recruitment process would have had a negative impact on the evolution of the company in the medium and long term”, said Horațiu Țepeș, Bilka CEO. The team has kept the same mobility it has always had, which is why they adapted quickly, found opportunities in the new context of the pandemic, and where they didn’t find them – they created them.

“Responsibility has become one of the most important company values around which the entire organizational culture is built.”, Horațiu Țepeș, CEO, Bilka

A company with deeply rooted values

The most important value that characterizes the company is “responsibility”. It is about “Responsibility towards customers and partners through the products we make, responsibility towards the employees through the jobs and conditions we offer, and responsibility towards the community in which we operate through the social responsibility actions we take” according to the company’s management.

In the 13 years of activity on the Romanian market, the company’s production and storage halls have reached an area of 140,000 sqm. Bilka Steel’s proudest achievement is roofing 337,000 houses and buildings, a number that will continue to grow year after year given its market leadership since around 2012.

Article published in the “Top 300 Companies” listing by Capital magazine, October 2020. Author: George Alexandru Turcu.

Bilka is ranked among Romania’s 50 most powerful brands, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, published by Ziarul Financiar.

“Almost 70% of the 50 most valuable Romanian brands have been created and developed by the private sector over the last 30 years. In the ranking, there are only three companies which have the state  as the main shareholder (…), more than 25 are Romanian entrepreneurial undertakings, two of them are owned by foreign businessmen and the rest of the companies are now supported by multinational corporations, although their names are “made in Romania”.  Romania’s 50 most powerful brands are worth EUR 5.8 billion, an increase by 16% versus last year. Dacia is the only brand rated at over EUR 1 billion. The threshold to enter the top 10 is EUR 137 million. (…)”

“(…) Only three new names make their way into the 2020 ranking on positions 47, 48 and 49, notably the building company Bog’Art, Farmacia Tei and the local construction material manufacturer, Bilka.

The aggregate value of the 50 most valuable Romanian brands has increased by 16 percent as compared to last year’s ranking, up to EUR 5.8 billion, according to the Brand Finance report. (…)”

The article was published in Ziarul Financiar, on March 20, 2020, author Cristina Roșca.

Mihai Sandu took over the export department of Bilka, the Romanian market leader in metal roofing, in 2016, as soon as it created. However, his story in the company, begun eight years ago, when, as a student, he started working for one of the company’s service providers. In 2012, as a 20-year-old, he became a logistics coordinator at Bilka.

“The path from logistics to the export department took a detour through the sales department for the domestic market, where I had the opportunity to learn as much as possible about sales, and to lay the foundation for my rise in the company”, says he, describing his evolution up to his current role. This meant developing export sales “somehow from scratch”.

”In the beginning it was just me in the department working twice as hard to make the brand known abroad, but also, at times, to overcome the language barriers. Over time, the numbers have shown that through hard work and commitment challenges can be turned into performance. Right now, exports are 10% of the company’s turnover and they continue to grow”, says he about the results that have been achieved.

The value of complete roofing systems exported last year reached 11 million euros, up 50% from 2017. Bilka products are sold abroad in countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, and Ukraine. The team, currently made up of four employees, focuses on developing new markets – including on different continents – and on strengthening the company’s position on the markets it has already entered. ”The growth potential we see for the export market, and the investments we made over the course of the last years which make us competitive all over Europe, with markets where we can become leaders in the next five years, allows us to access more and more markets and make us look towards other continents as well.”

“The next step is to become the European leader in the roofing market. This is a long-term goal to which I will devote myself over the next years. Thus, my growing opportunities within Bilka are boundless.”

Article published in the Top 100 Best-Performing Young Managers Magazine, by Business Magazin.

BILKA’s turnover at the end of 2014 increased by 29%, with a market share of 24%

BILKA, leader of the roofing market, ended 2014 with a turnover of more than RON 134 million, 29% higher compared to 2013. Last year, BILKA produced and sold over 4 million square meters of metallic roofing, and the company became also the largest consumer of pre-painted steel sheets in Romania, purchasing over 30,000 tons.

Metal roof tiles remain a top-selling category, accounting for 54% of the total sale volumes. It is followed by accessories, corrugated sheets, and insulated panels, representing almost 31%, while rainwater systems (gutters and downspouts) represent 15%. Regarding colours, last year the company recorded an increase in dark shades, i.e. brown, chocolate brown or black, representing approximately 50% of the sales volume, 2 million sqm.

Horațiu Țepeș, the owner of BILKA, states: “We think 2014 is the best year in Bilka’s history. At the end of this year, drawing the line, we have: financial performance well above the average of the players on this market and according to the objectives set at the beginning of the year, investments of EUR 3 million, new halls stretching over 27,000 sqm, two new production lines, and about 26,000 roofed houses”.

According to internal estimates, in 2014 BILKA also saw an increase in the share of the metal roofing tile market. In 2013 it held 21% of the domestic metal roofing tile market, and in 2014 it reached 24%.

“2014 was a difficult year for the business environment, with a lack of predictability and insolvencies. I knew, from the very first year, that the company’s evolution must be influenced to the greatest extent by the internal business strategy. Therefore, during 8 years we have invested over 9 million Euros and the main objective was to achieve an optimal production capacity, a high-performance logistics system, a wide range of products and a country wide distribution. Another important aspect for the company’s evolution is the efficiency of the whole team and the fact that we do not work looking at the time, we work according to well-established goals and we are aware that, in order to maintain our leader position, we must work harder than the day before. Investments and hard work are the keys to our performance”, says Horațiu Țepeș.

2015 ‒ 8 new production lines

In 2015, an important direction in the company’s business strategy is to keep going with the investment plan started last year, amounting to EUR 5 million. It first targets production growth and diversification.

“In 2015, we shall continue our development plans. We need to cover the production halls purchased last year, using production equipment, and we have budgeted investments for eight new production lines for metal roofing tiles, elements of the rainwater system and roof accessories. Once these machines are installed, we will launch new products. Our business strategy is a premise that allows us to consider that in 2015 we will remain number one on the market”, says Horațiu Țepeș.

Increasing the production area continues to be part of the company’s development strategy for the coming years. In order to reach the optimal and necessary area for the budgeted investments in the next years, Bilka is considering purchasing a new surface of 15,000 sqm of land in the proximity of the factory in Brașov. One of Bilka’s goals on the medium term is purchasing a local competitor.