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Interview with Parat
CEO Frank Peters
Mr Peters, Parat increased its annual sales to 115 million euros in 2022. Will this trend continue in 2023?
Despite the difficult market environment, we were able to increase sales by 5 per cent in 2022. And growth could have been even stronger, but disruptions in the supply chains thwarted our plans. We expect significant pent-up demand in 2023 and, assuming the environment remains predictable, including price adjustments, we anticipate double-digit percentage growth in sales to just under 136 million euros. We have significantly expanded our plant and capacities in Hungary, so we are in a position to meet stronger demand.
Parat's exterior covers are used in motorhomes as well as in construction and agricultural machinery. Which market segment is the strongest sales driver?
We are well positioned in all three market segments, and the segments complement each other in their economic cycles. Last year, agricultural machinery recorded the largest increase in sales, followed by construction machinery. Unfortunately, the caravan segment fell short of its potential due to supply chain disruptions.
Parat is the world's largest producer of fibre-reinforced plastic components in the agricultural and construction machinery sector. How does the company fulfil its responsibility for sustainability and climate protection?
On the one hand, we are investing heavily in research and development to enable resource-saving processing methods. On the other hand, we are implementing concrete measures to improve our carbon footprint. By 2027, we want to achieve climate neutrality in all our plants, produce 50 per cent of our electricity requirements ourselves in a sustainable manner and increasingly use materials with a low carbon footprint.
What is your carbon footprint to date?
Our detailed CO2 monitoring of direct and indirect emissions shows that if we can provide the necessary liquidity, we will achieve our planned climate neutrality. The emissions generated by our partners and suppliers in the production of materials are summarised in what is known as Scope 3. We want to reduce these by at least 30 per cent by 2030. New processing methods developed by us are making an important contribution to this. And we are working intensively on recycling, as an improved circular economy can make an important contribution.
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Industry: Plastics processing
Founded: 1945
Investment: open investment, 2018
Investment department: Growth
Website: https://parat-technology.com/de/
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‘Parat develops and manufactures covering and structural components with large, complex geometries and high-quality surfaces. When used correctly, plastics are efficient and sustainable, but it is up to us to rethink how we use plastics.’
Christian Fiederling
Head of the district of Southern Bavaria
How far has the plastics industry, or rather Parat, come in terms of the circular economy?
A turning point began some time ago in plastics processing, with topics such as climate neutrality, CO2 monitoring, efficient recycling and consistent recycling taking centre stage. We have set ourselves the goal of being thought leaders and pioneers within the industry worldwide, and are researching and developing appropriate solutions. After all, the use of recyclable plastics with a low carbon footprint will be a clear competitive advantage in the future. I am convinced that environmentally-oriented companies will also be economically successful in the long term.
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Parat Management: Stephan Hoffmann – CFO, Frank Peters – CEO, and Martin Kremsreiter – COO.