The Bad Wildbad-based PCB specialist Polytron-Print is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The champagne is cold and the mood is good - even if the family business from the Black Forest had imagined the anniversary celebrations a little differently without corona. The company is extremely proud of its 50 years of success, which is why it is celebrating - albeit at a distance and initially in a smaller circle.
In 1970, Horst and Ursula Skarupa founded Polytron-Print GmbH and began manufacturing single-sided and double-sided printed circuit boards, initially in rented premises, before moving into their first own factory building in the Langwiesen industrial estate in Bad Wildbad in April 1975.
Founding couple Ursula and Horst SkarupaThefounding couple ran the company for over 40 years with great commitment and vision, seizing opportunities and ensuring the sustainable development of the company. In this way, they also kept an eye on the long-term future and built up the next generation of company management in a targeted manner. The second generation of the entrepreneurial family is now active in the management: daughter Katja Skarupa-Pacella runs the company together with Ursula Skarupa and Michael Müller. Founder Horst Skarupa passed away unexpectedly and far too early in 2017.
This not only ensures that the young generation will steer the PCB specialist into a long future, but also that the Bad Wildbad site will remain the home of Polytron-Print. "The commitment to the location, our employees and products and services 100% made in Germany are firmly anchored in our corporate DNA," affirms Katja Skarupa-Pacella.
This commitment cannot be taken for granted when you look at the industry in which Polytron-Print operates. The PCB market is strongly influenced by globalization. Around 90% of PCBs supplied worldwide now come from Asia. This development has also had a clear impact on the German market. At the beginning of the 1990s, there were almost 400 PCB manufacturers in Germany, but today there are only around 50. This is precisely why the decades of success of the company from Bad Wildbad are so outstanding and testify to a sustainable and future-oriented corporate strategy.
Rapid development and constant innovation
What began 50 years ago in rented premises now occupies around 13,000 square meters in two plants on both banks of the River Enz. With state-of-the-art machinery, the highest quality can be produced there competitively. At Polytron-Print, it has always been important to continuously invest in innovation and production efficiency.
The company's headquarters in the early yearsToday, production has long been organized around technologies other than classic screen printing, such as fully automated exposure processes, and processes a variety of different base and special materials. "The opening of Plant II in 1994 was certainly a milestone in the company's history. With the space we gained, we were able to implement many ideas in process automation that have helped us to become one of the top 10 German PCB manufacturers," agree Ursula Skarupa and Michael Müller.
The company is also pursuing this strategy on its firmly planned path into the next 50 years of corporate development. In the anniversary year alone, investments in new technologies and machines amounted to over €1.5 million - financed from the company's own resources. This means that customer requirements - from sample to series production - can be implemented even more individually and precisely.
Focus on personal service
In addition to all the technology and innovation, it is the personal touch that makes Polytron-Print a special company. This is not only known by the 100 or so employees who now feel at home in the company and therefore remain loyal to their employer - in some cases for decades. This factor is also appreciated by the customers. They come from a wide range of sectors - from industrial electronics to building technology and medical customers. And they can rely on the fact that they will always find competent, personal contacts who are committed to helping them with their concerns, even if they are very specific.
Freshly spruced up and fit for the future
The expansion of Plant 2 in the 1990s marked a leap in growthThecompany took the anniversary as an opportunity to refresh its entire corporate image. "Now is the perfect time to confidently showcase our company's success story to date, both internally and externally, while at the same time optimally positioning ourselves for the next chapters in our company's history," says Katja Skarupa-Pacella, delighted with the renewed image.
And so, due to the general coronavirus situation, the celebrations to mark the actual anniversary of the company's founding this October may initially be held back. However, the management is tackling the step into the future with all the more momentum. "And the real anniversary party has only been postponed and will be held as soon as possible," the Managing Directors assure us.
