"Step by step, we are changing the market"

Dragan, 20 years of Xella Serbia is a long time - how do you see the evolution?

t all started with the Kolubara plant here in Serbia. Xella took over the plant in 2004, just in time to provide efficient building solutions to the growing construction market in Serbia. Investments in automation and efficiency transformed this plant into a modern manufacturing facility. It quickly became the leading supplier of building materials in the country. We have also used this time to become a technical sales organization which better serves the needs of our customers and their construction projects.
 

What do you consider to be the most important milestones of the last 20 years?

Two years after taking over Kolubara, the industrial modernization allowed us to start the production of autoclaved aerated concrete under the Ytong brand, and with this step we offered a wide range of products and solutions on the Serbian market for the first time. This solution offering approach helped us also navigate through the financial crisis of 2009 and adopt better the new market reality.
Another important milestone was the acquisition of Apatin plant in northwestern Serbia in 2021, which allowed us to also produce calcium silicate units. Together with Ytong, Multipor, and - after this acquisition - the Silka brand, Xella Serbia offers a complete solution for structural, fire-resistant, thermal and acoustic insulation applications throughout the construction industry.

What are the most important characteristics of Xella Serbia?

The agility of its teams, not the least thanks to the more than 60 percent of young people who have joined the plants in recent years. We also have many highly motivated professionals who adapt to new market realities and stay at the top with strong determination. With this professional approach by cheerful and energetic personalities, you get the right combination for success and constantly improving safety conditions.

What role does Serbia's location play in this process?

Serbia has been in a kind of transformation mode since the early 2000s. Listening to the market and to customers is very useful in order to address them very early and to find out what needs to be done. This broad agility helps us to experiment and do things differently.

What are the challenges you face in Serbia today?

Despite declining inflationary trends, mortgage costs remain high and investment in new housing does not appear to be a short-term priority for end-consumers. Developers and contractors also face their own challenges in managing project costs. We as manufacturers need to provide efficient, sustainable, and affordable building solutions through easy-to-install products, that require less time and labor cost.

How is Xella Serbia dealing with these challenges?

We are trying some new approaches. Here in Serbia, we have concluded some time ago that we can offer the full range of solutions in the multifamily segment, not just interior walls. We had to provide solutions for all the necessary requirements for our customers in terms of regulations and at the same time make it more efficient and affordable. We analyzed all parts of the addressable market through different walling requirements and defined various applications for our products. Now we know exactly where we need to address the market, which sometimes means even to educate building professionals in terms of more efficient building solutions. But with our experienced teams and the help of engineers, architects, and civil engineers, we are able to educate them. And slowly, step by step, we are changing the market.

What is Xella Serbia's role within the Xella Group?

Xella Serbia is constantly changing through new approaches, industrial efficiency, and innovation, trying to find an answer to the question everyone faces at Xella Group: how can I improve my products in various applications? Whether in single-family homes, multifamily homes, exterior walls, partitions, or anything else. We share our experience with the Xella Group.

We have made a significant contribution to making our products even more energy efficient, more sustainable, and more affordable for our customers. Our experience and results qualify us to transfer this knowledge to other plants in the region.

How do you see the future of Xella Serbia?

Bright. I think we proved to ourselves that we can achieve a lot. I'm an imaginative person and I try to paint the future to inspire other people. And then I have an excellent team that immediately starts coming up with ideas on how to achieve that kind of future. From these concrete ideas, we can implement quick steps. So that is part of our agility. Once we like the idea, and we validate it, we don't spend too much time over-engineering it. We say, okay, let's try it.