GW-News: Mr Cholley, you have been CEO of Swisspacer for a little over a year now. How is the company doing?
Francis Cholley: The past year was very satisfactory for Swisspacer overall. Like others, we had to struggle with price increases for raw materials and energy. I am therefore all the more pleased that we were always able to meet the consistently high demand despite the raw material bottlenecks. The positive development also includes the launch of our new Swisspacer Ultimate Pro: this spacer is even easier to process.
GW-News: How come?
The changed material composition gives the spacer more elasticity. This means even more robust processes in production. Especially manufacturers of very large insulating glass units rate this very positively after the tests.
GW-News: Once again to the market, how would you assess the year 2023?
The first quarter of 2023 went well, but we have to wait and see what happens next, as new construction is declining and we currently cannot tell whether the renovation market will compensate for the lower demand from new construction. We are watching this very closely. It is all the more pleasing that Swisspacer is very well positioned and that we are now able to realise substantial turnover outside Europe.
GW-News: Which markets exactly?
Besides our activities in North America, we are also active in Asia. More and more countries around the world are looking to European specifications and local know-how.
GW-News: Where do you see important topics for the industry in the future?
Sustainability remains the central topic. The building industry, and especially the housing market, are key factors in counteracting global warming. I am firmly convinced that a low carbon footprint will quickly become an integral part of product performance and competitiveness. Achieving low carbon values in the construction and operation of a building are already key features. Every component in the building is expected to contribute.
See also: Why does Ublo use warm edge spacers from Swisspacer?
Swisspacer
We are also seeing government-defined targets for the amount of CO2 sequestered in new buildings changing in various countries. France, for example, has now capped the total amount of CO2 that can be produced during the construction of a building. These developments will intensify in Europe and beyond and have a significant impact on the market.
GW-News: And how does Swisspacer contribute to more sustainability?
We have one of the few spacers that provide an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for all the spacer widths we offer. Especially in terms of carbon footprint, we are the clear benchmark in the industry. In doing so, we are pursuing the strategy of taking a leading role in sustainability. And we want to further decouple our corporate growth from CO2 emissions.
GW-News: How do you support your customers besides the spacer products?
Here we offer a range of services. Be it with individually tailored technical services, in the creation of EPDs or the expansion of digitalised processes, from customer orders to production and delivery. In this way, we want to improve customer benefits, because today this is an essential part of the competitive advantage we offer to insulating glass manufacturers.
GW-News: What makes working at Swisspacer exciting for you?
I have been active within the Saint-Gobain Group for almost 30 years. Yet the position of Managing Director at Swisspacer is something special for me. It is always exciting to be confronted with new challenges. I am also pleased that our Swisspacers are making the construction industry more sustainable.
The interview was conducted by Matthias Rehberger
