20th Anniversary of JD Group's business operations
The company JD sp. z o.o. sp. k. celebrates the 20th anniversary of the business. The company started operations in July 1997.
A few weeks earlier, exactly on April 16, 1997, before the notary Dorota Kuzebska at the Notary Office at ul. Damrota 4/45 in Opole the founding charter was signed of "Joachim Duda Trade" sp. z o.o. /Repertory 2334/. On behalf of the owner, the plenipotentiary, Sławomir Ostrowski, spoke before the notary.
From the very beginning, the goal was to create a well-functioning business organism, but also a company that is distinguished by its social attitude and partnership with the business environment, based on its reliability and trust of clients. The development was based primarily on personal relationships, a positive way of functioning and cooperation with suppliers and customers. The "Duda" brand still stands above all for quality and commercial loyalty, reliability and commitment, customer solutions and financial credibility.
Founder of the company, from whom it took its name, before 1997 was mainly active on the German market. The construction industry remembers such business ventures as Lueg&Duda, Loma, Besitra, and today JHD or Holding JD, with which J. Duda was or still is associated. In the mid-1990s, significant changes began in the way the large cement companies and distribution network were operating in the German market. On the other hand, the cement market in Poland has only been growing in maturity and has created a great deal of opportunities. The building materials market has become a motivator for many successful ventures, including the JD Group. It must also be emphasized that in Poland, J. Duda was already present in such entities as Philip or Rubicon. Later such ventures as RCW Readymix Cement Warsaw, Readymix Beton, EPO, EPORE or Steag Energo Mineral have also come.
JD's first office was at ul. Katowicka 35, where in the rented rooms there was an administrative part and at ul. Budowlanych 5, where some of the sales people worked. The premises at ul. Budowlanych, the former Opole Building Company 2, played an important role because there was the first concrete batching plant of the company. In 1998 a building was purchased at ul. Piastowska 3 on Pasieka island, destroyed by the recent flood. Renovation of the building allowed to use the premises after the flood and the company's headquarters were transferred there. After several years an internal modernization was done, rooms were adapted to new functions and requirements. Then the exterior of the building was restored, and the beautiful JD sign became a symbol of the whole enterprise.
The business model based on German experience
In 2001, a part of the area of the former Opole Prefab House Factory at ul. Wschodnia was purchased. Today, there is the well-equipped JD transport base, which serves the entire JD Group, including administration rooms and workshop.
At the beginning, the company cooperated mainly with Rudniki Cementyard owned by Readymix Polska, then with Odra Cement Plant in Opole.
Firstly, bagged cement was sold mainly through a network of building markets. After several months the commercial offer was supplemented with bulk cement, which meant the possibility of cooperation with concrete plants and producers of concrete elements, first on the market of Wroclaw and Lower Silesia, and then in the whole country. At the beginning, 40-50 thousand tonnes of cement were sold annually to reach over 400,000 tonnes in 2016 and a position of the largest distributor in Poland. Today, JD transports nearly 1.5 million tonnes of products annually.
The business model based on German experience was excellent in Polish conditions. Firstly it was done by acquiring cement, finding a customer and selling, then with the development of the company - the entire product and service chain was realized: cement, fly ash, concrete and transport. Many of the company's employees emphasize that dynamism of that period caused that JD never had time for a peaceful organization. It has been created and strengthened its market position "on the run".
Transport has always been an important area for JD, as is shipping. This part of the business was built on the potential of Lueg&Duda and Loma companies, followed by Philip, which included Loma, and finally Philip was incorporated into JD. Based on Lueg&Duda the JHD GmbH was established. The company currently carries mainly car transports with more than 100 sets and operating on several dozen transport routes, but in the past it also owned about 300 rail cars with the symbols 220S, 208S, 408S, 419S and 13 concrete mixers.
An important event in the company's history was the sale in 2015 of part of the company producing concrete to the Górażdze Group. Today only small concrete plant in Olszowa remained. And this business area started with Readymix Beton Opole, then Readymix Beton Lower Silesia, and finally this part of the business was transferred to JD to create another revenue stream there. Over the past years, the JD Group has had 13 concrete batching plant from Wroclaw to Warsaw. Thanks to them the company can boast many excellent realizations such as the stadium in Wroclaw, Wroclaw bypass, dozens of bridge or metro in Warsaw.
An important part of the business was the area of aggregates and sands. The JD Group owned two mines of mineral aggregates: SARAH I and SARAH II in Stroszowice and Żelazna. This concept was developed in the JD, and mines were prepared, commissioned and operated for many years. In total, nearly 2 million tons of aggregates were mined each year. Also, these mines were sold as a natural part of the business associated with concrete.
A proven partner for the construction, power and transport industries
The JD Group also had by 2014 a stake in BARG company, specializing in conducting research laboratories for building materials together with the necessary infrastructure.
Today, the Group is proud of its cooperation with the largest Polish technical university - the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow. The cooperation agreement of 2016 states that "cooperation will involve innovation and development" and "the partners will initiate research and development of new products, launch projects for the development of innovative technology, apply for external resources and seek new products using by-products of combustion from power industry".
The company is a significant partner in the building materials market. It specializes mainly in cement distribution. It offers all types of cement and cooperates with many cement plants. It also offers high quality building materials such as cement or concrete and professional transport services.
The staff provide professional advice and service. JD meets strict standards and environmental requirements. Moreover, at this stage of development, it serves as a service provider and a model for other organizations, e.g. in the field of accounting, human resources, freight forwarding and teleinformation services, e.g. for a new company from the STEAG - SEM DE Group in Berlin.
JD is based on values of cooperation, competence and reliability. With the image of a proven partner for construction, energy and transport industries.
The 20th anniversary of the company is a festivity of the whole company, which sums up economic and organizational outcomes, but is also satisfied with creation of a great team of committed people and a brand known not only in Opole. The company employs about 150 people and its annual turnover amounts to about 150 million PLN.
Anyone who has built JD or made any contribution for the past 20 years must hear thank you
