Progress Profiles is a world leader in the production of technical and decorative finishing profiles and laying systems, including membranes, for the building and interior design sectors. With 39 years of experience, three headquarters in the USA, the Middle East and Spain, and a new one soon to open in Abu Dhabi, the Italian company has developed a wide range of products and systems that are exported to over 80 countries worldwide. Committed to innovation, Progress Profiles embraces advanced technologies to create high-performance products that meet stringent quality standards.
Interview with Dennis Bordin, CEO of Progress Profiles.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Dennis Bordin: On the one hand, Progress Profiles develops high quality products in the field of profiles, that can be used for both interior and exterior protection without compromising on aesthetics. On the other hand, the company develops pioneering membranes and systems that preserve floors and walls for long-lasting spaces.
E.E: What’s the news about new products/services?
D.B: Firstly, we have recently added to our wide range of products the Black Line, a selection of painted aluminum finishes with a very elegant material appearance. As far as membranes are concerned, we offer an exceptionally thin model: PRODESO® DRAIN 4, which is only 4 mm thick and ensures particularly easy and precise installation, with reduced laying times. Its outdoor version with a minimum thickness of 8 mm, PRODESO® DRAIN 8 SYSTEM, allows for proper waterproofing of outdoor coverings while reducing surface resins; together with our PROTERRACE DOUBLE DRIP, it creates the best patent system in the market for terraces and balconies. The PRODESO ECO and PRODESO ECO STICK membranes have also been completely redesigned in terms of their weave to increase adhesion by 40%.
Finally, we have introduced a new version of the Prodeso Heat Grip 5 System, our electric heating system for floor and wall coverings, which is only 5 mm thick and has been improved to achieve even better performance.
E.E: What are the ranges of products/services?
D.B: Our offer includes not only several ranges of technical and decorative finishing profiles, skirting boards and technical joints to anticipate every functional and aesthetic need, but also different membranes and systems to achieve a perfect installation. To help professionals, we have also created our Progress Profiles Academy, which proposes personalized courses, divided into theoretical and practical parts, where they can be assisted by our staff to learn how to make the most of the products’ potential, always getting state-of-the-art results.
E.E: What is the state of the market where you are currently active?
D.B: Each market has its own characteristics, of course, but they all look with interest and attention to Italian know-how and the quality of Made in Italy products.
As an Italian company, Italy remains our main market: competitive, attentive to details, new technologies and laying systems. France is strategic for us, but also Central, Eastern and Northern Europe, Middle East and North America where sensitivity to the aesthetic and functional aspects of every solution is high.
As a leader in laying systems, we also promote the quality of our products through three headquarters in America, the United Arab Emirates and Spain, which are major export areas. We have developed an extensive global network of agents and sell our products to more than 80 countries. Exports account for 40% of our turnover, and this percentage is growing. In the United States in particular, the Proleveling System, the Prodeso Eco Stick and the Prodeso Heat Grip System are very successful: they are easy to use and guarantee perfect and long-lasting results. Technical design profiles and installation systems such as the Proshower System, combined with the Profoil Panel for the bathroom, and the Prosupport Tube System are also popular. Worldwide we have also paid particular attention to the growth of ‘warm floors’ in LVT and laminate: a trend to which we have responded perfectly with the patented multi-functional Promultifix system.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
D.B: In recent years, the home has become a multifunctional place that must fully reflect the needs of its inhabitants. For this reason, great attention is paid both to the aesthetic impact and to all those solutions and details that can guarantee maximum comfort by personalising the environment. This is where the importance of finishes comes into play, whose role is to enhance the key elements of the space. From an aesthetic point of view, products available in a wide range of materials and finishes continue to be appreciated because they are able to meet today’s trends: the minimalist, urban and contemporary, and the more retro, inspired by natural elements, with floor and wall coverings of great scenic impact.
Customers ask us for practical solutions that can be installed in a short time and guarantee excellent results with low construction costs. We respond to this demand with solutions that make the installer’s job easier at every stage: we focus on details and technologies that allow him to work with maximum precision, using few elements and, where possible, few tools. We also develop dedicated kits, i.e. cases that contain all the elements needed to carry out a job quickly and easily.
There is also a strong demand for training, as demonstrated by the success of the Progress Profiles Academy.
E.E: What are the most innovative products/services marketed?
D.B: Definitely the systems: they are versatile solutions that can be used for different purposes and installed only where necessary to achieve excellent results. Our systems, for example, are also easy and quick to use, making the installer’s job easier.
The world of membranes also continues to innovate: these products are becoming more efficient and thinner, and the materials used are sustainable.
The widest range of profiles in the world still remain an enormous advantage.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the beginning of 2024?
D.B: In the coming year, we plan to continue our research and development activities, focusing on the study of ever more advanced technologies in order to stay ahead of market demands. Our aim is to develop innovative and patented solutions, in compliance with the relevant regulations and in full respect of the environment, while at the same time continuing to improve our logistics system so that we can be ever more responsive and competitive. In fact we are making structural and technological investments. We have an automated warehouse of 3,500 square metres, which will allow us to store around 4,000 pallets and profiles. This will give us more storage capacity and the possibility of adding new machinery during 2024. We are also expanding the technical and training area. Finally, we want to maintain our base in Italy, where we are the market leader, in order to develop our know-how with our R&D department.