Sunex is a leading Polish manufacturer of innovative RES solutions. The company, which has been present on the Polish market for over two decades, offers intelligent systems for both heating and solar technology, including heat pumps, photovoltaics, solar collectors, air conditioning and hybrid comprehensive packages with dedicated control systems.
At the same time, the company is also developing products to support energy storage systems. In 2022, approximately 70% of Sunex production went to foreign markets, mainly to Western Europe. At the end of 2022, the revenues of the Group amounted to PLN 289.5 million (EUR 63.08 million – Amounts in EUR converted at the exchange rate from September 26, 2023.) and the net profit amounted to PLN 39 million (EUR 8.5 million).
The company has its own research and development department, which has been developed for over ten years, contributing to the creation of automated and intelligent products. Sunex has 20 employees in this department with extensive competence in the field of renewable energy devices and their integration. The company has been listed on the Main Market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2015.
Interview with Romuald Kalyciok, the CEO of Sunex.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Romuald Kalyciok: Sunex is a manufacturing company investing in automation and robotization of production in the promising renewable energy industry. According to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), a total of 20 million RES devices have already been sold in Europe, and over 60 million heat pumps are expected to be installed within the next seven years. Our clients are mainly wholesalers, developers, installers and owners of large construction facilities, and our main sales markets are foreign markets, especially Germany and Austria.
E.E: What’s the news about new products? What are the most innovative products marketed?
R.K: We are developing a project related to composite storage tanks. We want to be one of the first manufacturers of innovative composite storage tanks in Europe, which are both economic and ecological alternatives to steel tanks. Our goal is to create an innovative product that will increase the efficiency of the heat pump while reducing energy costs for heating or cooling. This project is in line with the trends of the growing demand for renewable energy solutions in the energy and heating industries, as well as in the housing construction sector. We estimate the value of the investment at PLN 45 million (EUR 9.8 million) and we are applying for a subsidy of up to 50% of qualified funds from the National Center for Research and Development.
As part of it, we intend to conduct, among others, industrial research and development work, but we also intend to build a transformer station and technological ventilation of the production hall. Moreover, we plan to start industrial production of storage tanks in the future.
Another innovative solution that we are working on is the so-called autonomous heating system based on RES. This is a project within the EU funding, and as part of this project, we will produce mounting systems for photovoltaics, elements of heat pumps and DHW storage tanks. This is our original, innovative production technology, combined with industrial research and development work. The value of this investment is PLN 16.25 million (EUR 3.54 million), and the EU funding amounts to PLN 8.22 million (EUR 1.79 million). The autonomous heating system will consist of a PV installation, an integrated heat accumulation and distribution system located in the building and an air to water heat pump. Compared to solutions currently available on the European market, our innovative system will distinguish itself by simultaneous use of the photovoltaic and photothermal conversion phenomena in cooperation with a heat pump, possibility to connect many independent heat sources to prepare the tank, innovative coil and an assembly subsystem of PV panels and thermal solar collectors.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
R.K: What distinguishes Sunex is that all the solutions offered are our own design produced at the plant in Racibórz in southern Poland. We have a very wide product range, including all the devices from thermal and heating industries. Those are in fact, all the components of the heating system. We combine products and components in such a way that our clients can obtain a comprehensive heating system. Our product range does not require complementation with products from other manufacturers and this is one of our competitive advantages. We currently produce five large product groups: heat pumps, hot water and buffer tanks, heating and solar pump sets, solar collectors, and connection and assembly elements.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
R.K: The first half of the year was very successful, which is confirmed by high revenue dynamics, generated mainly on the German market. Germany remains our strategic market. During this period, we were experiencing an increase in interest in ecological heating techniques, which translated into an increase in orders. Consolidated revenues amounted to over PLN 188.7 million (EUR 41.10 million) in H1 2023 (+50% y/y), and consolidated net profit amounted to PLN 19.5 (EUR 4.24 million), meaning 36% increase y/y. Our Group sales grew both abroad and on the domestic market, and foreign sales generated PLN 160.2 million (EUR 34.9 million), representing 85% of the Group total revenues. We operate mainly in German-speaking countries. In Germany through our company Sunex Gmbh, specialized in the sale of devices for heating and solar technologies, in Austria through the acquired company Krobath, specialized in commercial heating and ventilation, gas, and water installations.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
R.K: The war in Ukraine has made us realize how important energy independence is, and that Europe must achieve it as soon as possible. For this reason, and thanks to the enormous technological progress, the renewable energy industry is gaining importance, and generating energy from the sun, wind and water is becoming easier and more accessible. Additionally, the sector has good growth prospects in Poland and Europe, thanks to the EU’s climate and energy policy goals and the dynamic growth of the trend towards independence from a single energy source. Economic issues will also have a positive impact on the demand in the industry in the form of savings, that will be possible to generate by using renewable energy installations.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2023?
R.K: In H2 2023 we are observing a slowdown in our markets. This is mainly due to the rising interest rates in the euro zone, which translates into a decline in construction investments. The situation is becoming more difficult also for the companies with high inventories, which expected that the market growth of the last two years will be continued. However, the market environment has changed, the cost of money has increased, and the economy has cooled down. We expect that the industry will recover after Q1 2024, especially since the EU regulations place increasing emphasis on a low-carbon economy, which makes this market very promising. Companies, local government units and individual customers, they are all equally turning towards renewable energy.