Despite the many crises that have unfolded in the financial, property and construction sectors, the Roto Group has achieved significant and economically robust growth over the past 20 years – through excellence in its traditional core areas of business, through strategic acquisitions and through the establishment of a third division. These three pillars of growth will continue to reliably support the group’s growth in future.
This was the summary with which Dr Eckhard Keill, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Roto Frank Holding AG and its three divisions, opened the 20th International Roto Trade Press Day on 13th November in Warsaw.
Course correction
Looking back to when he joined the company in 2005, Dr Keill confessed a deal that he made with himself at that time: Back then, my intention was to retire after a financial year when everything went perfectly in all the relevant markets. After a year without any turmoil on the financial markets, in the construction sector… today I know that I set myself an unachievable goal back then, and the group has since achieved a far more important objective.
Despite the sometimes volatile economic situation, over 20 years it has managed not only to grow but to constantly expand its own room for manoeuvre at the same time, thanks to robust economic activities.
Three divisions “on track”
The annual net turnover of the Roto Group in 2024 was far more than 70% higher than in 2005. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board rounded off his look back by explaining that “at the same time, Roto greatly diversified its products and services, while never losing focus.” 90 years after being established, the business operations of Roto Window and Door Technology (Roto FTT) include, for example, the manufacture and sale of almost all components needed to produce modern windows and doors, apart from the glass and profile.
The Roto Roof and Solar Technology portfolio includes a wide range of excellent roof windows, hatches and loft ladders. And: since Roto Frank Professional Service GmbH (RPS) was founded in 2018, the group has provided all services for installing, maintaining and servicing windows and doors with a closely linked network of Service Friends.
Each of the three divisions in the group follows a future-oriented, clearly defined strategy aimed at growth and customer benefits alike, sums up Dr Keill.
The focus is consistently on the building element industry. Roto has always offered its customers and business partners unrivalled reliability.
Strategic acquisitions
Over the last 20 years, Roto FTT has acquired a number of manufacturers of components for window and door production with product ranges that perfectly complement the company’s own. These include a producer of thresholds and glazing technology, as well as two specialists for sealing profiles – Deventer and Ultrafab.
In Europe, just like in China, North and South America, Roto is investing in companies which produce components that building element manufacturers in that specific region actually use. For its strategic acquisitions, Roto FTT made the conscious decision to concentrate on tailoring the products and services it offers around the world to regional demands.
The group’s diversification strategy is based on expertise in window and door systems, focusing on the individual requirements of international markets. When deciding whether or not to make a potential acquisition, Roto is consistently guided by customers’ needs, emphasised the Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Successful integration
In his opinion, the Roto Group excels at successfully integrating established industrial companies and service providers into the organisation once they have been acquired.
The processes and values put in place by Roto make strong companies even stronger. This is why all our investments in strategic acquisitions have paid off. The conditions for future growth have been improved, not least through each successful integration and the sharing of knowledge with new colleagues, Dr Keill is convinced.
The Roto Group operates successfully in window and door markets on all continents. Even when extreme changes are taking place, such as those currently underway in China, the company is able to rapidly adapt to shifting customer requirements. When doing so, the managers responsible for the countries act quickly, flexibly and always in close collaboration with their customers, based on the Roto process system.
Number of locations doubled
The two production divisions – Roto FTT and Roto Frank Dachsystem-Technologie GmbH (Roto DST) – have more than doubled their number of plants and logistics centres over the past 20 years. This means that customers in 110 countries around the world now have access to products and services from Roto. The group achieved around a third of its turnover in Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
This international presence, which isn’t just based on exporting products from Europe, but also on local production, product ranges and services, is good the economic stability of the group – explains the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. – Roto always benefits, regardless of the economic area that is currently experiencing good performance on the markets.
However, the consequence of this is that we have to grapple with the challenges posed by global political upheaval more intensively than our competitors. Each time a government intervenes in free global trade, Roto is forced to respond.
We ensure strict compliance with legislation, even if we’re sceptical about whether it makes sense. Every sanction harms both sides, every additional tariff percentage point slows down the global exchange of the best technology, so is an obstacle on our path to a better future – Dr Keill is convinced.
“Today. Tomorrow. Roto.”
At the end of his speech, Dr Keill recalled how, in 2024, the Roto Group came up with a motto which has conveyed its optimistic vision of the future ever since: “Today. Tomorrow. Roto. These three words firstly represent Roto’s strong conviction that it will continue to be part of a value chain that is vital for the future. And, secondly, they embody the divisions’ responsibility to make their customers’ future a little bit better every day.
In the past, all three have successfully proved that they don’t need to depend on momentum from politics or the economy, but take their own innovative paths. The priority is always to create added value for customers.
