With the acquisition of expanded polystyrene processor Morapal (Sumperska / Czech Republic), the Hirsch Servo Group (Glanegg / Austria; www.hirsch-gruppe.com) has expanded its production network. In the course of the transaction, which took place on 1 April 2021, the Austrian group of companies got two additional production plants in the Czech Republic, namely in Unicov and Cervenka. The group also welcomed 120 new employees.

Morapal, supplier of EPS transport protection packaging for white goods, will be managed by Miroslav Jelen. He is also at the helm of Novopol, another Czech EPS processor that the Hirsch Servo Group acquired in 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 04.11.2020). With a total of four plants in Czech Republic, the group now has a total of 30 production sites in Europe and a workforce of around 1,700 employees.

In the fiscal year 2020-21, Hirsch Servo increased sales by 13.6% to EUR 275m, as CEO Harald Kogler disclosed in an interview with a construction industry trade publication. Germany accounted for some EUR 100m, France for EUR 70m and Austria for EUR 30m. Various acquisitions impacted the growth in sales – in addition to the two purchases in Czech Republic, Hirsch Servo, together with the BEWiSynbra Group (Solna / Sweden; www.bewisynbra.com), acquired the EPS activities of Saint-Gobain subsidiary Placoplatre (see Plasteurope.com of 20.11.2019) and completed the integration of IsoBouw (see Plasteurope.com of 03.12.2019) in the past two years.

On the downside, the company’s own plants have lost around 10% in sales, according to Kogler. His company had been required to close its plants in France for two weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic, while production in the important German market had not suffered any losses. Until the end of his contract term in 2025, Kogler has further ambitious growth targets. According to the interview, he deems a turnover of EUR 500m both “desirable and conceivable”.