Building something from the ground up, such as a successful and well-functioning business, only thanks to one’s enthusiasm and experience, is not an easy task. The aim of the founders of PROXIM s.r.o. was not to become rich quickly but to steadily build a company that would prosper in the long term in the challenging business environment of the manufacture and distribution of chemicals and chemical products. In the early 1990s, the conditions for starting up such a business were rather favourable, since the existing chemical manufacturers and suppliers were undergoing a complex privatisation process and were unable to flexibly and promptly respond to the market demands.
Major milestones
- March 1992 – Foundation of the company with RNDr. Jan Kroupa, CSc. as one of the co-founders
- 1993 – The company opens its first office, hires its first employee and starts producing its first products on leased premises
- 1994 – The company acquires and rebuilds the complex in Rybitví and launches the distribution of chemicals to dairies and breweries
- 1995 to 1999 – The company experiences a rapid increase in sales but also problems arising from outstanding receivables from bankrupt companies
- 1999 – The company obtains the ISO 9001:1998 certificate
- 2000 – The company supplies its products to all major dry goods, paint and coating wholesalers
- Launch of the production and sale of pool chemicals
- 2004 – As the country joins the European Union, the company starts producing pool chemicals designated for export to seven countries based on a contract with a leading German distributor
- 2006 – The company begins to independently export its new line of swimming pool water treatment products to Germany and Austria
- Commencement of long-term cooperation with NVIRON BIOSOLUTIONS, a Canadian company, in the area of enzymatic and bacterial products
- December 2007 – Jan Kroupa Sr. becomes the sole owner of the company and the Company Executive along with his son, Ing. Jan Kroupa, Ph.D.;
- 2008 to 2012 – The company stabilises its work team of internal and external experts in quality control, legislation, tax consulting, hazardous substance transportation, marketing and translations.
- Launch of comprehensive lines of garden pond water treatment products
- Expansion of the customer base in the Czech Republic and abroad
- Increase in the quality of marketing activities, building of the corporate image, utilisation of modern information and communication technology
- March 2012 – The company celebrates its 20th anniversary with the participation of guests from the Czech Republic and abroad
- June to August 2013 – The company completes the reconstruction of the PROXIM s.r.o. complex and the building of an additional production facility in Rybitví, which is co-funded from the Real Estate Programme of the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation
- September 2013 – The company moves its headquarters to the newly reconstructed premises in Rybitví
- November 2013 – Jan Kroupa Jr. becomes the co-owner of the company
The present
The manufacture and distribution of chemicals and chemical products is a challenging industry segment, especially if the products are intended for developed foreign markets. In such a competitive environment, the high quality of the products, compliance with stringent legislative and environmental requirements for the production and storage of chemicals and chemical products, and reliable and flexible deliveries are a matter of course. For smaller firms, the situation is even tougher, since they have to meet all these requirements with a limited workforce.
At present, PROXIM s.r.o. has a stable work team consisting of internal experts and external associates who are all able to fully meet all of the above-mentioned conditions. Among our other priceless assets are our long-standing customers, who have been our business partners for more than five years. They include major Czech companies, such as Mlékárna Hlinsko (Hlinsko dairy). Solvent, Nohel Garden, BaL Praha, BWS Přerov, as well as leading transnational corporations, such as DuPont, PEPSOCO, and the Coca-Cola Company. At PROXIM s.r.o., we highly value even the smallest of our customers, including those who buy our products through our e-shop.
In 2012, PROXIM s.r.o. manufactured more than 400,000 products and delivered them to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Finland, and Ukraine. Within the domestic distribution network, we supplied more than 1,000 tons of chemicals to our customers across the Czech Republic. As we continuously focus on the quality of our products and on satisfying the needs of our customers, we received only eight minor complaints in 2012, and the value of the claimed goods amounted to merely 0.07% of our turnover.
We greatly value our long-term cooperation with Canadian NVIRON BIOSOLUTIONS: in this way we have constant access to high-quality raw materials for the production of enzymatic and bacterial products following the latest world trends and developments in this area.
The future
After expanding our work team with additional prospective associates and completing the overall reconstruction of our production and storage facilities in summer 2013 with the aid of funds from the Real Estate Programme of the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation, we have been able to create ideal conditions for the development and growth of our company until 2020 in the promising branch of chemical, enzymatic and bacterial products. The high quality of our products and satisfied customers will remain the cornerstones of our corporate philosophy in the future.”