Master, a leading Apulian company in the global market for window and door accessories and components, achieved a turnover of €47 million in 2021, an increase of 34% compared to the previous year. A 16 million investment plan has been launched for the three-year period 2021/2023, which will include the construction of a new production plant in Conversano and the start-up of a distribution office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The Apulian Group, a global leader in the design and production of accessories for aluminium window and door frames, based in Conversano, closed 2021 with a turnover of €47.2 million, an increase of +34% compared to 2020 and +25.9% compared to 2019. Double-digit growth was recorded both in turnover in Italy (€22.5 million, +37% compared to 2020), driven in particular by the tax incentives provided to support energy efficiency and building renovation, and in foreign markets (€24.7 million, +31% compared to 2020) where the company is reaping the results of the internationalisation projects launched in recent years.

Given this very positive growth, the Master Group has earmarked an investment plan for the three-year period 2021/2023 for a total value of approximately €16 million, equal to about 10.4% of the entire expected turnover, despite the uncertainty of the current international scenario.

The new investments will pursue process, product and digital innovation, as well as Made in Italy design. The company designs and manufactures 97% of its production in-house and employs around 320 employees (+50 new recruits in the three-year period under consideration) at its Conversano headquarters, which is currently being expanded with the construction of a new production facility of around 12,000 m², which will increase production capacity and streamline logistics flows.

On the international scene, (Master achieves 52% of its turnover abroad), expansion projects continue, with the opening of a new subsidiary in Africa in the city of Abidjan, the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. The hub in West Africa represents a strategic investment for the Group, which aims to increase its market share and presence in that reference area, which is expected to develop strongly in the coming years.

The new office in Abidjan joins the one already successfully established in Krakow, Poland (Master Polska S.p.zo.o), another strategic presence of the Master Group in Eastern Europe.

“Despite the uncertainties due to the pandemic phase and the delicate moment related to the increase in energy costs and the difficulties in supplying raw materials, the Group’s economic performance has allowed us to record strong growth and good margins,” explains Michele Loperfido, CEO of the Master Group, ” which rewards the efforts and farsightedness of the Group that, even in the current complex and uncertain international scenario, is continuing to invest in the Conversano plant, confidently focusing on the human and production resources of the area”.

The Italian door and window market grew by 24.7% in 2021 (previous forecasts indicated +8.6%) and the recovery will continue in 2022 with +10.4%. In the residential segment, demand for windows and doors grew by 25.9% in 2021 with an estimated growth of 11% in 2022. These are again the highest values recorded in the last 20 years. In the non-residential segment the growth, from which both windows and doors and curtain walls benefit, is estimated at 23.1% in 2021 and 9.6% in 2022 (source Centro Studi UNICMI). The forecasts for 2023 are interesting with an estimated further market growth (+6.2%) of which residential at +6.7% and non-residential at +5.6.

The company’s commitment to the territory, environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility through the Masterability programme remains constant:  Master, in fact, has established itself as a virtuous model of circular economy, through widespread policies of environmental responsibility (Master was the first company in the sector to define a methodology for calculating CO2 emissions certified by an agreement with the Ministry of Ecological Transition), significant investments (more than 10% of turnover in the three-year period 21/23) in R&D, and innovative corporate welfare policies (extra-work activities and support for families through a scholarship programme for employees’ children).

From 2019 to 2021, Master was recognised among the Italian companies of excellence, according to the “Best Managed Companies” (BMC) ranking drawn up by Deloitte, and in 2021 we won the “Welfare Champion” award, ranking among the top 100 Italian companies to be awarded by the “Welfare Index PMI”.