How HEGLA Automation Helped MATPOL Achieve Rapid Business Growth
Discover how MATPOL evolved into one of Poland's leading glass processors through strategic investments, family leadership, and cutting-edge HEGLA automation.
The story of MATPOL is a journey from a modest 1990s workshop to becoming a recognized leader in Polish glass processing. The success of the Sagan family business is built on a deliberate strategy, a clear division of roles, and bold long-term investments. Today, through an advanced technological partnership with HEGLA, the company operates one of the most modern production lines in Europe.
🏠 Family Business: A Different Kind of Story
It is often said that "you get along best with your family in photographs." This stereotype has long fueled the belief that a family business is bound to end in conflict sooner or later. But a closer look at the Polish glass processing market tells a very different story. Over the past thirty years, many family-run companies have emerged — where responsibility was not a burden, but a value passed down from generation to generation. Where roles were shaped not by chance or surname, but by competence, commitment, and vision. One of the most distinctive examples of this path is MATPOL.
📅 The Founding Years: Recognizing Opportunity in the 1990s
To understand where this success came from, we need to go back to the early 1990s — a turning point marked by change and new opportunities. It was then that Roman Sagan, initially with his brother and shortly thereafter on his own, recognized something many had not yet seen: the growing market demand for construction glass products.
📌 In 1994, Roman Sagan founded MATPOL. In the same year, his son Mateusz was born — a symbolic beginning of a new chapter for both the family and the company.
As in many entrepreneurial stories of the 1990s, everything started modestly: a small workshop, the first machines, and a great deal of manual work. The market had to be learned step by step. Initially, MATPOL focused on broadly defined glass processing. The offer soon expanded to include manual glazing of old windows using glazing putty — a solution typical of the era and now a symbol of the industry's beginnings.
With the arrival of the 21st century, a clear shift toward industrial production of insulating glass units began. This direction gained importance year by year, becoming the dominant area of activity by 2004.
📈 Steady, Strategic Growth: Building a Lasting Foundation
From the very beginning, development followed its own rhythm — calm, deliberate, and consistent. No sudden moves, no random decisions. Alongside insulating glass units, glass processing remained an important part of the business, and the portfolio was systematically expanded to include both commercial glazing and glass components for window joinery.
Each step was a logical continuation of the previous one. In 2022, the production plant underwent a major transformation, relocating to a new, significantly larger facility in Skawina, near Kraków — marking another critical stage of development and strengthening the company's technological foundation.
📌 The relocation was not merely a change of address. It was a clear signal of entering a new phase — more organized and technologically advanced — where technology serves the logic of the process, not the other way around.
⚙️ HEGLA Partnership: Building an Automated Future
In 2022, the first HEGLA solutions were implemented at MATPOL. From the outset, the approach was broader than a single investment. The goal was to build a system that could be developed in stages, flexibly adapting to growing needs. This is how the concept of an automatic glass storage system and new cutting lines was born — designed not only for current production, but above all with the future in mind.
Currently, the delivered portal storage system supplies three cutting lines, creating a cohesive and efficient logistics setup. When the time came, the system was complemented with automatic KPL shuttle racks. The result: more types of glass can now be stored within the same warehouse space — without compromising ergonomics or material accessibility.
🔧 ProLam 60: Cutting Laminated Glass at a European Scale
A key element of the entire configuration is the ProLam 60 line. With its six-meter bridge width, it enables the automatic cutting of laminated glass in formats that are still rare in Europe. This solution not only increases production capabilities but also significantly expands the company's offering.
The line is additionally equipped with an automatic ReMaster cullet storage system, ensuring full control over material inventory. Offcuts are always recorded, accessible, and ready for reuse — the entire process runs automatically, without requiring additional production space or disrupting workflow.
The system is further complemented by the proven OPTIMAX table for monolithic glass — a benchmark solution in its class. Robust, reliable, and ready for intensive use, its full potential has not yet been exhausted. In the future, the line can be expanded with an automatic breaking system and a ReMaster cullet storage system, further increasing automation and material utilization.
🌟 AdvaLam + ProLam with LSR: One of Europe's Best-Configured Lines
As the company's growth accelerated once again, the decision was natural: another investment in advanced laminated glass technology. Today, MATPOL operates one of the best-configured lines of this type in Europe — AdvaLam + ProLam with LSR laser technology, an accumulator, and a cullet storage system.
📌 The absence of an operator on the AdvaLam bridge and the use of LSR technology on the ProLam bridge result in a stable, repeatable process — delivering greater precision, higher efficiency, and production predictability.
This is a fully automated solution that significantly increases efficiency while reducing the number of operators required — key parameters for executing demanding, high-specification projects.
👪 The Next Generation: Szymon Sagan and the Brothers Leading MATPOL Forward
At the head of the company stands Szymon Sagan, one of the founder's four sons. Together with his brothers, he is shaping a new chapter in MATPOL's history. Responsibility within the company has been clearly and competently divided — each of them manages the area in which they have the greatest expertise and experience.
The company's continued development requires courage, consistency, and ongoing trust — both within the family and with its technology partners.
🏆 MATPOL Today: More Than a Machinery Park
Today, MATPOL is more than just a modern machinery park. It is a company where history, technology, and people form a coherent, well-designed system. An enterprise that not only responds to market changes but is capable of anticipating them — without losing its foundations.
📌 MATPOL stands as a powerful example of a company that builds the strength of the Polish glass processing industry — and we are proud to be part of this story.