Ing. Kateřina Kupková is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Lenzing Biocel Paskov. She has held several managerial positions in the company. She manages the plant, known for its environmentally friendly production of a material called pulp. According to Kateřina Kupková, the pandemic has opened up new opportunities for the company in logistics.
For 28 years, the Manager of the Year competition has sought out and rewarded the best managerial personalities, entrepreneurs and leaders in the Czech Republic. This year, for the second time in history, the absolute winner is a woman. The National Committee awarded the highest rating to Kateřina Kupková, General Director of the Lenzing Biocel Paskov pulp mill.
Lenzing Biocel Paskov a.s. is a company with a long tradition. How is this tradition reflected in your visions and priorities?
Our company’s history dates back to 1983 when we produced the fi rst ton of pulp in our plant. During that time, our company has gone through various stages. Employees and managers have worked under diff erent political and economic conditions. I would like to mention that we have been using very modern technology for production since the beginning of our operation. We have been directing our production mainly to foreign markets for a long time and comparing ourselves with advanced competitors. I am sure that our company is perceived above all as strong, modern, innovative and responsible towards its employees and its surroundings. All this is refl ected in our strategy and the priorities we apply.
At the beginning of your production process is the wood, which you then use and value. How do you work with this natural raw material?
For the production of viscose pulp, we use spruce fibre and spruce wood that can no longer be processed in sawmills. This means that we mainly process low-quality wood. And this is very important because we recover raw material that responsible forest managers would have had to remove from the forest anyway, for example, because of a bark beetle catastrophe or necessary forest clearing. In addition, we process so-called certified timber, which ensures that we only buy from sustainably managed forests.
Your main product is pulp. Can you explain its practical use?
We produce viscose pulp in our plant. This is used for processing in the Lenzing Group’s plants and is used to make viscose fibre for the textile industry and the nonwovens industry, such as healthcare and hygiene. The fibre produced in Lenzing is considered to be one of the best viscose fi bres in the world. Lenzing’s fl agship fibres are the TENCEL™ and VEOCEL™ branded fi bres due to their unique quality parameters. Our fi bres are soft, pleasant to the touch, and yet strong enough. Their distinct advantage is their highly environmentally friendly production process.
Many companies perceive the Green Deal as a threat. What does it mean for you?
The Green Deal is by no means a threat for us. At Lenzing, we are committed to permanently increasing the environmental value chain. We are aware that the textile industry must change and move towards a circular economy. In line with the many EU directives and the “Green Deal”, we at Lenzing are investing heavily in innovation and in rebuilding our production sites worldwide. The Group’s goal is to achieve zero carbon emissions.
You manage a Czech company with a tradition which is part of a multinational corporation. What managerial goals and challenges do you set yourself?
The business environment is still very turbulent. The COVID-19 epidemic and the current developments in the global markets create very uncertain operating conditions for all companies. These are the daily challenges we now face. I think we have to adapt to these very rapid changes and unexpected phenomena and get used to running our businesses in them. My main goal is that our company continues to be as successful as it has been. We continue to grow our business and invest in the latest technology. It is also imperative that our company is an attractive employer because qualified employees are the cornerstone of our success.
Thank you for the interview.
