Mo-BRUK: There is no room for boredom in the waste industry

The “Wprost” employer ranking rewards companies that guarantee, above all, stability to their employees. At Mo-BRUK, is this the result of a conscious strategy or are you just lucky with the economic situation?

We operate in segments of the waste market that have not shown any significant growth or decline. The market environment was rather neutral for us. What we do inside the company is crucial. The adopted development strategy and its consistent implementation help us look into the future with optimism. If we see stable revenue growth and the margin at the expected level, we have the potential to increase employment. Of course, we try to be rational in this, because in the era of technology development, we strive to automate and optimize processes to increase efficiency indicators, but at the same time we are creating completely new departments.

Example?

The waste industry is not precisely measured. There are no reports you can buy to find out what’s going on with this specific B2B market. That is why we decided to build a Business Intelligence unit within our organization, the aim of which is to create this knowledge base. This also contributed to an increase in employment.

For a layman, this industry seems doomed to growth, because waste is increasing and the pressure for recycling is growing. You talk about market neutrality.

Waste is always a function of something. We are a company strongly focused on industrial waste, which is a function of industrial production. We can look at the PMI index – whether production volume is increasing or decreasing – and it decreased last year in many sectors. We hear about collective layoffs, plant closures in Poland, and deindustrialization in Germany, which clearly affects the amount of waste generated by industry. About 110 million tons of waste are generated annually in Poland. It’s a lot, but more than half of this market is mining, which has its own rules. Of the remaining pool, 12 million tons are municipal waste, which is growing steadily by 2-3%. annually. We operate in other selected segments of energy and industrial waste. Since this market is characterized by low dynamics, the most important thing is what we do and whether we find development opportunities. The answer is yes, we find them.

In 2025, we grew by double digits in basically all key indicators, which gives us the opportunity to increase employment. Interestingly, we are looking for people from other industries, because there are certain competences missing in the waste market itself.

Does this mean that there is a shortage of experts and that they need to be trained because the technologies are becoming too specific?

It depends on the area. We have decided to expand the scope of waste that the company processes in a waste-free manner. Currently, we operate in four groups: calorific waste for fuel production, hazardous waste for incineration plants, inorganic waste for consolidation and oily waste.

Our idea fixe is to offer our customers the widest possible range of post-processing services so that we do not have to send this waste anywhere else. This year we plan to process approximately 400,000 in this way. tons of waste.

We are growing organically, investing in current plants and modern technologies, as well as through acquisitions. This requires technical knowledge. Although we automate processes – from receiving waste at the gate to loading alternative fuel – production increases are so large that they require additional staff. In the case of incineration plants, very specific knowledge is needed, there are very few such people on the market. That is why we develop staff mainly through internal training. Employees know our installations, which allows us to build competitive advantages, for example in terms of processing costs.

What is the biggest challenge in recruiting new people to this industry?

We encounter an image problem. Environmental awareness in society has increased significantly, but working in waste processing companies is still not as attractive to the younger generation as technology, pharmacy or medicine. That is why we are preparing an employer branding campaign addressed to people from other industries, with several years of experience, who have not yet thought of us as a potential employer. However, my experience shows that once someone gets into this industry, the level of energy and satisfaction is incredible. There is no room for boredom in this job.

It would seem that it is easy to convince a candidate with the mission argument: “You come here, you save the environment, you help the commune remove a dangerous landfill that no one else could cope with.” After all, ESG is important to many people.

This is an area we are working hard on. It’s a bit like the parable about the construction of Notre Dame: one man with a wheelbarrow will say he is carrying stones, the other will say he is building a cathedral. We want our people to feel the latter. Knowing that without our work these hundreds of thousands of tons of waste could end up in forests or rivers creates a completely different attitude and motivation.

You mentioned hazardous waste. Occupational health and safety is probably something more than boring training at your desk?

Occupational health and safety is an everyday occurrence for us. We are experts in removing the so-called ecological bombs. At illegal landfills, a small number of samples are usually taken and tested, and they often do not reflect what we will ultimately find inside due to their scale. This means that our safety rules are at an extremely high level – both for employees and the environment. We use specialized equipment, everything must meet strict standards. We have our own large, accredited laboratory, chemists and technologists who examine waste to know how to safely dispose of it.

In fuel production plants, we have fire protection systems and thermal imaging cameras monitoring the temperature of the piles 24/7. This is something we work with every day. I think our employees feel that the company provides them with the maximum in this regard.

What about non-wage benefits? Today, many companies bid on additional packages – from sports cards to free fruit.

Honestly, we think about it differently. Today, many employers offer medical care or sports cards, and this is no longer a differentiating factor. This does not build a lasting bond with the company. I believe, especially in the case of the younger generation, that satisfaction must also result from the essence of the work itself, from the relationships in the company, from whether we are able to work as a team and whether we have a sense of influence on what is happening in the company. This is of much greater value to the employee than a sports card, because it is the essence of work that he focuses on for eight hours a day, and often thinks about it after returning home.

Can an ordinary employee of a large company feel that he has any real influence?

This process has already started for us. We have changed the work model of the management board, including a wide range of managers in the decision-making processes. We released enormous energy. Now we want to go one level lower – to line workers. If we managed to fully engage all the people we have on board, not only to perform tasks, but also to think together about efficiency and safety, the benefit for the company would be enormous.

Is this really enough to make an employee want to stay in the company?

One of the main reasons for leaving a job is the relationship with the superior. That is why respect for the employee is so important. It’s a prosaic thing, but it has enormous value. If an employee feels respected and sees the meaning of his work, he is less likely to consider other offers. The issue of development is also important. Today we know that on-the-job training is the essence. If we learn something in practice, these skills are permanent, and sometimes they can also be transferred to private life. If an employee feels that he has the opportunity for self-development, it influences how he thinks about us.

You joined Mo-BRUK from international corporations. What advice would you give to someone who is hesitant about abandoning the global logo for a Polish listed company?

It all depends on the person. We are a smaller organization, the decision-making process is shorter, and the impact of an individual employee on the result is much greater. We are looking for proactive people with ideas who want to shape reality. In corporations, processes can be more complex and multi-threaded, and the possibilities of changing centrally created policies are limited. For people who want to take matters into their own hands, our company is a great place. For those who want to be “officials” from-to, we may not be an interesting place because we expect proactivity.

What about automation and AI? Won’t robots take the jobs of those you now train so carefully?

I am a fan of new technologies, but we approach them carefully. I myself encourage our tender team to experiment with AI to make their administrative work easier. However, tenders require incredible precision, mistakes are punishable by loss of the order, so AI can help us, but it will not do it for us.

Despite attempts at automation, we have increased employment in this team because the number of tasks is increasing. I don’t see any risk for employees here. Additionally, we have unique know-how that we do not want to share with public models for fear of data leakage. Common sense is recommended here.

What are the chances that Mo-BRUK will remain in the employers’ ranking in a year’s time?

Our ambition is to take first place. I’m completely serious, although it may take a few years. I believe in the potential of the team I have the pleasure of working with. Even if someone is competing with a super-intelligent person from another company, the sum of the knowledge of a team of several people will always be able to defeat the best opponent. This is the strength of a well-managed company. If we manage to unleash the intellectual potential of our employees, we will climb the rankings. The company’s results and people’s satisfaction should grow linearly, because one drives the other.