Employee Spotlight: Pawel Pokrzywinski

At Schades Group we pride ourselves on the level of expertise we have across our team, and across Europe. Each team member brings a high-level of knowledge and understanding from across the paper rolls and labels industry.

The newest member of the team at Schades Group, Pawel Pokrzywinski, joined us as Managing Director (MD) of Schades Group in Poland at Omeko and the Group’s Chief Sales Officer (CSO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in April 2025.

In this spotlight, we sat down with Pawel and discussed his background in the wider paper industry, his day-to-day role at Schades Group and how the industry is changing.

I’ve been in the paper industry since the early-2000s, rising through the ranks at Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Europe GmbH, before joining Schades Group in April 2025.

My background is in paper mills and a speciality paper focus. Altogether I have around 20 years’ experience in the industry, which is a very long time! But the industry is so interesting with how it is changing with the need to diversify into other product areas to meet the challenges of the day.

I joined Schades Group for a new challenge. I had been in my previous role at Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Europe GmbH for many years climbing many steps on career ladder and wanted to grow my skills within a slightly different market and different position. Plus, I was familiar with the strong reputation of Schades Group within the European paper rolls and labels industry and knew it was a company with values that aligned with my own.

My main role as MD at Omeko is to grow the south-east and eastern Europe market share which we operate in.

As CSO and CMO of Schades Group my main role is to increase the sales and profitability of our business and oversee the ongoing transition from focusing on cash register rolls to labels products. We need to diversify to compete and remain the top paper rolls supplier in Europe – and for most of our current clients this will complement the products we already supply to them.

At the moment, it’s still fairly early days in my role, so I’m still getting to know how Schades Group works and get to know all the other MDs and the entire sales team of the Schades Group. I’m currently in the process of visiting each of the different locations to see how they work in person and discuss the needs of each member of the Group, so that we can align the sales and marketing strategies for the entire Group.

At Omeko, I’m very fortunate to have joined a strong team, with a great work ethic (much like the wider Schades Group team) and I’m working closely with my Sales Managers to thoroughly understand our clients and how Omeko operates in the Polish POS rolls and labels market.  

We have a very varied roster of clients. This can range from European-wide retailers, local (nationwide) supermarket chains, logistic companies, wholesalers, fast food restaurants, paper distributors and many more.

Each of these clients might buy their labels or paper rolls, or a combination of both products from us, but I like the variety and the different needs of each client. It keeps the role varied and tests my knowledge and understanding of paper rolls and labels products, even after 20 years in the industry!

Well, cash register rolls have a limited lifespan within the industry, as the preference for digital receipts increases. Schades Group is the number one provider in Europe of these rolls so we know we will likely be the last man standing. We need to focus on consolidating our competitors, as smaller companies will likely struggle to adapt their practices to focus on alternative products, like labels and any kind of tickets.

Fortunately, at Schades Group, we have seen this coming a long time ago and started early enough to offer an increased number of labels products.

The industry is currently facing the same global geo-political challenges as other industries, especially when it comes to energy costs.

The paper industry uses a high amount of energy throughout the process, whether that’s creating the raw products or paper rolls. The industry is having to go through to de-industrialisation process to adapt our operations to use less energy so we can keep our costs at a sustainable rate.

Although, something that is usually unnoticed is that digital solutions also use high levels of energy in their processes. Instead, the focus seems to be directed at the paper industry, when we are not the only high energy usage industry in the market. 

I used to be a professional chess player. I represented the Polish junior national team until I was 15 years old. This marked the beginning of my journey in developing logical, critical, and strategic thinking skills. Over the years, these skills have significantly improved and are now integral to my daily role at Schades Group. I particularly rely on them when making decisions and formulating strategies for both Omeko and the broader Schades Group.

I also enjoy cycling, running and swimming on an evening to stay fit and healthy too.

Want to know more about how Schades Group can support your business? Contact us today