The KATZ Story
The vision and values that lead the Katz Group in its widespread operations, locally and globally, derive from a deep and long-standing legacy intertwined with the spirit of history and the growth of the Israeli manufacturing industries. At the heart of this legacy is the life story of the group’s founder, Mr. Arie Katz.
Arie was born in 1931 in the Czechoslovak town of Khust (today Ukraine), located on the Carpathian ridge. In 1936, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, his parents were taken to labor camps, and he was left all alone in the world.
For 9 years, Arie has escaped between hiding places all across Europe, with continuous life risk and starvation, on a journey that began at the age of 5. Thanks to his ingenuity, determination and courage, the young boy survived the war until its end in 1945, and he is only 14 years old.
In 1947, Arie immigrated to Israel and was enlisted in the Palmach, where he served until 1949 as a combat soldier in the Harel Brigade, under the command of Battalion Commander Yitzhak Rabin. At the end of the War of Independence, he was discharged from his service and began working in various places as a mechanic and metalworker.
Throughout his years as an employee, Arie has dreamed of starting his own company. A company through which he can provide a framework, a livelihood and a hot meal for local workers and new immigrants who have arrived in Israel. Dreamed, and fulfilled.
The Katz Group began its operations in 1978 with the establishment of Katz Arie Stainless Steel, a small contracting company for piping works. At the time of its incorporation, the company was a pioneer in the field of stainless steel piping for the food industry, and soon began working with the leading bodies in the field.
Throughout the years, the company was involved in the construction of the largest and most prominent manufacturing facilities in Israel, from food factories and dairies, through water desalination plants to pharmaceutical plants and R&D institutes.
Over the following decades, the company gradually increased its scope of operations, and positioned itself as a leading, well-known project execution company in the Israeli industrial market.
In the years 2012-2013, in light of its strategy, Katz Arie Stainless Steel has acquired two companies:
A.D. Clean Rooms – specializing in the design and construction of clean rooms and complementary mechanical systems;
P.V. Plast – specializing in the design, manufacture and installation of tailor-made laboratories and complex plastic systems for the R&D industry.
These acquisitions were made in order to complete the company’s transformation from a small-sized execution contractor to a mature design-build-production company, that provides its clients and partners with the most comprehensive solutions under the same roof.
The Katz Group operations were developed and built in light of the very same values and insights that led Arie on his unique life journey, which constitute the cornerstones of its corporate culture and business strategy to this day:
- Empowerment of the human factor – from minimal use of subcontractors and external consultants in order to provide security for organic workers, through deep relationships and personal involvement in their lives, to professional empowerment and frequent training.
- Flexibility – the ability to assimilate new and dynamic working methodologies, professional processes and managerial mechanisms quickly and efficiently, and thus maintaining full compliance with the needs of the market and customers at all times.
- Innovation and Ingenuity – over the years, the Katz Group has gained a significant reputation due to its abilities to provide accurate and comprehensive solutions that meet its customers’ needs, taking their constraints and limitations into account. The principle by which the product has to adapt itself to the customer and not the other way around, leads the group in the production of tailored systems for each project, with a minimum amount of standard shelf products.
Today, more than 40 years since its establishment, the Katz Group stands at the forefront of Israeli industrial activity, as a full partner to the planning, construction and equipping of manufacturing plants and R&D centers.
The Katz Group works at all times with determination and perseverance to fulfill its vision and mission, while adhering to the values that lead its strategy and culture.