The graduate electronics engineer had met his friend in Sweden where he had worked during his time as a student. “At the trade show for promotional products in Stockholm, I met the owner of the Swedish company Quick Button. His company had badge-making machines and blanks for badges on offer. I was very interested in that”, recalls Wojciech Pawlowski, adding, “I went back to Poland and had a new plan for my future. I also wanted to produce badges”. He decided to give up his job at a research centre and devoted himself entirely to a completely new challenge. And it certainly was a big challenge. It all began with 40,00 badges.

“1992 was just three years after the political upheaval in Poland. The advertising market was still in its infancy. I took some samples of my badges and showed them to the organizers of Winter Universiade. The next day I had my first order: 40,000 of my 56 mm badges were ordered. I immediately travelled to Sweden and bought a badge-making machine and blanks”, recalls Wojciech Pawlowski as he looks back on his successful beginnings 25 years ago. “Due to the linguistic similarities and the culture, I initially concentrated on the market in Russia and the Ukraine where I built up a network of sales partners and gradually expanded”.

After beginning in a small apartment with one employee, badge4u has today developed into a major company with 50 employees in a three-building complex on 1,700 square metres. Affordable office and production facilities eventually made it possible to expand to Western Europe. The clever entrepreneur invested in his own digital printing and other production machines. “We are one of the market leaders in the EU-wide badge business”, says a proud Wojciech Pawlowski. However, there is still room to grow: “There is still a lot to do to become the number one.” The successful entrepreneur is well aware that this is only possible with his entire team.

He also clearly expresses this: “My greatest success is the team that works with me. I know every single step in our production process very precisely. I know what my employees have to do and appreciate what they do.” For Wojciech Pawlowski, badge4u is far more than simply a company: “It is like my second home,” he says summing up his bond. The performance of badge4u is quite impressive. 15 million badges are produced each year. In addition, a wide range of other products are also now available. In 2011, badge4u introduced the mobile phone cleaner. “We were the first to launch this product on the EU market,” says Wojciech Pawlowski. Today four million pieces are produced every year. Besides these two main products, badge4u offers magnets, iMagnets (silicone stickers) and mobile phone grips (anti-slip stickers for mobile phones).

For four years, there has also been another key product. “In 2013, we developed and introduced the Cardguard. This is a special case that protects all contactless payment cards in the cheque card format against unauthorized access and data transfer,” says Wojciech Pawlowski as he expands on his product portfolio which also includes the Mobile Card Pocket made of silicone or plastic, which can be attached to the back of a mobile phone. Wojciech Pawlowski sums up the secret of his entrepreneurial success: “The market for advertising gadgets, especially for inexpensive items and give-aways, is quite stable and not prone to turbulences. We produce high-quality products at competitive prices with a short delivery time. In order to be really successful, I must sell a very large number of items. Fortunately, we have been able to do so despite Chinese competitors.

“Success has proved him right, and badge4u has already received a number of exceptional orders, for example the production of badges for the EU referendum in Poland in 2004. “This was not just a business deal for me”, Wojciech Pawlowski proudly remarks, “but a huge opportunity to present badge4u on the entire EU market. Since that time, we are no longer just a Polish partner, but a European partner.” He also attributes his international success to the numerous participations at all major trade shows around the world. For years, Wojciech Pawlowski has been exhibiting with badge4u at the PSI. He also regularly attends other trade shows such as PTE in Milan, European Sourcing Paris, CTCO Lyon, Reklama Polygraf Prague, Trade Only Show Coventry, Hong Kong Gifts & Premium, REX Kiev, COPI’s Sofia and Romexpo Bucharest.