About us

We are a family investment company with more than 45 years’ worth of experience.

We have successfully completed more than 40 takeovers and integration processes. Using these experiences we have established our TDJ Business Excellence expert teams which allow us to share knowledge with our Partners and to supplement their competencies in a range of areas. We strive together to perfect processes in search of strategic solutions designed to influence sustainable development and increase the value of our portfolio companies.

We currently focus our investments on five unique areas:

The Founder

TDJ is a company built on the vision and unwavering determination of Jacek Domogala. It is now hard to imagine that in 1977, when he started his first venture, Poland was still a communist country. The economy was far from market-driven, and setting up and running a company was an act of courage, not only business-wise, but also personal. The qualities that made Jacek stand out were his determination and diligence combined with exceptional entrepreneurship and intuition. These qualities together with his commitment and constant support from his family ensured that the company flourished, breaking records year after year.

The founder’s experience and business sense gave the company an edge, especially in the new, free-market world after 1989. Innate business intuition of Jacek guided him to set up newer and newer companies in industries such as horticulture, automotive sheet metal production, footwear or food and logistics. In 2002, he invested in the industrial sector and from that moment on focused all his efforts and capital on building the Famur Group, a manufacturer of mining machinery. In 2010, he handed over the company to his son, Tomasz.

“Dad did not focus on one company, but responded to what the market offered with readiness becoming involved in a wide range of businesses.”

Tomasz Domogała,Chairman of the Supervisory Board at TDJ

Succession at an early age

2010 marked an important point in the company’s history. It was the “year of succession”, in which Tomasz Domogała, Jacek’s son, took over the steers of the family company. He decided not only to continue building the industrial Famur Group, which had been handed over to him, but also to draw on his father’s entrepreneurial history by investing in various sectors. This father and son collaboration made possible the birth of today’s TDJ, a diversified investment company based on entrepreneurship and the strength of family values.

In the year of the company takeover, Thomas was only 25 years old. This accelerated succession was due to health problems that the doyen of the company was facing at the time. Taking over the responsibility for the family business at such a young age was only possible because of the many years of preparation, during which Jacek Domogała taught his son entrepreneurship, responsibility and respect for work.

From his earliest years, Tomasz gained practical experience and was systematically introduced to the business world, participating year after year, alongside his father, in increasingly serious aspects of the company. This rapid succession however, did not prevent Tomasz from studying at universities in the UK and US. He began his adventure in the family business already – among other titles – as a graduate of an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. With this solid foundation, a fresh approach and the support of his father, Tomasz is successfully continuing the company’s mission.

The history of TDJ

1977–1990

TDJ – BEGINNINGS

The history of TDJ goes back to the difficult for private enterprises times of the 1970s when in 1977 brothers Jacek and Michał Domogała set up their first business – the cultivation of asparagus and gillyflowers. In the following years, guided by their intuition, ingenuity and insights into the market, they changed their business profile by successively investing in an automotive sheet compressor, a shoe factory, and then in the production of ready meals.

1977

Beginning of horticulture – cultivation of asparagus and gillyflowers

1983

Establishment of one of the first Polish private automotive companies – a press shop producing car body elements under the name “Wytwórnia Części Zamiennych i Akcesoriów” in Orzesze

1988

Launch of the BRADO shoe company, hiring 600 people

1990

Establishment of the Aardo company, that produces pâtés and ready meals

1991–2001

TDJ – REGIONAL FAMILY OWNED COMPANY

In 1991 AB Consulting the nucleus of TDJ’s activity was established – AB Consulting. It dealt with investments, creation of new companies, support of enterprises and acquisitions of other companies. Jacek Domogała managed it independently. Amidst the changing reality in Poland, the company was developing very dynamically, with the scale of logistics and cooling activities leading to negotiations of the purchase of Hortex – at time the leader of the market.

1991

Division of businesses between the two brothers, food industry (Jacek) and footwear (Michał)

AB Consulting is created (future TDJ)

1993

Near Orzesze, a meat production plant is established

1995

Purchase of poultry plants in Leszczyny and Tomice and production and trade operations under the brand Brado-2

1997

Purchase of cold stores in Leszczyny, Chrzanów, Toszek, Będzin, Tychy, Opole and Olsztyn

2000

Purchase of 500 ha of agricultural land in Wieszowa. Acquisition of “Warmińskie Zakłady Przetwórstwa Owocowo Warzywnego” in Kwidzyn

2001

Purchase of the Chemicals Trade Company “Chemia Wrocław”

2002–2009

TDJ – SILESIAN INDUSTRIAL HOLDING

In 2002, Jacek Domogała bought the FAMUR Machine Factory which at the time was on the verge of bankruptcy. After paying off millions of debts and carrying out the necessary restructuring processes within a few years, he managed to create the first company on the Polish market that besides individual machines or devices also offered comprehensive solutions for the mining industry. Further development was facilitated thanks to the 300 million PLN raised in FAMUR’s IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2006.

2002

Purchase of FAMUR Machinery Factory

2004

Purchase of Zamet Budowa Maszyn, a company producing machines and equipment for the steel, metallurgy and food industries

Purchase of the mechanical department of Huta Zygmunt in Bytom, a recognized brand on the world market for forging equipment

2005

Acquisition of FAZOS and the creation of the first company in Poland offering a comprehensive solution for mining

2005-2008

Exit from the food and logistics industries

2006

Famur Group debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Purchase of PIOMA Machine Factory, one of the world’s largest producers of mining machinery and equipment, specializing in continuous transport and reloading systems as well as material and people transport

2007

Purchase of the Śrem Iron Foundry, a manufacturer of cast iron castings weighing from 0.5 kilogram to 30 tonnes and commencement of the construction of the Polish Foundry Group

2010–2017

TDJ – A FAMILY INVESTMENT COMPANY

In 2010, Jacek’s son Tomasz Domogała took over the reins of the company. He began transforming TDJ towards becoming a family company that invests in various types of assets. A year later, TDJ Estate was founded to expand the company’s operations in the real estate sector. Other development areas are also being created at this time: Equity, Venture, Estate, Finance and Foundation.

2011

The new FAMUR-2 plant is put into service

Purchase of Glinik Machinery Factory – a company focused on the design and manufacture of machinery and equipment for the industry, mainly mining. Producer of mechanized mining housings and systems for hauling spoil from the wall

Establishment of TDJ Estate

TDJ Estate deals with real estate investment, mainly in office and residential real estate as well as industrial, commercial, agricultural and land development.

Payment of dividend in the form of company shares.

The first dividend in the history of the Polish stock exchange in the form of company shares – Famur S.A. pays a dividend in the form of shares of Polska Grupa Odlewnicza and Zamet Industry

2012

Establishment of the TDJ Foundation, through which the company shares its success by investing in the knowledge and human potential of the younger generation. The Foundation, through its programmes, focuses on furthering the educational and the personal development of children and youth, equalizing opportunities by providing them with access to the best educational practices

2013

Purchase of Mostostal Chojnice, a company providing services mainly in the field of steel structures for bridges and viaducts, as well as in the industrial and infrastructure construction sectors

2014

TDJ Estate builds its first housing estate. Within the Osiedle Franciszkańskie housing estate, 1,300 apartments are built in Katowice

The purchase of FAMAK, a manufacturer of devices and systems for continuous transport and for hoisting and crane equipment. Leader in the design and implementation of equipment for carburization systems in Poland

2015

TDJ is joined by FPM, a designer and manufacturer of machines for grinding, crushing and transporting raw materials and furnace devices.

TDJ Venture is created – dealing with investment in startups

2016

TDJ Estate inaugurates the construction of .KTW – a complex of two office buildings located in the center of Katowice, next to “Spodek”

Takeover of Kopex SA by TDJ.

The most important event in the consolidation process of the national mining machinery industry in connection with the FAMUR Group. Already in 2017, TDJ led Famur to purchase a controlling stake of its main domestic competitor – Kopex. Tomasz Domogała strived for this for many years believing that it’s not competition, but cooperation that’s the key to building a truly global company. This was one of the largest acquisitions in the industry sector in Poland. It opened the way for FAMUR Group’s development, as a strong Polish entity capable of implementing large mining and energy projects around the world

2017

PGO purchases shares in Kopex Foundry, creating the largest industrial group in Poland that specializes in the production of castings and forgings.

Sale of 20% of Famur shares by the ABB process and increase of the share capital by 15%. Famur buys Kopex from TDJ

Establishment of TDJ Pitango Ventures, a Polish-Israeli Venture Capital fund that invests in technological startups with global potential.

First investment of TDJ Pitango Ventures. In December, StethoMe -a company developing a smart, AI-powered device for remote lung and heart examination – entered the portfolio of the fund

2018–2022

TDJ – DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO

Since 2018, TDJ has been implementing a five-year business strategy. The aim was to develop our company’s long-term value in five areas: Equity, Venture, Estate, Finance & Foundation. We have worked with determination to become a valued investor responsible for creating considerable added value for our partners. People are the foundation of our activities, which is why we have a clear understanding of the needs of Polish entrepreneurs and our shared experiences.

Our 2018-2022 investment strategy assumed dynamic development in all business areas and further diversification of our activities.

TDJ remains a strategic investor in companies being managed at present.

TDJ Equity remains focused on being open to investing in companies with a scalable business model, high export and consolidation potential, with their own products, operating in automotive, specialized chemicals, cosmetics, logistics, furniture, packaging, recycling, food production and security & control measurement equipment production sectors, as well as companies delivering solutions for the above sectors in the fields of technologies, machinery and IT.

TDJ Venture has invested in technological startups with global potential using the Smart Money formula.

TDJ Estate has expanded operations into new sectors of the real estate market and extended its geographical reach into one or more regions of Poland beyond Silesia.

TDJ Foundation is focused on investing in education, as well as children’s and young people’s development.

2023-2027

NEW STRATEGY – BUILDING VALUE AND CREATING MARKET LEADERS

As part of its new strategy for 2023 and beyond, TDJ aims to at least double the value of its assets and create leaders in its industries. The strategy focuses on three main investment areas related to global megatrends: climate change, digitization and automation of production processes and services, and changing consumer and producer habits. Beyond these three areas, TDJ remains open to a variety of investment opportunities, including opportunistic projects, including restructuring.

It is even more strongly committed to supporting its portfolio companies, creating and developing a unique model for their support – TDJ Business Excellence.