The industry is hoping to bounce back after the big hit. According to analysts, the PMI for the Polish industrial sector in 2023 remained at 46.2 points. In the 26 years since the start of this study, a worse outcome has been recorded only twice: in 2001 and 2009.
Things will get better now. In a recent report, the Polish Economic Institute indicated that Poland can count on an economic recovery this year of 0.3%. In 2023, the year that started with 2.3% should end. growth.
Businessmen believe that this will translate into investments. — The new year will include the launch of funds from Cohesion Funds and KPO, something many companies have been waiting for. Inadequate budgets are the main reason for the lack of investments, especially in research, development and innovation, without which it would be impossible to build greater competitiveness. The injection of funds will certainly spur the industry into action and allow it to recover after the disruptions associated with the pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine – admits Maciej Zielinski, President of Siemens Polska.
Reflection in household appliances and clothing
The companies we interviewed stress that 2024 should be the light at the end of the tunnel. The home appliance industry – one of the leading branches of Polish industry – has had another difficult year. — Last year, we noticed a decline in demand for durable goods across Europe. However, we are convinced that in the long term, the home appliance market will continue to grow steadily – emphasizes Daniel Gosczynski, Public Relations Director at BSH, a company with six factories that produce home appliances.
— BSH invests approximately PLN 500 million in Poland annually. This year too, the value of all our investments will reach a similar level. It will mainly relate to the development of six factories in which we produce large and small household appliances. Their goal will be to increase the production capacity of factories, introduce new models of devices into production, as well as improve the safety and comfort of employees. We offer our factories, among other things: more and more solutions in the field of Industry 4.0. We also invest in research and development. In Rzeszow, for example, we are building a new headquarters for the R&D center for small household appliances – He explains.
LPP, the Polish clothing giant, enters the new year in a similar mood. The company has just boasted that it has just launched its first foreign distribution center in Romania. The new complex aims to serve 450 showrooms simultaneously and ship up to 6 million pieces of products weekly to the Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian and Greek markets.
This year, LPP is focusing on new business projects. — Social programs planned for this year in Poland may contribute to increased customer shopping interest, and lower costs for renting commercial space than a few years ago will support the strengthening of the established network – says Przemyslaw Lutkiewicz, Vice President of the company. LPP Board of Directors. The company will allocate PLN 1.2 billion out of PLN 1.3 billion allocated for investments for the construction of new stores.
The struggle for greenness continues
The steel industry is also counting on recovery. – Recent years have shown that completely unpredictable phenomena, such as epidemics or geopolitical events, can quickly disrupt the market situation – admits Sanjay Samadhar, President of ArcelorMittal Poland.
Last year cannot be considered a completely successful year – the company did not avoid a forced stop in production. – This is the year of difficult business decisions. The severe closure of the coke plant in Krakow, which was caused primarily by falling demand, but also by the unprecedented ratio of coke price to coke price, was one of the most difficult decisions we had to make in the last 12 months – adds the President.
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But at the same time, he points out that it was a year full of huge investments. – We modernized the blast furnace No. 2 in Dąbrowa Górnicza for a huge amount of PLN 720 million, carried out work on the continuous casting line for steel, modernized the pickling plant in Kraków and the heat and power plant in Zdzieszowice – he describes.
ArcelorMittal isn't the only big company spending big in the industry. This year, the Cognor Group, which produces semi-finished metal products, wants to complete the construction of a rolling mill in Siemianowice Śląskie worth PLN 800 million. It is also modernizing the rolling mill in Krakow – the investment amount is PLN 200 million.
For heavy industry, 2024 will also mean further fighting against time to reduce CO2 emissions as quickly as possible. A good example confirming this hypothesis is Lafarge, one of the largest cement producers in Poland, which this year is investing in the Małogoszcz cement plant worth PLN 1 billion.
— The modernization will make it possible to increase the technical efficiency of the plant and reduce the impact on the environment by reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 20% and reducing energy consumption by ⅓ — explains Mateusz Piotrowski, Director of Communications and External Relations at Lafarge in Poland.
In addition, the company wants to get into electric mobility. – We have started investing in green mobility and will soon conduct the first tests of electric cement trucks and electric concrete mixers that will run along the road. In principle, we want transportation to the identified investment areas in the city to be completely electric – adds the director.
Good times for drug manufacturers
Polish pharmaceutical giants plan to spend a fortune on investments this year. Polpharma has invested approximately PLN 250 million in fixed assets (CAPEX) and approximately PLN 200 million in R&D work. In 2024, with similar amounts allocated to R&D, the capital expenditure budget will rise to PLN 350 million. This is linked to the final stage of investment in the field of active ingredients (API).
Adamed will spend approximately PLN 1 billion on investments in Poland by 2025. – We continue to expand the production and logistics center in Babianice and laboratories and research facilities in Kagitany – informed Katarzyna Dubno, Director of External Relations, ESG and Health Economics, Adamed Pharma SA
— The industry is facing a period of favorable conditions in terms of the possibility of increased sales resulting from demand factors – including: due to the aging of the population, as well as the development of the product portfolio, especially as a result of the end of the monopoly of many biological medicines – explains the situation in the industry Krzysztof Kubis, President of the Polish Association For employers in the pharmaceutical industry.
Author: Grzegorz Kowalczyk, journalist at Business Insider Polska
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