Pilkington confirms PLN 350m manufacturing investment in Tarnobrzeg zone

2011-03-11



Pilkington Automotive, the global glass manufacturer, has revealed the details of a PLN 350m (approx. €88m) project to significantly expand its manufacturing operations in Southern Poland, in the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone. The investment will bring 400 new jobs.
The project will be realised in two stages. First, Pilkington will lease and equip three production halls in Machow (Podkarpackie voivodship) with combined area of 5,000 m², which will employ 80 people when production gets underway there in June 2011. Second, the company will erect a 60,000 m² production and warehousing complex in nearby Chmielow, which will start operations next year and will reach full capacity in 2013. The Machow unit will increase the company’s annual production capacity of car windscreens by 1.7 million units, the other will increase its capacity of side and rear windows by 4-5 million. Apart from boosting the overall capacity of laminated and hardened windows, the project will also significantly lift production of value-added products.
The new complex will be located only 30 km away from Pilkington’s factory in Sandomierz (Swietokrzyskie voivodship), whose expansion – an option the company preferred – was abandoned because of flooding concerns. But Sandomierz will remain its operating centre in Poland.
The total value of the project is PLN 450m (€113m), with the remaining PLN 100m (€25m) to be invested by the property developer.