Continuing the implementation of our Strategic Management Plan announced in November 2010, Pilkington announced plans to expand and upgrade the Group’s Automotive operations in Poland.
The new investment involves the construction of a new plant at Chmielow, located in a Special Economic Zone, 30 km south of our existing facilities at Sandomierz. The new plant will be dedicated to the production of windscreens, sidelight and backlights for cars and trucks.
The investment is intended both to expand our overall capacity in laminated and toughened parts and to enhance our capability to meet increasing demand for value-added products.
The first phase of the investment will increase the Group’s automotive windscreen capacity in Poland by 1.7 million pieces a year, along with a significant expansion for delivering additional value-added products. A second phase addition of a toughening line will add further capacity for the manufacture of 4 to 5 million back and side lights annually.
The new tertiary operations lines are due to come on stream in mid-2011, with secondary operations lines being commissioned from mid 2012 through to 2013.
The Group’s financial investment will be at the level of JPY10 billion (equivalent to 350 million zloty or Euro 88 million). The investment is to be supported by Polish government and European Union funding. Around 400 new jobs, plus those in outsourced services, will have been created by the time all operations begin production.
Poland is an important market and operational centre for us, in which we have been present since 1993. We operate in the Automotive OE, Automotive Aftermarket (AGR) and Building Products markets in Poland, currently employing around 1,800 people on 11 sites throughout the country. This important new investment in Automotive is intended both to expand our overall capacity in laminated and toughened parts and to enhance our capability to meet increasing demand for value-added products in the Automotive glazing sector.
Craig Naylor
President & CEO
