Science and style in children’s shoes Ivančica

Kazimieruk Mechanical Plants

Kazimieruk Mechanical Plants is a quality tool shop providing comprehensive machining services. What has made us stand out for years is solid and precise workmanship. We use only high-quality materials with certificates of origin. We process almost any machineable material. Our machinery enables us to manufacture a wide range of products.

Our services include: • precise mechanical processing in CNC centers: turning, milling, grinding, EDM • support of experienced design engineers and process engineers with: - implementation of new products - upgrades and improvements ending with the preparation of new tools and modification of machines - selection of optimum materials for specified operating conditions • inspection of finished parts.

For many years we are trusted supplier for world leaders in following industries: - tobacco - pharmaceutical and cosmetic - automotive - machinery - food.

WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE. WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE A GOOD OFFER FOR YOU.

CLIP Logistics Centre in Swarzędz expands its Container Terminal

CLIP Logistics Centre in Swarzędz plans to expand its portfolio of industrial warehouses to include new extended Multimodal Container Terminal. The currently running terminal is capable of annual handling of 10 000 TEU. Its storage capacity is of 1000 TEU. The terminal is equipped with two 750-meter long unloading tracks. The CLIP terminal supports daily rail service between Swarzędz CLIP Terminal and Port of Rotterdam, which is run in cooperation with ERS Railways. The intermodal train is able to carry 1,100 tons of cargo and is equipped with railway carriages for the transport of containers of all sizes, including high cube, and intermodal trailers, including mega trailers.

By 2014, CLIP plans to open a new, expanded container terminal with annual capability of 150 000 TEU, with two 750-meter long unloading tracks that allow handling of two trains at the same time. The terminal will be directly connected to the E20 railway road, and through the new flyover will have a more convenient direct entry to the E92 national road, the S5 expressway and the A2 Motorway. Also in 2014 CLIP will open a depot for empty containers with the capacity to store 3000 TEU. In the years 2014-2015 production and storage facilities with additional 70,000 m2 of floor area are planned to be constructed.

CLIP Logistics Sp. z o.o. 62-020 Swarzędz-Jasin ul. Rabowicka 6 Tel: +48 61 897 53 30 Fax: +48 61 818 13 89

CLIP Group

CLIP Group is Polish logistics group, which for four years has supported Imperial Tobacco. CLIP Group operates a logistics warehouse and industrial area of 200 000m2 in Swarzędz near Poznan, and 100 ha of investment areas.

The CLIP facilities include A Class warehouses, railway sidings and container terminal with a capacity of 1,000 TEU. Each day, the terminal supports direct rail service between Swarzędz and Port of Rotterdam. In 2014, there are new intermodal connections: Swarzedz - Gdańsk/ Gdynia and Swarzedz- Szczecin planned to be opened. CLIP facilities are situated right by the trans-European E20 Paris – Beijing railway corridor and near the A2 Berlin – Warsaw motorway and S5 expressway.

Find out more at: www.clip-group.com

of a black market has resulted in a significant decrease in sales of legal cigarettes and tobacco. From January to May 2013, legal cigarette sales fell by more than 11 per cent. The illegal market for smoking tobacco accounts for about 70 per cent of sales.

In September 2010, Imperial Tobacco Group entered into a cooperation with the European anti-fraud agency OLAF and the member states of the European Union, aimed at combating the illicit trade in tobacco products. The company has held professional training sessions for customs and police officers, during which it presents the latest data on the scale and sources of smuggling tobacco products to Poland, as well as showing the best ways to distinguish legal products from illegal. Since 2003, it has organised more than 20 such courses.

In 2012, the third edition of the web campaign ‘Stop Counterfeit Tobacco’ was held. This campaign is based on warning banners posted on agricultural websites against buying counterfeit ITPL tobacco brands. In August this year, the company launched a social and information action to warn consumers against buying illegal tobacco. The packaging of Imperial Tobacco tubes included an assortment of labels warning of the dangers and consequences of buying and trading illegal tobacco.

Maintaining good results

Despite the difficult market situation caused by a large increase in the excise tax on tobacco products as well as the black market, Imperial Tobacco Polska is doing well. Profits for the year 2012 (from October 2011 to the end of September 2012) amounted to about PLN 90 million (€23 million), and net sales amounted to approximately PLN 5.8 billion (€1.4 billion).

According to estimates for the financial year 2013 (from October 2012 to the end of September 2013) exports of cigarettes cover about 70 per cent of total sales. Cigarettes manufactured in Jankowice are offered throughout Europe as well as in Taiwan and China, but Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia are the company’s main foreign markets.

Draft of the ‘tobacco directive’

Imperial Tobacco Polska is opposed to the solutions proposed in changes to the Directive 2001/37/EC launched by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. Based on the provisions of the EU Treaties, the company says that the EU authorities do not have the legal backing to implement many of the proposed changes, since the individual EU member states are best placed to decide on the health of their citizens.

In the company’s opinion, many of the proposed solutions, such as banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and slim cigarettes, a ban on a variety of formats, packages and other components of the product, create obstacles for the internal market by eliminating the differences between rival products, which is a restriction of competition and may result in the inflow of products from the black market.

Currently, 38 per cent of cigarettes consumed in Poland are ‘menthols’ and ‘slim’ cigarettes. As a result of the Commission’s proposals, the production of these cigarettes will be discontinued. The new regulation clearly brings benefits to the illegal production and smuggling of cigarettes from countries outside the European Union. It is expensive for Poland, since the country has one of the longest borders in the EU, making it more vulnerable to smuggling.

Poland is the second biggest producer of raw tobacco in the EU. The possible introduction of the ‘tobacco directive’ would severely affect the situation of tobacco growers. According to estimates by associations of tobacco growers in Poland, about 60,000 people are employed in the cultivation of tobacco, mainly in areas with unfavourable structural characteristics of farms and the local labour market.

In many regions where tobacco factories are located, the official unemployment rate is more than 15 per cent. The estimates by the Adam Smith Centre show that the proposed regulations may bring about unemployment for at least 30,000 people and the state budget costs associated with the payment of six months of unemployment benefits amount to about PLN 137 million (approx. €34 million). According to the Adam Smith Centre report, implementation of the Directive may result in annual loss of revenues from CIT and PIT estimated at PLN 50 million (€13 million). n

www.imperial-tobacco.pl

SCIENCE AND STYLE IN CHILDREN’S SHOES

Apart from understanding the main fashion trends, the key to success in the footwear industry is to employ the latest scientific research to create good-looking and healthy footwear. Croatian company Ivančica d.d. produces innovative and high-quality children’s footwear that is in tune with aesthetic functionality. Vanja Švačko reports.

Located in the northern Croatian city of Ivanec, Ivancica was founded in 1946 as a small shoemaker. It started with the production of miners’ shoes, only to be transformed later into a children’s footwear company. A dedication to excellence has enabled the company to place itself amongst the renowned manufacturers in the field.

Today Ivančica employs around 1000 people, most of whom have been part of the team for more than 15 years. The Group has four production facilities, which produce about 5000 pairs of footwear daily and more than 200 models per season. The majority of the workers are employed in two plants in Croatia, while the rest of them work in the factory which Ivančica owns in Bosnia Herzegovina. At the end of March this year the company became the majority owner of Bambi d.o.o.

Scientifically backed up brands

Ivančica markets two main brands, Froddo and Bambi, of footwear for children from birth to age 12. Since shoemaking for small children requires the highest standards when it comes to quality, functionality, comfort and design, the expert team first decides upon the best materials such as leather that take care for healthy feet.

Its sensitive care for its customers is the key point that makes Ivančica stands out among competitors in the region. Before production starts, the company engages in scientific research. The Froddo production line is a result of collaboration with specialists involved in research in the field of paediatric orthopaedics (Anthropometric measurements of children’s feet), led by Prof. Dr Vrdoljak (MD). In 2009, Froddo was awarded superbrand status.

The Bambi brand provides shoes that are made from the finest natural materials. They are approved by orthopaedists and come with certificates that guarantee safety and proper development of children’s feet. The shoes combine comfort and quality, following the imaginative blueprint delivered by the team of Croatian and Italian designers. All details such as pliability and flexibility of the sole, the insole which supports the foot arch etc. offer maximum mobility and comfort. These qualities are in tune with the most important requirement that the shoe has to adapt to the foot, not the other way around.

In addition, both brands are produced in compliance with high manufacturing standards, reflected in rational use of natural resources and care for the environment.

For all these reasons the company’s products have become recognised outside Croatia. During an overseas trip Pauly Tong, owner and managing director of the company Kids New Shoes, fell in love with the Froddo brand of children’s shoes because of their high quality and imaginative design. She decided to import them to the UK and Ireland. Since 2007, she has been developing sales to a large group of independent shoe retailers from her base in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The brand continues to grow in strength, recently introducing a brand new range of girls’ school shoes and she