Polish Market No. 12 (251) /2016

Culture

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No. 12 (251) /2016 :: www.polishmarket.com.pl

zbigniew

jakubas

Owner Of Capital GrOup MultiCO spółka z O.O., laureate of the honorary Pearl in the economy category

CEO After Hours

9 /2015  polish market

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G A LV A N I Z E with us!

zghboleslaw.pl Zakłady Górniczo-Hutnicze „Bolesław” S.A. ul. Kolejowa 37 32-332 Bukowno tel. +48 (32) 295 51 00

ONTENT

8. From The President’s Press Office 9. From The Government Information Centre

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY 10. 14TH PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY GALA 18. Honorary Pearls 46. Ranking of the Pearls of the Polish Economy 52.

ZBIGNIEW JAKUBAS, owner of the Multico Capital Group: PEOPLE ARE WORTH AS MUCH AS THEY CAN OFFER TO OTHERS

56. ARKADIUSZ PRZYBYŁ, President of Santander Consumer Bank: POLAND IS ONE OF THE TEN KEY MARKETS

58. ANDRZEJ SZARY, Member of the Board, Marketing Director: ZINC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AT ZGH BOLESŁAW SA

60. KATARZYNA RUTKOWSKA, President of AC SA:

THE DOMESTIC MARKET IS IMPORTANT FOR US

62.

SEBASTIAN ARANA, Managing Director 3M in Poland: 3M SCIENCE CHANGING POLAND FOR 25 YEARS

64. KAROLINA TOKARZ, President of the Board and

(INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital in Warsaw: ONE LIFE IS NOT ENOUGH TO BRING A PROJECT LIKE THIS TO ITS END

72. STANISŁAW TRENCZEK, Director and Associate professor at

the EMAG Institute of Innovative Technologies: IMPLEMENTATIONS ARE THE SALT OF RESEARCH INSTITUTES

ECONOMY 73. PROF. JAN SZMIDT, Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology: WE EDUCATE VERSATILE MINDS

74.

JAN PARYS, Head of the Political Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs: DIRECTION: ASIA

76.

KRZYSZTOF SENGER, Member of the Board of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ): A YEAR MARKED BY REINVESTMENT

78. EWELINA JANCZYLIK-FORYŚ: UNCERTAINTY AND SLOW GROWTH OR ACCELERATION – WHAT AWAITS US IN 2017?

80. 590 CONGRESS - THE BEST BECAUSE IT’S POLISH 82. EWELINA JANCZYLIK-FORYŚ: GOOD YEAR? 86. WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF MEETING ANY CHALLENGES 88.

PROF. MAŁGORZATA ZALESKA, President of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) and Director of the Institute of Banking at SGH: MISSION AND BUSINESS

Managing Director Promag SA: AUTOMATION OF WAREHOUSE AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

89. BUSINESS ANGELS SUPPORT POLISH INNOVATION

66.

90. TOMASZ MODZELEWSKI, President of Paged S.A.:

68. PROF. ANDRZEJ KRÓLAK from the Institute of Mathematics

EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION A REQUIREMENT OF THE TIMES...

PIOTR LISZEK, Vice-President of Petrax Sp. z o.o.: DECISIONS ON BUSINESS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN BY INCOMPETENT PERSONS!

of the Polish Academy of Sciences, member of the consortium which discovered gravitational waves, and winner of an Honorary Pearl in Science: NEW METHOD OF STUDYING THE UNIVERSE

70. PROF. MIROSŁAW ZĄBEK, Founder of the Integrated

Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care (INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital: INNOVATIVE AND UNORTHODOX ADMINISTRATION OF DRUGS

71. PROF. KRZYSZTOF BANKIEWICZ, M.D., Ph.D., Founder of

the Integrated Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care

AND START-UPS

FURNITURE MARKET IS VERY FRAGMENTED

92.

EVENTS 94.

24TH EUROPOWER ENERGY CONFERENCE SOCIETY – ENERGY – ECONOMY

96. 150 YEARS OF “PRZEGLĄD TECHNICZNY” (“TECHNICAL REVIEW”)

FOOD INDUSTRY 98. PAWEŁ KRAJMAS, President of the Polish Ecology Association: POLISH FINE ORGANIC FOOD

110. Maciej Proliński: LAST FRIEND OF ADAM MICKIEWICZ 111. Maciej Proliński: THE CRAZY AND WITTY WORLD OF EDWARD DWURNIK

100. PIOTR BARCZAK, President of P.H. Royal Sp. z o.o.: PATENTS AND CONTINUES TO IMPROVE OUR PRODUCTS

112. JUBILEE EQUESTRIAN GALA AT KLICZKÓW CASTLE

102. Bohdan Juchniewicz: 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF BUILDING THE ORGANIC FOOD SECTOR.

114. NATALIA GOLD - A SELF MADE MAN

JUBILEE OF THE POLISH ECOLOGY ASSOCIATION

104. Restaurateur MARCIN KRĘGLICKI: DELICIOUS PLACES WITH HOSTS! 106. Cultural Monitor

117. ECONOMIC MONITOR

CULTURE

108. KRZYSZTOF OLENDZKI, PhD, Titular Ambassador, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute: REVOLUTIONS NEVER BRING GOOD THINGS

Cover: ZBIGNIEW JAKUBAS, owner of the Multico Capital Group Photos on issue: www.shutterstock.com

Polish Market, a monthly magazine, which has for over 20 years served Poland by promoting its economic accomplishments, successful entrepreneurs and splendid culture, wishes You a happy Holiday Season and a prosperous New Year

12/2016 Publisher: Oficyna Wydawnicza RYNEK POLSKI Sp. z o.o.

(RYNEK POLSKI Publishers Co. Ltd.) President: Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Vice - Presidents: Błażej Grabowski, Grażyna Jaskuła Address: ul. Elektoralna 13, 00-137 Warszawa, Poland Phone (+48 22) 620 31 42, 652 95 77 Fax (+48 22) 620 31 37 E-mail: info@polishmarket.com.pl

Writers/Editors: Maciej Proliński, Jan Sosna, Janusz Korzeń, Jerzy Bojanowicz, Andrzej Kazimierski, Janusz Turakiewicz Translation: Sylwia Wesołowska-Betkier, BusinessClass Contributors: Agnieszka Turakiewicz Graphic design: Godai Studio Agnieszka Charuba, Joanna Wiktoria Grabowska

Editor-in-Chief: Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

Sales: Phone (+48 22) 620 38 34, 654 95 77

Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś redakcja@polishmarket.com.pl Marcin Haber m.haber@polishmarket.com.pl

Marketing Manager: Magdalena Koprowicz m.koprowicz@polishmarket.com.pl

DTP: Godai Studio www.godai.pl Printing: Zakłady Graficzne TAURUS – Roszkowscy Sp. z o. o., www.drukarniataurus.pl Circulation: 8,000 Oficyna Wydawnicza RYNEK POLSKI Sp. z o.o.

Nr KRS 0000080385, Sąd Rejonowy dla m.st.

Warszawy XII Wydział Gospodarczy Kapitał zakładowy 80.000,- zł.

REGON 011915685, NIP 526-11-62-572 Published articles represent the authors’ personal views only. The Editor and Publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for their contents. Unso-licited material will not be returned. The editors reserve the right to edit the material for length and content. The editors accept no responsibility what-soever for the content of advertising material.

Reproduction of any material from this magazine requires prior written permission from the Publisher.

Editorial

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Editor-in-Chief President of Rynek Polski Publishers Co. Ltd.

THE TIMES WE ARE LIVING IN! GLOBAL ANALYSTS HAVE JUMPED ON A CARROUSEL OF PREDICTIONS REGARDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN THE USA. ALTHOUGH THERE HAS BEEN NO GREAT EARTHQUAKE ON THE GLOBAL STOCK MARKETS FOLLOWING DONALD TRUMP’S VICTORY, THE FIRST POST-ELECTION WEEK HAS PROVIDED NOT A SCINTILLA OF NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUTURE ECONOMIC PRIORITIES OF THE WORLD’S NO. 1 SUPERPOWER. Ergo, speculation is rife, as are possible scenarios constructed without any real basis. The most moderate assume that the preelection declarations were only the result of PR research of what the crucial groups of voters would like to hear. Thus, there is no need to take them to heart. The American system of checks and balances should come into play anyway, which means that the executive, legislative and judicial authorities mutually limit one another, and therefore we should not expect any extravagance. However, many experts stress that the Republican president will have the support of both Houses, facilitating the pursuit of his economic strategy. And what might this strategy entail? The most frequently mentioned components include a lowering of taxes to boost economic growth, infrastructure renovation and protectionism, meaning limiting the “too easy” access of the rest of the world to the American market.

I do not want to fantasise and dwell on how such a policy might look like and what would be the consequences for international markets. According to the emerging trend in the so-called emerging markets – and the Polish economy is among them – they face further flight from bonds, depreciation of currencies and stocks. This would be welcomed by our exporters, although importers would be less pleased. Moreover, the costs of foreign debt of the State and businesses would increase. Inflation, in turn, would give more money to the budget thanks to increased tax revenues. Consumers, would also be less happy, unlike the beneficiaries of transfers generated by working abroad. The consequences are diverse and it is difficult to estimate their ultimate effect. Besides, new areas of speculation are bound to be opened soon connected with next year’s wave of elections in Europe – in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

This huge uncertainty regarding future economic conditions is already reflected in the current results. This is confirmed by macroeconomic data for the third quarter of this year in all European Union countries – no economy managed to achieve the forecast rate of growth. The same applies to our country where the GDP in the third quarter increased by just 2.5%. Looking deeper into its components we can see that investments, including investments of enterprises, are down and the main reason is the uncertainty regarding the economy, including international relations.

This is rendered even more significant due to the fact that the condition of the Polish economy depends above all on the overall strengthening of companies operating in Poland and their improving financial standing, professionalism of management and adoption of increasingly expansive development strategies. We can confirm this with fresh information. Recently, on October 28, during the Polish Market Gala held at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, we announced the results of the fourteenth edition of the Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking. Based on studies conducted by academics from the Decisions Support and Analysis Department at the Econometrics Institute of the Warsaw School of Economics, we compile a list of largest Polish businesses which most effectively utilise the available production factors. This analysis quickly dispels many myths and illusions, such as the view that companies that use cheap labour or rely on foreign capital automatically gain competitive advantage. Computer comparative analysis also shows that companies operating in different sectors and branches of the economy are capable of achieving high efficiency.

This is significant because the format of the Polish economy leaves no illusions as to our ability to influence the shape and level of global financial and trade relations. However, we can still determine our fiscal and legal rules offering enterprises stable and safe trading conditions at a time of changing economic situation. In this edition we present elements of the new architecture of State help for business in international relations. They increase the chances of success for Polish entrepreneurs and their foreign partners. This is a win-win situation. But, as we continue to repeat – there are chances, not guarantees.

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We wish our Clients and business Partners a wonderful and cosy Christmas and a Prosperous and Healthy New Year.

President

Photo: A.Hrechorowicz KPRP

A

fter a meeting with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann in Kehrsatz, Switzerland, on November 14 Polish President Andrzej Duda said he had called for closer cooperation between the two countries’ central banks regarding Swiss franc exchange rates.

President Duda stressed the problem of a strong franc affected hundreds of thousands of Polish families.

“I approached the president with a request, a proposal, for relations between the National Bank of Poland and the Swiss National Bank to be tightened, if possible, to make matters concerning credit lines more open so as to cushion the franc exchange rate in case of turbulences on foreign exchange markets,” Andrzej Duda said. He added he hoped the situation would be moving in this direction.

“I can assure you that I will continue to talk about it with the president of the NBP [National Bank of Poland – ed.] regarding, in general, the situation of people who have loans denominated in the franc. I will be talking about it with the head of the KNF [Polish Financial Supervision Authority – ed.],” President Duda said.

“I am convinced further steps can be taken to improve the situation of these people. However, these are not so much legislative steps, but steps to be taken by institutions within the legislative solutions and instruments which the institutions now have at their disposal. The thing is only for them to want to take the measures which are within their powers.”

On November 14 in the afternoon, the presidential couple, in the company of President of the Swiss Confederation Johann Schneider-Ammann, visited CSL Behring, a company using the Swiss dual education system. Under the system, companies cooperate with vocational schools to teach students practical skills.

President Duda saw a presentation about the activity of CSL Behring.

ANNIVERSARY OF POLAND’S BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Photo: K.Sitkowski KPRP

MEETING WITH SWISS PRESIDENT

Andrzej Duda with Thorbjørn Jagland - Secretary General of the Council of Europe

P

resident Andrzej Duda said in Strasbourg on November 16 that for Poland joining the Council of Europe had been a sign of freedom and return to the European cultural sphere, to Western countries, but above of all to democratic and free countries.

The president was in Strasbourg to attend a meeting with the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Deputies marking the 25th anniversary of Poland joining the organization.

Andrzej Duda stressed that freedom had always been dear to Poles’ heart, but this freedom had not always existed in the institutional and legal sense. "After 1989 freedom returned to Poland. The Council of Europe in fact recognized Poland as a free and democratic country after truly general, free and equal, and thus democratic, parliamentary elections were held in Poland,” Andrzej Duda said.

PRESIDENT DUDA’S LETTER TO U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP Your Excellency, I would like to congratulate you on winning the race for the 45th President of the United States, and wish you a very successful term.

The relationship between the Republic of Poland and the United States is the shining example of a strategic partnership based on shared ideas, the core of which is the value of liberty, so dear to Poles, Americans and me personally.

In the last decades not only have we developed a number of initiatives in order to strengthen our ties, including high-level political consultations in the form of Polish-American Strategic Dialogue, but also significantly extended our cooperation in crucial areas, such as security, defense, trade and innovation.

The Polish-American relations have become an important pillar of the European and transatlantic stability. We are particularly pleased that during this year’s NATO Summit in Warsaw the U.S. decided to increase its military presence in Poland, thereby strengthening the Alliance’s Eastern flank. We sincerely hope that your leadership will open new opportunities for our cooperation based on mutual commitment.

On a more personal note, I am grateful that you found time to meet with the Polish community during your presidential campaign. Polish Americans appreciated your positive words about my country as well as the role that Americans of Polish descent played in the history of the United States.

I would like again to congratulate and wish you a fruitful presidency. I look forward to the numerous discussions we will have both in bilateral as well as broader international formats.

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Prime Minister

MEETING OF PRIME MINISTER BEATA SZYDŁO WITH THE PRESIDENT OF SENEGAL

E

conomic co-operation was the main topic of Thursday’s talks between Beata Szydło and president Macky Sall.

Apart from discussing Polish investments in Senegal, the issue of Poland’s candidacy as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the years 2018-2019 was broached during the meeting.

It was the first visit at this level in the history of relations between Poland and Senegal. Senegal is among the priority partners of Poland in the area of development co-operation in Africa.

During the visit of president Macky Sall in Poland agreements were signed concerning political consultations, co-operation between the finance ministries of both countries, ministerial co-operation in agriculture, sport and tourism and an agreement between the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency and APIX-SA.

PRIME MINISTER BEATA SZYDŁO AT THE CHINA – CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE (16+1) SUMMIT IN RIGA

MEETING OF PRIME MINISTER BEATA SZYDŁO WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF CHINA IN RIGA Prime Minister Beata Szydło held talks with Li Keqiangi head of the Chinese government. Issues relating to economic and political co-operation were discussed.

The talks focused on broader economic co-operation, meaning the implementation of specific projects with Chinese partners in the technology, transport and logistics, environment and water management sectors.

Prime Minister Beata Szydło informed her Chinese counterpart of the growth trend in the trade deficit between Poland and China. She asked the head of the Chinese government for a wider access for Polish products to the Chinese market.

"

This summit is a great opportunity for our region,” said the Polish Prime Minister before the commencement of talks at the 16+1 summit on November 5. As pointed out by Prime Minister Beata Szydło, "Poland has high hopes for the development of economic co-operation with China." The head of Polish government said that Poland wanted a broader economic co-operation, such as the implementation of specific projects with the Chinese partners in the technology and transport sector. According to Prime Minister Szydło, participation in the China - Central and Eastern Europe (16 + 1) summit embodies the strategy of Poland's talks with China. She added that her visit to China was also planned for next year.

"We want to build joint transport projects, marine and rail. We are prepared for this, and we will also make such proposals," – said Prime Minister Beata Szydło in the context of the topics covered at the summit. In addition to talks and bilateral meetings, two documents were signed: Riga Guidelines and China–CEEC Riga Declaration. Poland reiterated its declaration on the readiness to establish in Poland the Secretariat for Maritime Affairs of 16+1 in 2017. Prime Minister Beata Szydło also took part in the opening of the Business Forum organized on the occasion of the summit. The summit in Riga was the fifth summit held on the initiative of 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and China.

Co-operation in the areas of trade, direct investment and tourism – these were the main subjects of talks between Prime Minister Beata Szydło and the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković. Among the topics raised was the issue of co-operation in the region, in particular the Adriatic-BalticBlack Sea initiative. The meeting of the Prime Minister Szydło with the Prime Minister Plenković was also an opportunity for addressing the subject of migration and border protection.

MEETING OF PRIME MINISTER BEATA SZYDŁO WITH THE LATVIAN PRIME MINISTER Prime Minister Beata Szydło held talks with the Latvian Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis. The issues discussed included security and co-operation as part of the “Air Policing” mission.

The Prime Minister mentioned the issue of Poles in Latvia and the co-operation between the two countries in the European Union. Prime Minister Szydło in her conversation with the Prime Minister of Latvia expressed interest in the development of infrastructure and transport links in the region and in deepening the co-operation with China and the Eastern Partnership countries in this regard. The meeting between Prime Minister Szydło and Prime Minister Kučinskis was also an opportunity for discussing the topic of migration and border protection and for setting the date of the next meeting, which will take place in Warsaw in the second half of January 2017.

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Photo: P. Tracz KPRM

PRIME MINISTERS SZYDŁO AND PLENKOVIĆ TALK IN RIGA ABOUT POLISHCROATIAN CO-OPERATION

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

14

TH

PEARLS OF THE POLISH

ECONOMY

GALA

20 ANNIVERSARY OF “POLISH MARKET” TH

THE 14TH PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY GALA, ORGANIZED BY THE ENGLISHLANGUAGE ECONOMIC MONTHLY “POLISH MARKET,” WAS HELD IN WARSAW’S ROYAL CASTLE ON OCTOBER 28, 2016. THE EVENT WAS COMBINED WITH THE CELEBRATIONS OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF “POLISH MARKET.” SINCE 1996 THE MAGAZINE HAS PROMOTED IN ITS COLUMNS THE POLISH ECONOMY, SCIENCE AND CULTURE ACROSS THE WORLD. THE SENATE SPEAKER, THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE RECTOR OF THE WARSAW SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS (SGH) WERE THE PATRONS OF THE GALA.

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President of the Republic of Poland Warsaw, October 28, 2016 Participants and Organisers of the 14th Gala of the Pearls of the Polish Economy combined with the 20th anniversary of “Polish Market” magazine held at the Royal Castle in Warsaw Dear Madam, Dear Laureates, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Pearls of the Polish Economy is a ranking which is received with great attention by business communities and our entire world of economy. Thanks to its precise, objective criteria drawn up by experts from the Warsaw School of Economics, the results of this ranking are a valuable source of information. They tell us a lot about the condition of Polish companies and the state of the Polish economy. I am glad that this information is mostly positive.

I wholeheartedly congratulate all the recipients of the Pearls – prestigious awards presented in recognition of economic achievements. There is no economic development without the development of enterprises and successes of individual entrepreneurs. You may be proud of your achievements. Using this auspicious occasion I would like to thank you and all Polish entrepreneurs whose creativity, thriftiness, ambition and perseverance has enabled our country to make such an impressive economic leap forward. I congratulate the recipients of the Honorary Pearls. Thank you for your achievements in science, culture, in propagating patriotic values and building social ties which strengthen the Polish commonwealth and boost our development capabilities.

Words of appreciation must also go to the organisers of the ranking – the Publishing House and the Editors of “Polish Market”, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary. You have been co-participants and co-architects of the successes of the Polish economy almost since the very beginning of the process of building the market economy in Poland. In the pages of “Polish Market” you present all the best things Poland has to offer: its huge economic potential, the energy of Poles, our rich heritage of culture and tradition. We have reasons to be proud of our homeland and attract the attention of others in many positive contexts.

The image of the Republic promoted by you encourages investors and contributes to strengthening our international position.

The Polish economy is enjoying a good run, but we still face many challenges. We are glad that we permanently remain on the path of economic growth, that our exports increase or that Poland has advanced in the “Doing Business 2017” ranking of the World Bank. However, we are aware that we need a deep restructuring of the Polish economic model enabling us to base our competitiveness on innovative solutions and a transfer of knowledge to the economy. Our prosperous future depends on this. We must escape the trap of imitation and dependent development, better utilise our domestic resources, enter international markets with more boldness. I would very much like to see Polish companies of global significance, leaders aspiring to membership in the group of world giants, join the recipients of the Pearls of the Polish Economy in a near future.

I once again congratulate today’s laureates. I wish you further achievements strengthening our economy and Poland’s global position. Please accept my cordial greetings.

POLISH MARKET

Yours respectfully, Andrzej Duda

Dear Madam, The twentieth anniversary of “Polish Market” provides an excellent opportunity for reflecting on the importance and achievements of this extraordinary journal.

The Polish economy, science and culture need promotion, and there is no doubt that “Polish Market” has huge achievements in this respect which are worth stressing.

It would be difficult to overestimate the contribution of the journal’s creators in building a positive image of Poland in the world. Poland has a huge potential and this information should be passed on to foreign investors. This way your magazine, published at a very high editorial level, reaching many institutions and international investors has a special mission to fulfil.

I do not hide that I am glad that the magazine has been active in strengthening the competitiveness of our country in the global markets. Full and reliable information about the Polish economy, the promotion of our achievements, as well as extensive scientific and cultural accomplishments and historical heritage is the starting point in terms of attracting foreign capital.

While wholeheartedly congratulating the Publisher and the Editorial Team on the splendid jubilee I would like you to accept my thanks for the effective pursuing of your highly valuable mission. Awaiting further issues of the magazine, I wish you perseverance and determination in achieving all your plans, and above all, satisfaction from your journalistic successes.

POLISH MARKET

Yours sincerely, Marek Kuchciński

Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz Archbishop, Metropolitan of Kraków Kraków, October 19, 2016 Dear Madam, I was surprised by the decision of the Chapter of the Honorary Pearls. I did not expect to receive such a distinction and this makes me even more grateful for its award. I particularly appreciate the grounds for this decision referring to the propagation of patriotic values and building a positive image of Poland in the world.

Alas, due to previous commitments I am unable to take part in the Gala. This is why I wish to thank you all in this letter for honouring me. I also wish to send my greetings to all those who participate in the Gala and offer my best wishes on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of “Polish Market”. I wish your magazine to continue its fruitful propagation of values which are important in the life of every society.

Yours respectfully, Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz Archbishop, Metropolitan of Kraków

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

A

s usual, President and Editor-in-Chief of “Polish Market” Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek opened the Pearls of the Polish Economy Gala as its host: “I am pleased to welcome all of you, outstanding and esteemed guests, to our annual Pearls Gala - 14th this year.

Welcome to you in this splendid and exceptional place and at such an unusual time as it reportedly happens only once in 823,000 days that there are five Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays in a single month. And we now have such a month. The day is also unusual. It is the name day of Tadeusz and, let me remind you, that Jude Thaddaeus [Tadeusz in Polish – ed.] is the patron saint of lost causes. I have to admit that over these 20 years we sometimes had difficult and very difficult moments. But we managed to cope and made the impossible possible because, as they say, the wind and sails always favour the best sailor. And we succeeded. This is why we can celebrate this great anniversary with you today.

The first issue of the English-language magazine ‘Polish Market’ came out in the autumn 1996, exactly 20 years ago. In the same year, Poland became a member of OECD and the Committee for European Integration was established. It was a time of great change for our country as well as great challenges. We were on the eve of entry into NATO and were getting ready for integration with the European Union. There was tremendous progress taking place before our eyes. We already had mobile phones, computers, the Internet and digital connections with the whole world.

But the world knew very little about us.

I thought then: How can we take advantage of the world which is opening before us? But I also wondered: What can we give to this world? We, Poles, the proud descendants of a great nation with an over 1000-yearlong history. We, descendants of the great rulers whom the world feared on occasions. We, descendants of the great scientists who ‘changed the course of the Sun and Earth’, of artists admired in both hemispheres, and finally descendants of the great heroes who fought ‘for your freedom and

ours.’ Descendants of those who - apart from the words ‘God, Honour, Fatherland’ - also know the words: tolerance, forgiveness and respect for the other man. After all, we were and are a nation who has always been guided by the Christian idea of mercy. Our great compatriot, St. John Paul II, said we ‘have a heritage which has been saved, a heritage called Poland, so we should remember not to cut the roots from which we all grow.’

This is how the idea arose to create a magazine, which would be Polish, native, without foreign capital and foreign influence, independent, a magazine respecting our past, our history, showing achievements of our great ancestors but at the same time presenting contemporary achievements in many spheres, such as economy, science and culture.

We had become precursors of the idea which later, after many years, was called economic patriotism, a term so popular today. We treated this idea of patriotism in a much broader, holistic, way because it is true that the country’s most effective promotion is through its economy, but our country is promoted equally effectively by artists, scientists, athletes and people who have rendered services to promoting social and patriotic values. These are the people we write about and to whom we present awards at our Galas, people who may serve as an example for the present and future generations, and whose achievements are an enormous contribution to promoting brand Poland.

A result of this holistic approach to promoting our country was the participation of ‘Polish Market’ in the most important economic, political, cultural and scientific events. When two years ago, on June 4, the whole of Poland celebrated the 25th anniversary of regaining independence, we organized in conjunction with Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera a concert dedicated to Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a great musician, composer and statesman, an architect of the independent Poland after 1918.

Throughout all these years, without falsifying history or embellishing the reality, we showed in a reliable and scrupulous way the economic and civilizational success of our systemic transition, a success that our EU partners described in this manner: ‘Over the past quarter-century Poles, without moving from their place, changed the geographic location of their country from the outskirts of Europe to its very centre.’

I think they were right.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, During the World Youth Day this year Pope Francis said in one of his homilies: ‘We have come to the world to leave a trace which will fill our history and the history of other people.’ Let me add immodestly that both me and all those who have contributed to our publication for the past 20 years have left such an important trace in this history. Today, from this place, I wish to thank them very warmly. I would like to thank my editors, journalists, photographers, graphic designers, translators, administrative and marketing workers and all those whom it is impossible to mention here. Thank you with all of my heart.

I would also like to thank our today’s honorary patrons and those of the previous years. I thank our media patrons as well as the sponsors thanks to whom this Gala and the previous ones could not have been held.

I also thank members of the award committees of the Honorary Pearls and Pearls of Innovation awards. My thanks go to all those who were with us throughout these years, trusted us and supported us.

I warmly congratulate our today’s laureates and wish to dedicate them the words of my beloved poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid: From you, as from burning chips of resin, Fiery fragments circle far and near: Ablaze, you don't know if you are to be free, Or if all that is yours will disappear.

Will only ashes and confusion remain, Leading into the abyss? Or will there be In the depths of the ash a star-like diamond, The dawning of eternal victory!

14 polish market

I hope a diamond, perhaps a pearl – simply, a trace - will be left of us all. A trace for us and all those who will come after us.

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

Senate Speaker Stanisław Karczewski, an Honorary Patron of the Gala, also delivered a welcome address: “I have taken the decision to be an honorary patron for this event without a moment of hesitation. I meet with the ‘Polish Market’ President and we talk with each other very often because I am full of respect for her magazine. ‘Polish Market’ has already turned 20 and is an eagerly read magazine, always present in my office, for which I would like to sincerely thank you, Madam President.

But above all I would like to thank you for your success in building a brand which has been there for 20 years, is developing and functioning excellently on our market. Thank you for promoting Poland, thank you for promoting the Polish economy, science and culture. As Senate Speaker, I am responsible for expatriate Poles.

In conjunction with senators, I take care of over 16-20 million Poles scattered across the world. It is a great value-added because our nation has around 56 million people. Expatriate Poles often say: ‘Why don’t we have promotion in English’? An I reply: ‘We have, but you do not want to get to it.’ I deeply believe that ‘Polish Market’ will continue to advertise and promote Poland. I do not wish you another 20 years, but many, many more.

Yesterday we hosted in Poland the president of Senegal with his delegation. They were bewitched by Poland, Polish culture, tradition and Polish development – because Poland is developing wonderfully. We should boast about it around the world – in Africa, Australia and in Asia. The delegation spoke with pride about great Poles: John Paul II, Nicolaus Copernicus, Maria SkłodowskaCurie. We should be proud of it. Madame President, thank you for promoting the Copernicuses and Chopins of today, those who promote Poland through economic development. I would like to congratulate the Pearl winners, who will receive their statuettes today. I am proud of you, just like we should be proud of those who made our history in the past and those who make it at present. Because you make our history.

We speak a lot about success – the success of Poland and individual successes. In my view, a real success is when we can share it. Thank you all very much for sharing your success. Thank you, Editor-in-Chief for sharing what is our joint success not only in Poland, but across the world."

During the Gala award statuettes were presented to the best companies identified in a ranking developed by scientists of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH). The Pearl of the Polish Economy title was awarded in two categories: Grand Pearls and Large Pearls. The research includes more than 2,000 companies whose annual revenue from overall business activity is at least PLN100 million (Large Pearls) and over PLN1 billion (Grand Pearls).

It is worth stressing that a company’s position in the league table does not depend on its revenue, but on its efficiency and growth. The full league table results are presented in the next pages of this issue.

The Honorary Pearls awards, to which we devote a separate report, were also presented at the Gala.

The whole ceremony was organized thanks to the sponsors of the Gala: KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., LOTOS, Budimex, BSH, Polpharma, Deutsche Bank and The Exhibition and Congress Centre , and owing to the partners: Royal Castle in Warsaw, Polish Ecology Association, Kregliccy Restaurant, as well as Apart and Wittchen.

The media partners of the Gala were: Polast News, Polish Radio, Polskie Radio RDC, Gazeta Bankawa, Newseria, capital24.tv and Mediarun.

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Prezes, Redaktor Naczelna „Polish Market”

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itam wszystkich wspaniałych, czcigodnych gości na naszej dorocznej, czternastej już, „perłowej” gali. Witam Państwa w tym pięknym i niezwykłym miejscu, ale także w niezwykłym czasie, bo podobno tylko raz na 823 tysiące dni zdarza się pięć sobót, niedziel i poniedziałków w jednym miesiącu, a taki miesiąc właśnie mamy. Dzień również jest niezwykły - imieniny Tadeusza, przypomnę, że Święty Juda Tadeusz to patron rzeczy trudnych i niemożliwych. Przyznam się Państwu, że w trakcie tych 20 lat mieliśmy czasem chwile trudne, bardzo trudne, ale daliśmy radę, a sprawy niemożliwe uczyniliśmy możliwymi, bo jak mówią: wiatr i żagle sprzyjają najlepszym żeglarzom, i nam się udało! Dlatego dziś możemy z Państwem świętować ten piękny jubileusz.

Jesienią 1996 r., czyli dokładnie 20 lat temu, ukazało się pierwsze wydanie anglojęzycznego magazynu Polish Market. W tym samym roku Polska została członkiem OECD, powstał Komitet Integracji Europejskiej. Dla naszego kraju był to czas wielkich przemian, ale też wielkich wyzwań.

Byliśmy w przededniu przystąpienia do NATO, szykowaliśmy się do integracji z Unią Europejską. Na naszych oczach dokonywał się wielki przełom cywilizacyjny. Mieliśmy już telefony komórkowe, komputery, internet, łączność cyfrową z całym światem, tylko, że ten świat wiedział o nas bardzo mało.

Pomyślałam wtedy: jak możemy z tego świata, który się przed nami otwiera, skorzystać? Ale też zastanawiałam się: co my temu światu możemy dać? My, Polacy, dumni potomkowie wielkiego narodu o ponad tysiącletniej tradycji.

My potomkowie wielkich władców, przed którymi zdarzało się, że drżał świat. My, potomkowie wielkich uczonych, którzy zmienili bieg Słońca i Ziemi, artystów podziwianych na obu półkulach, wreszcie potomkowie wielkich bohaterów, walczących za „wolność waszą i naszą”. Potomkowie tych, którzy obok słów: „Bóg, honor, ojczyzna” znali także słowa: tolerancja, przebaczenie, szacunek do drugiego człowieka. Wszak byliśmy i jesteśmy narodem, któremu od zawsze przyświecała chrześcijańska idea miłosierdzia.

Nasz wielki rodak - święty Jan Paweł II przypominał, że mamy „ocalone dziedzictwo, któremu na imię Polska, zatem pamiętajmy abyśmy sami nie podcinali korzeni, z których wyrastamy”.

Tak powstał pomysł stworzenia pisma, które będzie polskie, rodzime, bez obcego kapitału i obcych wpływów, niezależne. Pisma, które będzie szanowało naszą przeszłość, historię, pokazywało dokonania naszych wielkich przodków, ale jednocześnie przedstawiało współczesne osiągnięcia na wielu płaszczyznach, jak: gospodarka, nauka i kultura.

Staliśmy się prekursorami idei, którą później, po latach, nazwano tak modnym obecnie określeniem - patriotyzm gospodarczy. My tę ideę patriotyzmu potraktowaliśmy znacznie szerzej, w sposób holistyczny. Bo prawdą jest, że najskuteczniejsza promocja kraju odbywa się przez gospodarkę, ale równie skutecznie nasz kraj promują artyści, uczeni, sportowcy, ludzie, którzy mają zasługi na polu krzewienia wartości społecznych i patriotycznych.

Właśnie o takich ludziach piszemy i takich ludzi nagradzamy na naszych galach. Ludzi, których postawa może

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być przykładem dla obecnych i przyszłych pokoleń, których dokonania i osiągnięcia stanowią ogromny wkład w promocję marki, która nazywa się Polska.

Efektem tego holistycznego podejścia do promocji naszego kraju było uczestnictwo wydawnictwa Polish Market w najważniejszych wydarzeniach, gospodarczych, politycznych, ale również kulturalnych i naukowych. Kiedy dwa lata temu, 4 czerwca, cała Polska świętowała jubileusz 25-lecia odzyskania wolności, my we współpracy z Teatrem Wielkim - Operą Narodową, zorganizowaliśmy tego dnia koncert poświęcony pamięci Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego - wielkiego muzyka, kompozytora, ale też męża stanu, współtwórcy niepodległej Polski po 1918 roku.

I tak, przez te wszystkie lata, nie fałszując historii, nie koloryzując rzeczywistości, w sposób rzetelny, skrupulatny pokazywaliśmy zarówno nasz ekonomiczny, jak i cywilizacyjny sukces transformacji ustrojowej, sukces, który nasi unijni partnerzy określili tak: „Polacy w ciągu ostatniego ćwierćwiecza, nie ruszając się z miejsca, zmienili położenie geograficzne swojego kraju - z obrzeży Europy do samego jej centrum” - myślę, że mieli rację.

Drodzy Państwo, Podczas tegorocznych Światowych Dni Młodzieży, Papież Franciszek, w jednej ze swoich homilii powiedział: „Przyszliśmy na świat po to, aby pozostawić ślad, który wypełni historię naszą i historię innych ludzi”. Dodam nieskromnie, że zarówno ja, jak i wszyscy, którzy tworzyli nasze wydawnictwo przez ostatnie 20 lat, taki ważny ślad w tej historii zostawili. Dziś, z tego miejsca, bardzo gorąco pragnę im podziękować. Dziękuję moim redaktorom, dziennikarzom współpracującym, fotoreporterom, grafikom, tłumaczom, pracownikom administracji, marketingu, wszystkim, których nie sposób tutaj wymienić. Dziękuję z całego serca.

Dziękuję także naszym dzisiejszym patronom honorowym oraz tym z poprzednich lat, dziękuję naszym patronom medialnym, a także mecenasom i sponsorom, dzięki którym ta, jak i poprzednie gale, mogły się odbyć. Dziękuję też członkom kapituł Pereł Honorowych i Pereł Innowacji.

Dziękuję wszystkim tym, którzy przez te lata z nami byli, którzy nam zaufali, którzy nas wspierali.

Naszym dzisiejszym laureatom składam gorące gratulacje i pragnę im zadedykować słowa mojego ukochanego poety Cypriana Kamila Norwida: Coraz to z Ciebie jako z drzazgi smolnej Wokoło lecą szmaty zapalone Gorejąc nie wiesz czy stawasz się wolny Czy to co Twoje będzie zatracone Czy popiół tylko zostanie i zamęt Co idzie w przepaść z burzą.

Czy zostanie Na dnie popiołu gwiaździsty dyjament Wiekuistego zwycięstwa zaranie? Życzę Państwu, aby po każdym z nas został diament, może perła - po prostu ślad. Ślad dla nas, i dla tych, którzy po nas przyjdą.

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY Stanisław Karczewski, Marszałek Senatu, Patron Honorowy Gali

„Bez chwili wahania podjąłem decyzję o patronacie honorowym nad tą uroczystością. Spotykamy się z Panią Prezes i rozmawiamy ze sobą bardzo często, gdyż jestem pełen uznania dla jej pisma. Polish Market ma już 20 lat i jest to pismo, które jest chętnie czytane, i które w moim gabinecie zawsze jest, za co Pani Prezes bardzo serdecznie dziękuje. Dziękuję jednak przede wszystkim za to, że Pani Prezes udało się stworzyć markę, która trwa 20 lat, rozwija się i świetnie funkcjonuje na naszym rynku. Dziękuję za promocję Polski, dziękuję za promocję polskiej gospodarki, nauki i kultury. Jako Marszałek Senatu zajmuję się polonią. Wspólnie z senatorami sprawujemy pieczę nad 16-20 milionami Polaków rozsianych po całym świecie. To wielka wartość dodana bo nasz naród liczy sobie 56 milionów ludzi. Bardzo często polonusi mówią - „Czemu my nie mamy promocji w języku angielskim?” - ja odpowiadam „Mamy, ale nie chcecie do niej dotrzeć”. Bardzo głęboko wierzę, że Polish Market będzie reklamował i promował Polskę w dalszym ciągu. Nie życzę Pani Prezes kolejnych 20 lat. Życzę dużo, dużo więcej!

Wczoraj gościliśmy w Polsce prezydenta Senegalu wraz z delegacją. Oczarowani Polską, oczarowani polską kulturą, tradycją, polskim rozwojem - bo Polska się pięknie rozwija. Musimy się tym chwalić na całym świecie - w Afryce, w Australii, również w Azji. Wspomniana delegacja z dumą mówiła o wspaniałych Polakach - Janie Pawle II, Mikołaju Koperniku, Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie. Powinniśmy być z tego dumni. Dziękuję Pani Prezes za promocje aktualnych Koperników, aktualnych Chopinów, tych, który promują Polskę przez rozwój gospodarczy. Chciałbym pogratulować laureatom Pereł, którzy dziś odbiorą statuetki. Jestem z was dumny, tak jak powinniśmy być dumni z tych, którzy tworzyli naszą historię i tych, którzy ją tworzą obecnie. Bo państwo tworzycie naszą historię.

Wiele mówimy o sukcesie, o sukcesie Polski i sukcesach indywidualnych. Moim zdaniem prawdziwy sukces jest wtedy, kiedy możemy się nim dzielić. Bardzo dziękuję państwu za to, że dzielicie się swoim sukcesem, i Pani Redaktor za to, że dzieli się Pani tym, naszym wspólnym, sukcesem nie tylko w Polsce, ale i na całym świecie.”

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

HEROES with a Pearl

ON OCTOBER 28, 2016, DURING THE GALA OF THE PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY, WE PRESENTED FOR THE 11TH TIME THE HONORARY PEARLS OF POLISH MARKET, AWARDED TO OUTSTANDING PERSONALITIES IN THE ECONOMY, CULTURE, SCIENCE, PROPAGATION OF CIVIC AND PATRIOTIC VALUES WHOSE ACHIEVEMENTS, EXPERIENCE, PRESTIGE AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES ALLOW THEM TO BE SEEN AS AMBASSADORS OF THE HIGHEST POLISH VALUES. HERE WE PRESENT THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENTS OF OUR HONORARY AWARDS.

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

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ECONOMY

We live in a country where ambition, competition, success are a worthy model of activity both in private and professional life, including business. This year’s Pearls in the field of the economy are paragons of such endeavours: KAROL ZARAJCZYK – PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF URSUS S.A; PIOTR WOJACZEK – PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF THE KATOWICE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE; RYSZARD FLOREK – PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF FAKRO SP. Z O.O.; ZBIGNIEW JAKUBAS – CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD OF NEWAG S.A. ZBIGNIEW JAKUBAS – entrepreneur and investor, owner of the Multico Corporate Group made up of approximately 40 entities from different sectors, including Mennica Polska, Centrum Nowoczesnych Technologii S.A., Wartico Invest (housing construction), as well as New Century Arts (film industry) and Multico Oficyna Wydawnicza. Since the beginning of the 21st century he has also been investing in railway sector companies.

He is the owner of the Newag Group manufacturing electric multiple units and engines. In August 2015, Impuls 45WE manufactured by Newag became the fastest vehicle designed and made in Poland. During tests carried out on the Central Railway Main Line it reached a speed of 226 km/h. The Multico Group employs 12,000 persons in total.

Before his 2013 appointment as President of the Board of Ursus S.A., in 2009 KAROL ZARAJCZYK joined the Supervisory Board of Bioenergia Invest SA. (formerly a limited liability company).

In the years 2009 – 2014, he also served as president of Ursus Sp. z o.o., and also in the years 2009 – 2013 as vice-president and economic and financial director of Ursus S.A. In 2007, he worked at the Fiat and Alfa Romeo sales department of Fiat Group Automobiles Japan, and in the years 2005 - 2008 he was executive director – member of the board of Ital-Mot Sp. z o.o.

Ursus symbolises more than 120 years of the mechanisation of Poland’s agriculture. At one time the company stood at the brink of bankruptcy. Now it is among the best-known Polish brands. It sells its products in dozens of countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, Holland, Slovenia, Croatia and the Scandinavian, Eastern and African markets.

The company with exclusively Polish capital currently has three manufacturing plants in Poland: in Dobre Miasto near Olsztyn, in Opalenica near Poznań and the largest facility in Lublin.

Almost half of the 1.5 million tractors working in the Polish fields come from Ursus.

PIOTR WOJACZEK has been president of the board of the Katowice Special Economic Zone since 1996. Under his management, the Katowice Special Economic Zone has become the largest such zone in Poland, with more than 220 companies,

which have invested over PLN 23 billion and created in excess of 56,000 jobs. Piotr Wojaczek is chairman of the Conference of Special Economic Zones in Poland, vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RIG) in Katowice and member of the Steering Committee of the Regional Innovation Strategy of Śląskie Province. According to "The Financial Times", the Katowice Special Economic Zone is one of the two best developed special economic zones in the world and is the leader among special economic zones in Poland. It occupies over 2,000 hectares in 42 communes of Śląskie and Małopolskie province. This year, the zone is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

RYSZARD FLOREK – president and owner of Fakro. In 1991 in Nowy Sącz, he opened the first roof windows factory in Poland.

Today, the company is present in tens of countries. It is the second-largest manufacturer of roof windows in the world and the leader in Poland. "Our aim, which we plan to achieve by 2020, is increasing our share in the global market," said Ryszard Florek. Fakro also plans to extend its product range in accordance with the company’s mission, looking after the comfort of its customers’ flats all over the world. In 2016, the product range will be extended by many solutions in the area of roof windows, windows for flat roofs and a novelty – vertical windows, never before manufactured by Fakro.

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SCIENCE

The new role of the scientific community in Poland is offering its intellectual potential using the language of business and contemporary challenges facing our civilisation. This year’s winners of the title show that there are no impossible things in science. They prove that what really matters is: the intellect, passion and persistence in achieving one’s goals.

They are: PROF. ANDRZEJ KRÓLAK FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS AND DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY, INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE; PROF. KRZYSZTOF BANKIEWICZ FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IN SAN FRANCISCO; PROF. MIROSŁAW ZĄBEK FROM THE GAMMA KNIFE CENTRE; PROF. PAWEŁ BUSZMAN – PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AMERICAN HEART OF POLAND S.A. PROF. ANDRZEJ KRÓLAK is a professor at the Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (since 2003) and the National Centre for Nuclear Research, co-chairman of LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and the VIRGO Collaboration Continuous Waves working group, member of the Polish Mathematical Society and founder of the Polish Relativist Society. His research interests include gravitational waves: data 12/2016 polish market

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

analysis, detection algorithms and time and space singularities: hypotheses of cosmic censorship. Recipient (twice) of the prestigious 2nd grade prize of the Gravity Research Foundation, USA. This year, members of the Polish POLGRAW team, led

by Professor Królak, observed gravitation waves using LIGO’s detectors in the USA. LIGO (Laser Interferometer GravitationalWave Observatory) has been searching for signs of gravitational waves since 2002. “Polish scientists took important part in the development of this theory over many decades, and finally participated in the registration and analysis of the source of gravitational waves being its confirmation. This has led to the creation of a new scientific discipline – gravitational waves astronomy,” said Professor Królak. This observation confirms a section of the relativity theory and provides us with a new way of looking into the secrets of the Universe, allows us to study distant objects which may be dark or obscured by interstellar dust.

PROF. PAWEŁ BUSZMAN is an outstanding cardiologist and visionary. He is the originator, co-founder and current President of the Board of American Heart of Poland SA, which runs a network of over 30 clinics specialising in diagnosing and treating heart and vascular diseases, where the health and life of more than 55,000 patients is saved every year. Thanks to the perseverance and unceasing work of Professor Buszman, during 15 years of its existence the network of clinics has become a leader in the area of comprehensive treatment of cardiovascular diseases in our country. It is also the largest such medical network in Europe.

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The Interventional Neurotherapy Centre is the only facility in Europe and only a second one in the world where innovative treatment methods consisting in administering drugs directly to the patient’s brain are used. This facility has been set up in Bródnowski Hospital in Warsaw in co-operation with a twin centre at the University of California in San Francisco. The instigators and supervisors of the ward are Professors Krzysztof Bankiewicz and Mirosław Ząbek.

PROF. KRZYSZTOF BANKIEWICZ has graduated from the Jagiellonian University. He received his doctoral degree at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw, but for many years now he has been working in the USA. Today, he runs the Bankiewicz Laboratory at the University of California in San Francisco. Since the beginning of his career he has been interested in the treatment of the Parkinson’s disease and he now conducts research which may help in the therapy of this disorder. It is an innovative brain gene therapy which involves administering DNA to the brain through injections.

Human trials are already underway. Professor Bankiewicz has developed a method which enables the delivery to the brain of an appropriate gene which produces the protein destroyed by the illness. This gene therapy is supposed to stimulate cells to produce the missing dopamine. The gene in the form of a suspension is injected in the relevant parts of the brain using a special needle designed by the Professor over a period of 10 years.

PROF. MIROSŁAW ZĄBEK is a well-known academic teacher.

He has supervised many doctoral students in medicine. He is a graduate of the Medical University of Warsaw. He completed the European Neurosurgery Training (1987-1991), as well as individual neurosurgery internships in Finland, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France, the USA, Belgium and Japan. He completed European courses in vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, operations and arthroplasty of the neck and lumbar sections of the spine, minimally invasive spine operations and pain treatment using nervous system stimulation. For a period of 10 years he was National Neurosurgery Consultant.

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CULTURE

The idea of perceiving art as the best showcase and ambassador of Poland has determined the activity of "Polish Market" for years. This year, our Pearls in this category are: CAMERATA SILESIA – A LEADING POLISH CHAMBER VOCAL ENSEMBLE FROM KATOWICE AND SINGER STAN BORYS.

CAMERATA SILESIA, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary, is known in particular for its performance of early and contemporary music. The vocalists have more than one hundred world premieres under their belt, also of pre-classical works. However, the ensemble performs music from practically every era, religious and secular, popular, operas, operettas, but also Christmas carols or pieces by Chopin adapted to voices. The high quality of the ensemble’s work was recognised by, among others, Krzysztof Penderecki, whose "Passion according to St Luke," "Polish Requiem," and "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" have been performed by Camerata Silesia many times, under the baton of the composer, in places such as Münster, Canterbury, Kraków and Hamburg. During the Warsaw Autumn Festival Camerata Silesia participated in the performance of his Canticum Canticorum. Camerata Silesia takes part in archival recordings for Polish Radio, concerts broadcast by the European Radio Union and in television shows. Most of these projects propagate Polish music. This is demonstrated by the performance of rediscovered, hitherto forgotten works of early music from the collection of Jasna Góra and the archives in Gniezno and Gostyń.

STAN BORYS is an icon of Polish popular music, a singer, composer, actor, and poet.

He began his artistic career in 1958 at theatres in Rzeszów. In 1965, he co-founded the band Blackout. His solo career began in 1969 when he released his first album. In the years 1975– 2004 he lived abroad, first in the USA (Chicago), then in Toronto in Canada and Las Vegas. He currently lives in Las Vegas and in Łomianki near Warsaw. In 2004, he was the start of the Syracuse festival, the largest Polish festival in the north-eastern part of the USA. Every year, this event attracts over 25,000 spectators to Clinton Square. In 2006, he began performing with the band Imię Jego 44 from Wrocław. In June 2016, his evening

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

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show entitled “Talking to Myself” made its debut on Polish Radio RDC. This year, the artist celebrates his 75th birthday and the 55th anniversary of artistic work. "Your multiple talents and sensitivity to poetry have won the hearts of so many people.

At a difficult time in Poland’s history your steadfast attitude towards the predominant trends and your decision to follow your own path was proof of your courage and internal freedom.

I believe that your work will continue to fascinate and inspire future generations,” Polish President Andrzej Duda wrote in his birthday wishes addressed to Stan Borys.

CIVIC VALUES

A stormy period in the world economy requires special competencies from those who manage finances in business. In these times we still should remember to propagate civic values.

The economy, the world of the media and values should not be mutually exclusive. This year, our awards in the category of propagation of civic values have gone to EWA EWART AND WOJCIECH SZELĄG.

EWA EWART is a respected journalist and director of many excellent documentaries. She holds a degree in Iberian Studies from Warsaw University. She has been working for the BBC since 1993. Winner of the most prestigious awards in the field of documentaries, including three times winner of the British Royal Television Society award. For her "Children of Beslan" film she received the American Peabody Award, considered to be the Pulitzer award in television. She specialises in extreme subjects, reaching places nobody has reached before. She showed death camps in North Korea, talked to the bosses of the Colombian drug mafia, with commanders of the Basque separatists from ETA. She was the only journalist to conduct an interview with Mikhail Gorbachev one day after the failed putsch organised by Yanayev.

“People are most important and only a documentary made from the human perspective is a work with which we can identify.

The viewers can related to this, even if the topic pertains to the economy,” she said in an interview published in our pages in 2013.

WOJCIECH SZELĄG is a journalist who since 1993 has been working for Polsat Television. He has a degree in History from Gdańsk University. In the 1980s he distributed underground publications. He took part in the student strike at Gdańsk University in 1988. In 1992, he made his debut on “Panorama”, a local news show on TVP Gdańsk. In 1993, he joined Polsat, Poland’s first nation-wide private television station. He is a co-author, editor and host of “Informacje,” its first news programme and a co-author of a majority of economics programmes broadcast by Polsat, Polsat News and Polsat Biznes (previously TV Biznes).

TRADITIONS AND PATRIOTIC VALUES

Under communism, Poles were probably ashamed of their own heritage, but today they have learned from their European peers that heritage can be a source of pride. This year, our Honorary Pearls in the category of propagation of Polish traditions and patriotic values go to CARDINAL STANISŁAW DZIWISZ AND TVP POLONIA. STANISŁAW DZIWISZ, Doctor of Theology, was the secretary and chaplain of Kraków Metropolitan Karol Wojtyła in the years 1966–1978 and the personal was the secretary of Pope John Paul II in the years 1978–2005. He has been archbishop, metropolitan of Kraków since 2005 and cardinal-presbyter since 2006. The cardinal is the most reliable witness to the sainthood of John Paul II and a propagator of his teachings and less convenient ways of commemorating him... He continues to remind us about the never-changing message which so many tend to forget nowadays.

The cardinal’s latest great success was the organisation in 2016 of the World Youth Day in Kraków. Thanks to his vision and work, young people leaving Poland were able to tell others what a wonderful country Poland is. A country open to others, but also deeply rooted in its traditional values and religion.

TVP POLONIA is a Polish satellite channel of Telewizja Polska, addressed mostly to Poles living abroad. Regular broadcasts began on 31 March 1993. The schedule of TVP Polonia includes the extensive archives of TVP (Polish feature films and shorts, film series, documentaries and animations). TVP Polonia shows the main news programmes of TVP1 – “Wiadomości” and “Teleexpress.” Besides, once a week there is a news programme dedicated to the Polish Diaspora entitled Polonia 24. A significant part of the air time on TVP Polonia is occupied by historical and tourist magazines, programmes dealing with European issues, culture and entertainment, concerts of classical and pop music, productions of the Television Theatre and interactive shows for viewers living abroad.

SPORT

This year, for the first time in history, "Polish Market" also presented special Honorary Pearls in the sport category. In recent years, NATALIA PARTYKA, a table tennis player, has been providing the most beautiful answer to the question.“What is the success of promotion through sport and how to do this effectively?”

Natalia Partyka is among the best table tennis players in Poland and Europe. Because of her disability (she was born without the right forearm) she competes both against able-bodied and disabled players. Four-times Paralympics champion – in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016).

Three-times participant in the Olympic Games: in Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016).

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ECONOMY

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

E

ZBIGNIEW JAKUBAS:

“The Honorary Pearl of the Polish Economy is a beautiful award. It is an indication that one has done something sensible for our country. I want to thank you very much for this distinction. I want to share it with my crew which is 12,000 strong. I am only their captain... I hope that we have chosen the right course across all these seas and oceans... It is great that today we can all celebrate this excellent period – 27 years of development of free Poland. I wish myself and you that we continue to develop so well over the next 27 years! I would also like to thank the Governor of Mazowieckie province for taking a bold and important decision cutting through red tape.

Thanks to his decision, in November we are starting the construction in Warsaw of the Mennica Legacy Tower worth PLN 0.5 billion!”.

KAROL ZARAJCZYK:

“Thank you very much for this distinction. It crowns several years of hard work spent rebuilding Ursus, the greatest Polish automotive brand which still exists. We began modestly in 2012 by moving the remaining assets of Ursus to the Lublin truck factory.

At that time they had three or four engineers there. Currently, we employ more than 400 persons and just under 1,000 at all the factories together. We manufacture in excess of 80 different machines, 20 models of tractors. We sell them mostly to Africa which has become our main market. Today, I had a very pleasant audience with the President of Senegal who appreciated Poland as an agricultural country providing a model for Africa in terms of mechanisation and development of this branch of the economy. But Ursus is not just agricultural machinery. For several years now we have been developing environmentally friendly transport. We have successfully launched the production of buses between 8 and 18 metres long. Lately, we have won two public procurement contracts for the delivery of these vehicles to Toruń and Warsaw. One could say that Ursus is returning to Warsaw. Our 12 metres long buses will be carrying passengers over the Royal Route which is a great success for us.”

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

PIOTR WOJACZEK:

“I think that anything that I say thanking you will sound trivial, but saying nothing would be ungrateful. Therefore, I want to thank the chapter for noticing that we are doing something in our zone. Twenty years ago, eight local government officials from Silesia founded the Katowice Special Economic Zone. I was entrusted with its custody and told that they believed that we would be able to do something out of this and that they would be happy if it was the pearl among the companies owned by the local government. It seems that we are approaching this goal. I thank the chapter for noticing this.”

JANUSZ KOMURKIEWICZ ON BEHALF OF RYSZARD FLOREK:

“It would seem that coming up with something very innovative in the windows sector would be hard and yet over 100 engineers at our headquarters in Nowy Sącz invent something new every day. We are proud that we have over 140 patents for our solutions, and our windows and ideas of Polish engineers are known in more than 50 countries around the world. Wherever the architecture and geography make it possible, Polish windows are sold. One in seven roof windows sold in the world comes from us. It is the result of our work and innovation.”

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

PROF. ANDRZEJ KRÓLAK:

S

PROF. PAWEŁ BUSZMAN:

SCIENCE

“I feel honoured by the Honorary Pearl. This distinction is also for the team I lead.

Gravitational waves were predicted by Einstein 100 years ago. It took fifty years before scientists understood them well and the next fifty to design and build the detectors of these waves, to create a model of their sources and methods of detection. Polish scientists have made a great contribution to both these stages. Our group was directly involved in the detection of gravitational waves, which were announced on February 11 of this year.

Research on gravity is basic research, and as such, it does not translate into practical and commercial applications, but nevertheless detecting such a weak signal of gravitational waves was a huge technological challenge. These technologies have been used in practice.

The example of nuclear energy shows that basic research can be translated into human development. I hope that our studies will contribute to the development of science in Poland, and in particular to our participation in major international research projects.

Once again, I want to thank the chapter of the Honorary Pearls for this award.”

“It is a huge honour not only for me but also for the whole team at the American Heart of Poland Centre, which includes a wide group of young scientists who have decided not only to work at the branches of the American Heart Clinic, but also in our experimental laboratory where we conduct preclinical and clinical studies taking part in international, intercentre drug trials and testing of new organisational solutions. Innovative medicine is not only new technologies but also new drugs, new devices, medical products, innovative solutions, which are often as important as new technology. We show how to combine new technologies with modern organisational solutions. We have demonstrated that we can promote Polish industry by marketing in Poland stents of the fifth generation. We study and I think that we will soon introduce to the Polish market a heart valve implanted using the endovascular technique and biodegradable stents. And all this thanks to the co-operation with Polish institutes, universities and private industry.”

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY PROF. KRZYSZTOF BANKIEWICZ:

“I am very honoured by this great event. I am receiving this Pearl on behalf of my wife, because she is very fond of pearls. I am extremely glad that I can be here and I can contribute to the development of Polish science. This award was given to me due to the fact that my team, which also includes Poles, has for many years contributed significantly to gene therapy of the brain, and nanoparticles therapy. I wanted to thank the representatives of the government and regional and academic institutions which provide Professor Ząbek and me with great opportunities to do something truly unique.

My dream is to build a bridge between San Francisco and Warsaw - based on science and modern technology.”

PROF. MIROSŁAW ZĄBEK:

“If there are moments in one's life worth living for, this is just such a moment for me. The Honorary Pearl is for me a great honour, especially that science is only seemingly distant from business. Great science, which is created and developed here, has already found a connection with the National Drugs Institute. We are already working on the creation of the first Polish molecule for the treatment of brain tumours administered by means of infusions.

Science also boosts other sectors of the economy. Perhaps this will result in the production of something that can be sold abroad. Today, business and science are closer to each other than it may seem. Science requires huge financial investments and someone must see in it their future and want to invest in it, and sometimes take a heavy financial risk. However, it may bring about some effect, which will be implemented in the future economy. Today, business and science are as close to each other as never before.”

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

C ANNA SZOSTAK – CONDUCTOR OF CAMERATA SILESIA:

STAN BORYS:

“Thank you. Thank you for remembering me because being today at such exalted place I must confess that I did not expect to be remembered by anyone here. I thank the Chapter of this award and Madam President Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek. I thank you for remembering and noticing me. I also want to thank and express my respect to the man who really opened the door to me. He is Tadeusz Deszkiewicz. I feel here today like at my ancestral home... I also wish to thank my partner and manager for opening these doors – Thank you, Anna!”.

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CULTURE

“I am honoured that Camerata Silesia has been awarded the "Polish Market" prize this year. We are so glad that the business community appreciates the importance of what we do, which is high art. In fact, the distance between the economy and culture should not be too great because culture needs constant support and attention from the economy, and the economy can always do with a bit of cultural inspiration. In our beginnings we received significant help from the business circles. At this time I would like to thank Mr Tadeusz Donocik, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Katowice, for believing in us 25 years ago, when nobody else believed in us.”

EWA EWART:

“I have twice before attended the Gala of the Pearls of the Polish Economy but would not have thought for a moment that I could be here as a recipient of this award. I would like to thank the chapter for this distinction. This really is great. I see this award as a commitment to maintaining standards and to raising the bar ever higher. I share this award with many people. A documentary remembered by viewers is the result of the efforts of many talented members of my crew, but also the heroes of these films, who often risk their lives, demonstrate extraordinary courage to sit in front of the camera and talk about controversial issues that may place them in enormous danger. This award is an expression of recognition for all those people. Once again, thank you.”

WOJCIECH SZELĄG:

“I want to thank you very much for this distinction. When I was told that I would be given this award and that I would be here today with you, I was very happy. But then I saw who had received it in the past in this particular category and I went weak at the knees. Janina Ochojska, Jurek Owsiak... Gosh...

In my opinion, the fundamental civic value is truth. And also journalists should be guided by this value. I think that every truth will defend itself once it reaches its audience. We must devote time and attention to this audience, sometimes more, sometimes less. And I take this award as a permission and an incentive to achieve this goal”.

CIVIC VALUES

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

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C CARDINAL STANISŁAW DZIWISZ: “I was surprised by the decision of the Chapter of the Honorary Pearls. I did not expect to receive such a distinction and this makes me even more grateful for its award. I particularly appreciate the grounds for this decision referring to the propagation of patriotic values and building a positive image of Poland in the world.”

MAGDALENA TADEUSIAK-MIKOŁAJCZAK, DIRECTOR OF TVP POLONIA: “An award for promoting patriotic values is a huge obligation. The word patriotism is very powerful. Sometimes it evokes respect, or even fear and dismay because it may seem outdated. In the past, it required great sacrifice, heroism, on occasions combat or giving up one’s life. The same stands true today. Are our viewers who live abroad and take their children on weekends to schools located many kilometres away so that they can learn Polish not heroes? Is sending money to parents in the old country not an act of heroism?

And what about spending every summer in Poland because they want to be close to their roots, their birthplace? Every day TVP Polonia endeavours to facilitate their contact with Poland. It shows them how Poland changes, becoming even more beautiful, but it also does not forget about tradition, history, culture. We want them to know where they come from and hope that they will return someday. I want to thank the chapter. I dedicate this award to all our viewers – patriots, of whom we do not hear every day, who live abroad, but for whom Poland still remains a dear country, close to their heart. I also dedicate it to all employees and associates of TVP Polonia.”

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PROMOTION OF POLISH TRADITIONS AND PATRIOTIC VALUES

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

NATALIA PARTYKA’S PARENTS, ALICJA AND ANDRZEJ PARTYKA, RECEIVED THE AWARD ON BEHALF OF NATALIA PARTYKA, WHO SAID: “Thank you very much for this distinction. It is a huge honour.

I am very happy that a Pearl is presented in the Sport category and that it has gone to me. It is an honour and incentive to keep working.”

From left: Monika and Witold Zaraska, Anna Maleady, Zdzisław Sipiera, Prof. Leszek Rafalski, Jan Parys, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Edward Trzosek, Prof. Michał Kleiber, Teresa Sukniewicz-Kleiber, Janusz Steinhoff and Marek Rocki.

SPORT

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

WINNERS

THE

OF THE R ANKING

LARGE PEARLS The Large Pearl title was awarded to AC SA, Petrax Sp. z o.o. and Grupa Kapitałowa Prochem SA.

AC SA 1ST PLACE – LARGE PEARLS

PETRAX SP. Z O.O. 2ND PLACE – LARGE PEARLS

GRUPA KAPITAŁOWA PROCHEM SA. 3RD PLACE – LARGE PEARLS

Katarzyna Rutkowska, President of Managment Board of AC SA

Dariusz Bobko, Member of the Managment Board of Petrax Sp z o.o.

Marek Kiersznicki, Vice-President of the Managment Board of PROCHEM SA

Winners of the Large Pearls. From left: Katarzyna Rutkowska, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek (Polish Market), Janusz Steinhoff, Prof. Marek Rocki (Rector of SGH), Stanisław Karczewski(Speaker of the Senate), Marek Kiersznicki and Dariusz Bobko

GRAND PEARLS

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

The Grand Pearl title went to T-Mobile Polska SA, Zakłady Górniczo-Hutnicze Bolesław SA and ex aequo Asseco Poland SA and Orlen Paliwa Sp. z o.o.

T-MOBILE POLSKA SA 1ST PLACE – GRAND PEARLS

Piotr Kędzierski, Director of Public Affairs Department of T-mobile Polska Sp. z o.o.

ZAKŁADY GÓRNICZO-HUTNICZE „BOLESŁAW” SA 2ND PLACE – GRAND PEARLS

ORLEN PALIWA SP. Z O. O. 3RD PLACE – GRAND PEARLS

ASSECO POLAND SA. 3RD PLACE – GRAND PEARLS

Andrzej Szary, Director of ZGH Bolesław

Jarosław Tyc, President of Managment Board of the Orlen Paliwa Sp. z o.o.

Ewa Kryj, PR Manager of Asseco Poland SA

Winners of the grand Pearls. From left: Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Janusz Steinhoff, Prof. Marek Rocki, Stanisław Karczewski, Ewa Kryj,Jarosław Tyc, Andrzej Szary

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

FINANCIAL SECTOR In the financial sector (banking and insurance services), the winners were Santander Consumer Bank SA, Bank Zachodni WBK and Metlife Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie i Reasekuracji SA.

SANTANDER CONSUMER BANK SA 1ST PLACE Arkadiusz Przybył, President of the Managment Board of Santander Consumer Bank SA

METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEŃ NA ŻYCIE I REASEKURACJI S.A. 3RD PLACE

Stanisław Karczewski, Łukasz Kalinowski and Arkadiusz Przybył, President of the Managment Board of Santander Consumer Bank SA

Łukasz Kalinowski President of the Managment Board of Metlife

From left: Prof. Tomasz Szapiro, Marek Kiersznicki, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Janusz Jarosiński, Jerzy Piechociński, Tomasz Piotrowski From left: Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Janusz Steinhoff, Prof. Marek Rocki, Stanisław Karczewski, Łukasz Kalinowski and Arkadiusz Przybył

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

AWARD FOR PROMOTING ECOLOGY During the Pearls of the Polish Economy Gala, in conjunction with the Polish Association of Organic Products Processors and Producers Polish Ecology, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, we presented awards for promoting environment-friendly attitudes and for environmental protection.

THE AWARDS WERE GRANTED TO: 1. Andrzej Arendarski, President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) 2. Zbigniew Nowak, President of the Association of Polish Butchers and Meat Processors (SRWRP) 3. Michał Tabisz, President of the Rzeszów Jasionka airport company 4. Irena Baran, principal of the Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza complex of vocational schools in Rzeszów 5. Prof. Zbigniew Dolatowski of the Department of Meat Technology and Food Quality University of Life Sciences in Lublin 6. Franciszek Siegień, owner of the Elena Sp. z o.o. company

Jerzy Bujok in name of Andrzej Arendarski receives the award

Michał Tabisz receives the award

Prof. Zbigniew Dolatowski receives the award

Franciszek Siegień receives the award

Beata Łuka in name of Irena Baran receives the award

From left: Beata Łuka ( in name of Irena Baran – director of the Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza Catering and Hotel School Complex in Rzeszów) ,Michal Tabisz (President of the Board of Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport), Jerzy Bujok ( in name of Andrzej Arendarski – President of the National Chamber of Commerce), Zbigniew Dolatowski (Department of Meat Technology and Food Quality at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin) and Franciszek Siegień (owner of Elena Sp. z o.o.)

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

PROGRESS 2016

The Progress Pearl of Innovation 2016 award was also presented at the Gala. The award committee, composed of Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Editor-in-Chief of "Polish Market", and Prof. Leszek Rafalski, Chairman of the Main Council of the Research Institutes, selected businesses which are innovation leaders and constantly come up with new innovative solutions. The following firms were named the most innovative: Oknoplast and Ceramika Paradyż in the Enterprise category, the Institute of Innovative Technologies EMAG in the Research Unit category, and Anna Rulkiewicz in the Manager category.

THE ENTERPRISE CATEGORY

Oknoplast Sp zo.o. ; Mikołaj Placek-President of the Managment of Board of Oknoplast Sp z o.o.

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Ceramika Paradyż Sp z o.o.

Paweł Łuczek, Vice-President of the Managment of Board of the Ceramika Paradyż Sp. z o.o.

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

THE RESEARCH INSTITUTE CATEGORY

Institute of Innovative Technologies EMAG Stanisław Trenczek, D. Sc., Director of the Institute of Innovative Technologies EMAG

THE MANAGER CATEGORY

Anna Ruliewicz, President of the Managment Board of LUXMED SA

From letf: Prof. Leszek Rafalski, Mikołaj Placek, Paweł Łuczek, Stanisław Trenczek and Anna Rulkiewicz 12/2016 polish market

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

GALA 2016

From left: Jan Parys (Head of Political Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs), Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Edward Trzosek and Prof. Michał Kleiber

Prof. Leszek Rafalski, Chairman of the Main Council of the Research Institutes, Jan Parys and Stanisław Karczewski

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

Prof. Krzysztof Bankiewicz and Prof. Mirosław Ząbek, founder of the Intervention Center for Neurotherapy in Warsaw, Honorary Pearl in Science

Teresa Sukniewicz-Kleiber, Janusz Steinhoff and Marek Rocki, PhD (rector of the WSE)

Guests of the Pearls of the Polish Economy Gala, first row, from left: Andrzej Malinowski (President of the Employers of Poland), Prof. Elżbieta Mączyńska (President of the Polish Economic Society (PTE)), Maria and Tadeusz Donocik, and Tadeusz Deszkiewicz (President of Radio dla Ciebie) Stanisław Karczewski, Speaker of the Senate

Anna Maleady, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Stan Borys and Edward Trzosek

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek and Zdzisław Sipiera (Mazowieckie Province Governor) present the Honorary Pearl in Culture to Stan Borys

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Prof. Michał Kleiber, Vice President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts

Andrzej Siezieniewski, President of the Andrzej Malinowski, Sipiera, Management Board ofZdzisław the Polish Radio with Prof.

Leszek Rafalski his wife

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

Łukasz Kalinowski, President of the Board, MetLife – Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie i Reasekuracji S.A., with co-workers, awarded with the Pearl of the Polish Economy for Financial Institutions

Prof. Tomasz Kuszewski and Prof. Tomasz Szapiro

UrszulaSukniewicz-Kleiber, Ciołeszyńska, Maria Donocik, Teresa Prof.

Michał Tadeuszand Donocik and Ewa Piacentile Kleiber Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

Stan Borys, Anna Maleady with family

Zbigniew Winkiel, President of the Board of Agat SA

Prof. Witold Rużyłło, Krystyna Janusz Lipkowski (ChapterWoźniakChairman of the Trzosek and Prof. with Elżbieta Mączyńska Honorary Pearls) his wife greet Krystyna (President of the PTE) Woźniak-Trzosek and Edward Trzosek

Janusz Steinhoff and Zbigniew Jakubas

Piotr Salaber, composer

From left: Ewa Mańkiewicz-Cudny (NOT), Prof.

Prof.M. Adam Prof.Danuta Leszek Ciechańska Rafalski andand Marcin Kruk, PhD, Gacek Director of the Building Research Institute (ITB)

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Anna Kalata (Minister of Labour and Social Policy in 2006-2007), Edward Trzosek

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek and Monika Marek Biczak (sculptor, designer of the Pearls of Piątkowska (Member of the Management the Polish Economy statuettes) greets Krystyna Board of the PMPG Woźniak-Trzosek andPolskie EdwardMedia) Trzosek

Prof. Zbigniew Hockuba (Director and Member of Budget & Administrative Affairs Committee, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ) and Tadeusz Deszkiewicz

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

Ewa andWoźniak-Trzosek, Jerzy Maksymiuk,Grażyna Jaskuła Krystyna Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek (Polish Market) and Marek Kiersznicki (Vice President of the Board, PROCHEM)

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Grażyna Jaskuła and Prof. Ryszard Pregiel (President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology (PIG ZT)) Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Grażyna Jaskuła and Prof. Paweł Buszman (cardiologist, President of the Board, American Heart of Poland)

Artis Sonus choir under direction of Jacek Sykulski Zbigniew Jakubas and Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

Błażej Grabowski, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Grażyna Jaskuła and Piotr Ługowski (Cobin Angels)

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek and Marcin M. Kruk, PhD, Director of the Building Research Aleksandra Orłowska Institute (ITB) Stanisław Sonik Jacek Sykulski, Karol Zarajczyk (President of URSUS SA) and Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Kamil Czeszel

Błażej Grabowski, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek and Prof. Tomasz Szapiro

Prof. Mirosław Ząbek and Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

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Julia Łozowska Barbara Koszułap (LOTOS) and Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

Włodek Pawlik, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Grażyna Jaskuła, Grabowski, Joanna Trio Impresja duringBłażej the performance Grabowska, Agnieszka Charuba Agata Zakrzewska

GALA 2016 Błażej Grabowski and the guests of the Gala

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Piotr Wojaczek (President of the Katowice Special Economic Zone, winner of the Honorary Pearl in Economy) and Andrzej Soldaty

Artis Sonus choir under direction of Jacek Sykulski Jan Pietrzak with his wife and Stan Borys

Ewa Ewart (director, journalist) and Zbigniew Jakubas

Krystyna and From right:Wożniak-Trzosek Beata Andrzej Parafiniuk Drzazga(President of BetaMed), Aleksandra Orłowska Anna Maleady with family

Adam Rams (President of Delta Trans) with his wife, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

Edward Trzosek, Mariusz Krawczyk (Krasnodwór Restaurant) and Łukasz Szeliga (President of the Polish Paralympic Committee)

OurKamil editorial Czeszel team

Łukasz Szeliga

TheAgata Katowice City Singer’s Ensemble Camerata Silesia Zakrzewska

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

GALA 2016

From left: Tadeusz Donocik, Wiesław Rozłucki and Jacek Polish Jerzy Market's andSocha Irena20th Koźmiński Anniversary Cake

Andrzej Sinfonia Franjdt, VarsoviaKrystyna Giersz, Tadeusz Szeląg, DonocikZbigniew and Maria DonocikMichał Placek Wojciech Jakubas,

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek cuts the cake

Marcin Bronikowski (Tenor) with his parents, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Bogumiła Stoła, Andrzej and Guests of Grzegorczyk the Gala Teresa Sukniewicz-Kleiber Prof. Marek Krawczyk

Marek MiłoszRocki, Dorsz,PhD Ewelina (rector Janczylik-Forys, of the WSE) Grażyna and Jaskuła Krystyna and Artur Woźniak-Trzosek Wojciechowski

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek and Jacek Drzewicki Stan Borys and Jarosław Marcin Bronikowski (Tenor) and Edward Trzosek Waśkiewicz From left: Wojciech Kozar, Beata Kozar, Katarzyna Niedużak, Anna Wiosna, Marta Jasiczek, Jasiczek, Tomasz Wiosna GuestsGrabowska, atAgata Arkady Kubickiego Joanna Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek and Edward Trzosek greet Barbara Mazan

Paweł Krajmas, President of the Polska Ekologia Association, Michał Tabisz President of the Rzeszów Jasionka Airport

Prof. Zbigniew Hockuba and Urszula Bańbura(Taurus Printing House)

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Katarzyna Niedużak Andrzej Frajndt delivers a eulogy and Błażej Grabowski for Stan Borys

Prof. Stanisław Trenczek, PhD, Eng, Director EMAGand Institute his wife Ryszardof Basiuk Renatawith Bielecka (TVP)

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

Barbara Lorynowicz, Przemysław Federowicz, Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Ewa Federowicz, Anna Maleady, Stan Borys and Krzysztof Kupsz

Guests of the Gala

Janusz Juszczyk, President of the Board of Elektrobudowa SA with daughter

Marta Skurska and Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

Zdzisław Sipiera, Henryk Wacławek with wife

Maciej Rudziks, Vice President of the Polska Ekologia Association

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, Łukasz Szeliga and Renata Bielecka (TVP)

Prize drawing sponsored by Toyota Chodzeń

Witold and Monika Zaraska and Paweł Antonik

The Kubicki Arcades

Our editorial team

PHOTOS: ŁUKASZ GIERSZ, PAWEŁ RAŹNIEWSKI AND PIOTR WIELICZKO

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peARLS OF THe pOLISH eCONOMY GRAND peARLS

LARGE peARLS

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

14 EDITION OF THE PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY COMPETITION TH

T

he Pearls of the Polish Economy competition is already 13 years old. Its goal is to identify companies with the highest growth and business efficiency figures. The goal defined in this way presents two main difficulties to an analyst. Firstly, it is necessary to compare companies operating in different sectors of the economy while remembering that different indicators have to be taken into account in individual sectors to determine a company’s growth and business efficiency. Secondly, even in the same economic sector, organizations have to be assessed in a different way depending on their size. This is why the Pearls of the Polish Economy competition is run on the basis of three types of questionnaire surveys: for banks, insurers and non-financial companies.

Additionally, there are separate classifications for companies of different sizes and fields of activity. They lead to identifying Grand Pearls, Large Pearls and Exports Pearls.

In the 13th Pearls of the Polish Economy competition, three classifications have been made: Grand Pearls, Large Pearls and Exports Pearls. To enter the qualification process in the Grand Pearls category a company has to have generated net revenue from sales and equivalent revenue of at least PLN1 billion in the previous fiscal year. And for a company to enter the qualification process in the Large Pearls category it has to have generated at least PLN100 million in net sales and equivalent revenue.

The Exports Pearls competition is for companies which have reported revenues from exports in their questionnaires.

The objective of the competition is to determine whether a company, assessed according to its growth and business efficiency, can be included in the master’s, professional, standard or promising class. To take part in the competition, companies had to express their intention to participate and had to submit their data for three successive years – 2012,2013 and 2014. On the basis of these data, index values reflecting growth and efficiency were defined.

The selected indexes are widely used in company assessments. Four interpretable quantities, used in assessing every company, were built

44 polish market

Prof. Tomasz Kuszewski

by means of the indexes. The quantities were then called aggregate indexes. The scale A,B,C and D was built for the purpose of this assessment, with A chosen as the highest grade. The remaining grades – B, C and D - denoted successively less satisfactory values of indexes describing a company’s activity. The selection rule is best illustrated by means of an analogy with the choice of a new car from among a set of potentially considered models. Let us assume that the price, maximum speed, size of the boot and fuel consumption are the criteria used to assess the cars. If there was a car which would be the cheapest and at the same time would have the highest speed, biggest boot and lowest possible fuel consumption it would receive four grades A and would be assigned to the master’s class.

But with practical decision-making problems it is difficult to find a situation where the decision rule works in such an obvious and clear way and with easily assigned points.

The surveys for the 13th edition of the competition were designed to collect data for three successive years – 2012,2013 and 2014. On the basis of the data obtained, values were defined for efficiency indexes widely used in company assessments. Each index was divided into four groups to better interpret the results of the rating process. The companies’ operational efficiency, profitability, financial liquidity and debt were analysed. Additionally, from two to four indexes were defined for each group. The analysts took into consideration the fields of activity of individual companies. For example, one of the indexes defined for companies conducting production and service activity is growth in net revenue from sales and equivalent revenue, and for banks it is growth in net banking income. For companies from the non-financial sector business efficiency indexes were defined. They reflect growth in net revenue, labour productivity, productivity of fixed assets, return on sales, gross return on assets, return on equity, financial liquidity, cash in hand and at bank, overall debt and debt-service coverage ratio. After completing the process of assigning grades to each of the companies, we obtain the number of final ranking points and four grades for each company. A grade may be A, B, C or D.

The Pearls of the Polish Economy rating is compiled on the basis of ranking points. The process leading to determining rating classes and then company rankings is composed of several successive steps. Firstly, the number of ranking points is determined for each company taking into account each of the efficiency indexes. The company for which the value of an index is the highest receives 100 points. Companies for which the values are lower receive proportionally a smaller number of points. Secondly, the values of aggregate indexes for business efficiency, profitability, liquidity and debt are calculated and standardized. The values of aggregate indexes, which are positive numbers lower than 100, are added up to obtain the final values of ranking points.

The company rating is created on the basis of aggregate index values. Three threshold values are determined for each aggregate index, which enables assigning one of the grades A, B, C or D – to each company depending on the value of the aggregate index in one of the analysed areas: business efficiency, profitability, liquidity and debt. For example, grade A is given when the value of the aggregate index for profitability is between the highest value and the first threshold; grade D is given when the value of the aggregate index is between the value of the third threshold and the lowest value of the index in a group of companies.

Each company belongs to one of the four rating classes: master’s, professional, standard and promising. The master’s class is made up of companies which have received at least three grades not lower than grade A. The professional class is made up of companies with at least three grades not lower than grade B. The standard class is made up of companies with at least three grades not lower than grade C. The remaining companies belong to the promising class. For example, a company which has received grades A, A, B, D belongs to the professional class.

The number of final ranking points is the basis for compiling the league tables of Grand Pearls, Large Pearls and Exports Pearls. The higher the number of points, the higher a company’s place on the list.

•

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of city residents use public transportation and spend

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peARLS OF THe pOLISH eCONOMY LARGE peARLS No.

Name of company

Score 136

1

AC S.A.

2

PETRAX SP. Z O.O.

123

3

GRUPA KAPITAŁOWA PROCHEM S.A.

118

4

ZARZĄD MORSKIEGO PORTU GDYNIA S.A.

111

5

HOCHTIEF POLSKA S.A.

106

6

SBS SP. Z O.O.

101

7

3M POLAND SP. Z O.O.

94 90

8

POLSKA WYTWÓRNIA PAPIERÓW WARTOŚCIOWYCH S.A.

9

POLSKI HOLDING NIERUCHOMOŚCI S.A.

86

10

ADECCO POLAND SP. Z O.O.

85

11

WAWEL S.A.

84

12

ROBYG S.A.

80

13

FABRYKA FARB I LAKIERÓW ŚNIEŻKA S.A.

79

14

GRUPA KAPITAŁOWA ENERGOINSTAL S.A.

76

15

MIEJSKIE PRZEDSIĘBIORSTWO WODOCIĄGÓW I KANALIZACJI SPÓŁKA AKCYJNA

75

16

FAURECIA LEGNICA S.A.

74

16

GRUPA KAPITAŁOWA LEASINGTEAM

74

16

PROMAG S.A.

74

19

AMS S.A.

73

19

FAURECIA GORZÓW S.A.

73

19

GRUPA KAPITAŁOWA NOVOL SP. Z O.O.

73

19

MIEJSKIE ZAKŁADY AUTOBUSOWE SP. Z O.O.

73

23

EUROPEJSKI FUNDUSZ LEASINGOWY S.A.

72

24

ATAL S.A.

71 71

24

COLIAN HOLDING SPÓŁKA AKCYJNA

24

GK APATOR S.A.

71

27

LUVENA S.A.

69

27

MOSTOSTAL ZABRZE S.A.

69

29

GEFCO POLSKA SP. Z O.O.

68

29

PRZEDSIĘBIORSTWO HANDLOWE A-T SPÓŁKA AKCYJNA

68

29

ZAKŁADY MAGNEZYTOWE ROPCZYCE S.A.

68

32

FAURECIA AUTOMOTIVE S.A.

65

32

SERWISTAL SP. Z O.O.

65

34

HUTMEN S.A.

64

34

JAS-FBG S.A.

64

34

LERG SPÓŁKA AKCYJNA

64

34

QUMAK S.A.

64

38

PRZEDSIĘBIORSTWO WIELOBRANŻOWE EBUD -PRZEMYSŁÓWKA SP. Z O.O.

63

39

EURO-TRADE SPÓŁKA Z OGRANICZONĄ ODPOWIEDZIALNOŚCIĄ SPÓŁKA KOMANDYTOWA

62 62

39

ZUE S.A.

41

KORPORACJA BUDOWLANA DORACO SP. Z O.O.

61

41

SPOŁEM POWSZECHNA SPÓŁDZIELNIA SPOŻYWCÓW W KIELCACH

61

43

KOLEJE MAZOWIECKIE - KM SP. Z O.O.

60

44

GRUPA KAPITAŁOWA DECORA

59

45

GRUPA KAPITAŁOWA ERGIS

56

46

SPÓŁDZIELCZA MLECZARNIA SPOMLEK

55

grand peARLS No.

Name of company

Score

1

T-Mobile Polska s.a.

111

2

ZakŁaDY GÓRNiCZo-HUTNiCZe bolesŁaW s.a.

103

3

asseCo PolaND s.a.

90

3

oRleN PaliWa sP. Z o.o.

90

5

MoNDi ŚWieCie s.a.

86

6

GRUPa bUDiMeX

83

7

GRUPa alUMeTal

82

7

MieJskie PRZeDsiĘbioRsTWo WoDoCiĄGÓW i kaNaliZaCJi W M.sT. WaRsZaWie s.a.

82

9

Polska GRUPa ZbRoJeNioWa s.a.

81

10

GRUPa kaPiTaŁoWa CCC sPÓŁka akCYJNa

80

11

aNWil s.a.

78

11

GRUPa CaN-PaCk s.a.

78

13

Polskie sieCi elekTRoeNeRGeTYCZNe s.a.

77

13

RoNal Polska sP. Z o.o.

77

15

GRUPa kaPiTaŁoWa CYFRoWY PolsaT s.a.

76

16

Gk CoMaRCH

75

16

GRUPa kaPiTaŁoWa PFleiDeReR GRaJeWo s.a.

75

16

siTeCH sP. Z o.o.

75

19

aNWiM sPÓŁka akCYJNa

74

19

CNH iNDUsTRial Polska sPÓŁka Z oGRaNiCZoNĄ oDPoWieDZialNoŚCiĄ

74

21

bReNNTaG Polska sP. Z o.o.

73

22

Gk iMPeXMeTal

72

22

GRUPa aZoTY s.a.

72

22

GRUPa kaPiTaŁoWa ab s.a.

72

25

Gk PCC RokiTa

70

26

FCa PolaND sPÓŁka akCYJNa

69

26

FleXTRoNiCs iNTeRNaTioNal PolaND sP. Z o.o.

69

26

NeXTeeR aUToMoTiVe PolaND sP. Z o.o.

69

26

Polskie GÓRNiCTWo NaFToWe i GaZoWNiCTWo sPÓŁka akCYJNa

69

30

bsH sPRZĘT GosPoDaRsTWa DoMoWeGo sPÓŁka Z o.o.

68

30

elekTRobUDoWa s.a.

68

30

PkN oRleN s.a.

68

33

osaDkoWski s.a.

67

33

RobeRT bosCH sP. Z o.o.

67

35

GRUPa Polskie skŁaDY bUDoWlaNe s.a.

66

35

HURTaP sPÓŁka akCYJNa

66

35

UNibeP s.a.

66

38

aGoRa s.a.

65

38

GRUPa kaPiTaŁoWa aCTioN s.a.

65

38

GRUPa MlekoViTa

65

38

GRUPa sTRabaG W PolsCe

65

38

kolPoRTeR sPÓŁka Z oGRaNiCZoNĄ oDPoWieDZialNoŚCiĄ sPÓŁka koMaNDYToWa

65

38

PelioN s.a. (GRUPa kaPiTaŁoWa)

65

38

PHUP GNieZNo sP. Z o.o. HURToWNia sP.k.

65

38

TeNNeCo aUToMoTiVe Polska sP.Z o.o.

65

46

Gk boRYsZeW

64

47

iMPel s.a.

63

47

TRW Polska sP. Z o.o.

63

49

FaUReCia WaŁbRZYCH s.a.

60

49

oRaNGe Polska

60

51

GRUPa kaPiTaŁoWa loTos

57

52

eNea s.a.

54

53

lUbelski WĘGiel boGDaNka s.a.

44

54

kGHM Polska MieDź s.a.

42

Wyjątkowy, trwały i ekologiczny Logo to dodatkowa wartość dla opakowań z tektury falistej, symbol ich najwyższej jakości i trwałości.

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IN TOUCH EVERY DAY www.mondigroup.com/aqua

Financial services No.

Name of company

Score

1

SANTANDER CONSUMER BANK S.A.

288

2

BANK ZACHODNI WBK

285

3

METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEŃ NA ŻYCIE I REASEKURACJI S.A.

269

4

BANK GOSPODARSTWA KRAJOWEGO

261

5

TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEŃ EUROPA S.A.

256

6

BANK PEKAO S.A.

252

7

DEUTSCHE BANK POLSKA

230

8

POLISA-ŻYCIE TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEŃ S.A. VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP

222

9

CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK POLSKA

219

10

EURO BANK S.A.

216

11

POWSZECHNA KASA OSZCZĘDNOŚCI BANK POLSKI SPÓŁKA AKCYJNA

213

12

BANK BGŻ BNP PARIBAS S.A.

205

13

BANK POCZTOWY S.A.

200

14

TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEŃ NA ŻYCIE EUROPA S.A.

200

15

COMPENSA TU S.A. VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP

190

16

INTERRISK TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEŃ S.A. VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP

190

17

GRUPA PZU

186

18

UNIQA TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEŃ SPÓŁKA AKCYJNA

178

19

OSTC POLAND

153

20

GETIN NOBLE BANK S.A.

136

21

COMPENSA TU NA ŻYCIE S.A. VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP

90

The editors of “Polish Market” would like to thank all the Patrons and Media Partners for their help in organising the Gala of the Pearls of the Polish Economy.

We wish you every success in the coming year and we hope to be able to continue cooperation in 2017.

Strategic PatronS:

MECENASI STRATEGICZNI:

PARTNERZY: PartnerS:

PATRONI MEDIALNI: media PartnerS:

POLSAT CMYK 33/18/13/40 0/45/100/0

Honorary PatronS: THE SENATE SPEAKER, PATRONAT HONOROWY: MARSZAŁEK SENATU; WICEPREMIER, MINISTER NAUKI SZKOLNICTWA WYŻSZEGO; THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND IHIGHER EDUCATION AND REKTOR SGH;OF THE WARSAW SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS (SGH) THE RECTOR

MARSZAŁEK SENATU STANISŁAW KARCZEWSKI

organizer: EDITORIAL BOARD OF „POLISH MARKET” ORGANIZATOR: REDAKCJA “POLISH MARKET” OPRACOWANIE RANKINGU: ZAKŁAD WSPOMAGANIA I ANALIZY ranking comPlited by: DESICION SUPPORT AND ANALySIS UNIT, INSTITUTE DECYZJI, INSTYTUT WARSAW EKONOMETRII, SZKOŁA GŁÓWNA HANDLOWA OF ECONOMETRICS, SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS W WARSZAWIE

Grupa BSH jest licencjobiorcą w odniesieniu do znaków towarowych, do których uprawniona jest Siemens AG.

Ekspresy Siemens.

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* Promocja trwa od 7.11.2016 r. do 31.01.2017 r. lub do wyczerpania puli premii. Wysokość premii zależy od modelu zakupionego urządzenia. Lista modeli objetych promocją i regulamin akcji na stronie www.siemens-home.bsh-group.com/pl/.

Siemens. The future moving in.

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

ZBIGNIEW JAKUBAS, OWNER OF THE MULTICO CAPITAL GROUP WHICH INCLUDES, AMONG OTHERS, NEWAG AND THE MINT OF POLAND (MENNICA POLSKA S.A.), RECIPIENT OF THE HONORARY PEARL IN THE ECONOMY CATEGORY, IN A CONVERSATION WITH MARCIN HABER TALKS ABOUT HIS BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AND INTEREST IN SPORT.

PEOPLE ARE WORTH AS MUCH AS THEY CAN OFFER TO OTHERS 52 polish market

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

The Multico Capital Group brings together companies from a lot of different sectors: finance, construction, infrastructure, modern technologies. Is such a wide range simply a method of achieving the greatest possible diversification of capital, or perhaps you are a businessman open to almost any prospective market?

A lot of people point out that with so much diversification it is not clear what the corebusiness is. Diversification has always been and will be my goal. I assume that it is better to stand on many healthy legs than on one. There is no area of the economy, which shows ongoing, sustainable and stable growth. All industries which I observe have their own prosperity cycles, their ups and downs. They are a kind of sine waves which rather do not overlap in various sectors of the economy. Certainly, if there is any big collapse in the market, then all areas suffer. In contrast, when we are dealing with a stable market, some sectors are doing better than others. So, by standing on several strong legs one can avoid the brunt of this crisis to a greater extent contrary to those who invest in just one sector.

PM

What can you tell us about your early business career?

I started in 1984 with the clothing business, which still continues today. While expanding my business, I invested in some of my projects by accident. Such was the case of Newag.

It was a completely spontaneous investment aimed at saving a Polish company, which was on the brink of bankruptcy. At that time it was called the Rolling Stock Repair Plants. I trusted the people who persuaded me to invest in this company. Among them was current president Zbigniew Konieczek. He convinced me that he was able to get the business out of trouble, but needed capital which I provided.

PM

Did they succeed?

They did, many times over my expectations. It was similar with Optimus, in which I also invested by accident. I knew Roman Kluska and he talked me into the investment. For many years it was my chain and ball, because the company was involved in tax issues. I struggled with it until the merger of Optimus with CD Projekt. Then I subsidized the merged companies, since I believed the young creators of CD Projekt. They came to me with a request for an emergency issue. This proved to be a giant success for them and for me. I am close to the philosophy of American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who believed that it is necessary for businessmen to reinvest profits in such a way that they drive further development of companies and at the same time PM

they serve employees. In short, it is not about consumption, but, above all, about investing money that has been earned. Therefore, in all the companies in my portfolio, profits are paid out in part as dividends – because shareholders expect it – but for the most part are reinvested. So, we constantly look for new investment opportunities. If there is no investment that can be made within the core business, we look for new areas - the Mint of Poland is a good example here.

Here, the new investment area is far removed from the core activity of the company.

When I took control of the Mint in 2002, it was a very small company with a turnover of about PLN 100 million a year, dealing exclusively with the production of circulation coins for the National Bank of Poland, and to a lesser extent with the mintage of collector coins.

We decided to go for an entirely new venture, an electronic ticket for public transport. Over the years we have managed to achieve a position of an absolute leader in the Polish market.

Building a new, strong business field of the Mint took us many years. In this area further investments consist mainly of entering new markets, the expansion of our operations on further cities, and the plans to go outside Poland.

Two years ago we said it was time for the next step.

PM

What step?

We are in possession of very interesting plots in the centre of Warsaw, where our factory was located (Wola, where a new business centre of Warsaw is being developed – ed.). The plant there was an environmental nuisance. So we decided to build a new factory in Annopol (north-eastern, industrial part of the city – ed.) and to demolish the old plant in Wola. In this location, in Grzybowska Street, we are building two apartment blocks which will be followed by others soon. We have already sold over 80% of flats in the first two buildings.

Looking at all this, one can notice that in recent years almost all our investments paid off.

This only whets the appetite for further investments. We are not afraid of this and the rates of return are quite good.

Your repeat the word “trust.” You have trusted the people from Newag, CD Projekt, you have trusted in the investments of the Mint. This cannot be simply a matter of intuition…

Certainly, I try to analyse everything thoroughly before making a decision. Above all, I evaluate the prospects of the sector, the quality of the product and its competitive advantages. Certainly, the people who are to manage the business are also important. I am not scared of heavy industry, hence my investment in Newag.

PM

And what was the case of CD Projekt?

I hosted the key meeting on Monday, and the Management Board of CD Projekt needed several million zlotys by Wednesday. I went to the company to see how the works on the “Witcher” computer game looked like and I was positively surprised by the team working on the project. The young and highly committed IT experts. Also the vision and knowledge of the Management Board was vital. They were convinced that the project would end with big success. They won me over with their attitude and I simply put my trust in them.

PM

PM

Are you planning further investment projects in the development sector?

The Mint is certainly going to develop this part of its business. We are going to continue reinvesting some of our available funds. The purchase of Netia shares was a similar investment. The Management Board of the Mint decided that this was a prospective investment.

Currently, the Mint stands on four stable legs: its core business, city card, property development and the investment in Netia. Thanks to this the turnover in 2016 will be close to PLN 900 million. Next year the results will be even better because the development projects will begin to generate revenues.

PM

But not everything worked out in your favour It's true. Poznań brings me bad luck. In 2005, I took over a construction business there which six months later had to file for bankruptcy. I lost PLN 20 million on that deal. A second, similar project was yet another construction company bought in 2001 and operating in the railway market. Two years ago, because of the dishonesty of a state-owned company which failed to pay for the work done, the business was declared bankrupt. I want to show you that during my 36 years in business I have not had successes alone. There were also bitter defeats, such as those mentioned above, which cost me more than PLN 50 million.

PM

So, now you are more cautious when it comes to Poznań?

I am cautious, but fortunately the “three times lucky” rule has worked. Last year, I began a project involving the construction of an apartment block in Poznań. The building is nearing completion and sells very well. I hope to stop the run of bad luck with this project.

PM

PM

You mentioned a potential expansion of the Mint’s City Card solutions abroad. Which 12/2016 polish market

53

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY directions are you monitoring and considering?

I can say, without myth mania and megalomania that we now have one of the most modern electronic tickets system in the world. The system consists of analysing data on passenger traffic, watching the streams of passengers: where, what time, what lines. The operator can analyse the data almost in real time, allowing it, for example, to manage the movement of public transport means. This opens up huge possibilities. This is our proprietary project. In Poland, we are the absolute leader. Therefore, we are talking to many cities in the world, especially those where public transport is developed. I do not want to reveal the exact cities we are working on, but I believe that within a year we will expand outside Poland. We are currently running a pilot programme of the new system in Jaworzno, Łódź and soon in Warsaw.

How does it differ from the previous system?

It will be an intelligent system, in which, apart from the possibility of a personalized ticket purchase, municipal transport authorities will be free to create fare tariffs on cards, e.g. one- or two-day-tickets for tourists, hourly tickets, etc. The flexibility of this system is amazing. In addition, there is a new system of "validating" tickets which is contactless, with new validating machines. It will also increase the security and the ability to detect suspicious cards. Hackers now recharge magnetic cards.

With this system, it will be impossible. With these solutions, we can easily enter not only Polish cities, but also cities in foreign markets.

PM

What are the costs of this system?

The cost of know-how, which we have been creating for more than 10 years, the IT system, software, the ability to instantly modify tariffs, is not easy to estimate. This is our advantage.

Implementation of the system in a city such as Wrocław, which is now conducting a tendering procedure, costs approximately PLN 45-50 million. This cost includes full infrastructure: validating machines, recharging machines and the cards. The city buys and receives a complete operating system from us.

PM

Is the Mint of Poland currently present abroad in any other way?

Not much is being talked about it, but for the last 60 years we, as the Mint, have been producing circulation coins only for the Polish market.

The National Bank of Poland (NBP) was our only customer. Three years ago, the NBP decided to move some of this production abroad. Consequently, the Mint staked everything on external markets. The old adage that “what does not kill you makes you stronger” has yet again proved to be correct. Today we supply circulation coins to six other countries. Currently, PM

54 polish market

export accounts for 70% of our production. If we win the tendering procedures which are presently under way, next year we will increase our production for the world markets by another 30-40%. We are also the absolute leader when it comes to manufacturing and design of collector coins. Every year we win the most important awards in this area. We have an excellent team of designers.

And other companies?

As for Newag, we are already present in Italy. In November, under a contract, we are exporting further trains to Italy. Together with Siemens, for more than EUR 250 million, we will manufacture trains to the underground in Sofia. The success of Newag is largely due to the fact that, apart from the CFO, all its Management Board members are engineers. A couple of days ago we delivered six Impuls trains to Małopolskie railways. These are the most modern trains ever produced in Poland. In terms of the technology and reliability we are the absolute leader among Polish manufacturers. Newag very quickly made up the distance to the leaders of the global market.

PM

How? We learn from those who are better than us.

Our co-operation with Siemens gives us a great deal. We participate as a partner (consortium member) in the most advanced technologies worldwide, such as the production of cars for the Warsaw Metro. Polish manufacturers still lack a bit of experience to produce trains such as Pendolino on their own. Germans or the Japanese had a few decades more to get to such advanced technologies. We are now catching up and very quickly approaching the top. Newag is currently the most technologically developed Polish company in the railway sector. I do not compare us to companies which are the subsidiaries of foreign concerns, such as Alstom or Stadler, which get their know-how from their head offices. Our engineering team consists of 240 people. We are learning fast. The knowledge which we have gained during the four years of co-operation with Siemens is invaluable. This is our professor. The matches played by Legia Warszawa in the Champions League show what practice and playing together with the leaders can do. In just a month the team went from a 0:6 thrashing at the hands of Borussia Dortmund, through another, smaller loss to Sporting Lisbon, a rather decent game against Real in Madrid, to the historic 3:3 draw against Real Madrid in Warsaw.

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Such a gigantic difference in performance in just a month and a half And what about the last game against Jagiellonia? Legia demolished the league leader because over two months of playing in the PM

Champions League it acquired know-how beyond the ken of any other team in Poland that plays only in Ekstraklasa. When you join a brilliant orchestra as a young musician, experiencing the way other members of the ensemble play makes you want to improve your skills and reach their level. This is a change of the mentality.

Going back to Newag, I can say that we are capable for producing trains travelling at speeds of 160, 200 and we even showed 230 km/h. We can also build long-distance trains meeting all the criteria of an operator. But this is today.

A few years ago, when the tender for the Pendolino was announced, the Polish producers had no such skills.

Was Pendolino your Real Madrid?

It set our goal, showed our place in the ranks.

At companies such as Siemens or other western concerns, products are tested for years before being allowed on the track. There are no situations where someone starts production and delivers the product a year later. There are always defects that manifest themselves in time.

Today, thanks to the support of our foreign partners, we are on a constant path of technological development. We co-operate with the largest global railway companies and thanks to that in two years from now, we will be granted accession to the German market. We are already present in Italy and it is a matter of months when we will enter the markets of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

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Would Newag submit a tender for new Warsaw metro trains with the experience mentioned by you?

We will probably submit a tender with Siemens yet again. A modern train is a light train.

Choosing Siemens, the Warsaw Metro went for the most advanced products available anywhere in the world. Newag performed a large part of the work. It was responsible for the assembly of 27 trains. No Polish company manufactures aluminium cars and we need 2-3 years to launch the production. Besides, the size of the Metro order – 30 trains – would render this unprofitable. It is better to use ready and tried-andtested products.

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Your companies are also active in another area: CSR. I will ask you a simple question, what for? Is this a method of improving the image of the brands or are you doing this because your heart so desires?

In my case I do this purely out of the goodness of my heart. I have such a principle in my life – if you can help someone, then do it. I myself, in my business record, have experienced many instances where someone “up there” ensured that I met the right person on my path.

I perfectly remember my first business decision PM

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY in the very beginning of my business path. It was in 1978. I hesitated whether I should have spent USD 7,000, which I received from my parents, to buy a flat, or to invest. Accidentally, I met a man, and as it turned out he was an entrepreneur, to whom I mentioned my doubts.

He said, "Young man, go into business, do not hesitate a minute. You will quickly earn enough to buy a flat." Had this man not given me comfort and courage, and advised against going into business, my life could have gone in a completely different direction.

Do you now look at young entrepreneurs this way?

If a start-up approaches me, I try to analyse the project in the most rational way, but I generally look for positive things and a chance for these people. Companies in the Multico Group get involved in culture. We also often reply to letters with requests for help during medical treatment or rehabilitation. Of course, we cannot help everybody, but it is nice that sometimes a small donation towards e.g. a wheelchair or six months of physiotherapy can change peoples’ lives. Man is worth as much as he can offer to others. You have to have an open heart and mind to be able to share your success.

NEWAG IS CURRENTLY THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY DEVELOPED POLISH COMPANY IN THE RAILWAY SECTOR.

PM

You mentioned the performance of Legia Warszawa in the Champions League, in the business context. Have you ever considered active participating in sport, buying some sports club?

I am emotionally close to Legia Warszawa because the Club is owned by my friends. I have had many approaches with people asking me to sponsor sports clubs. Maybe I will decide to take part in some discipline, but today this is not going to be football. I am an engineer. Engineers are rational people. I always want to be able to influence things which I am responsible for. If today, with budgets available to the clubs – Legia has nearly PLN 200 million and FC Barcelona or Real Madrid EUR 600 million – the result of a game often hinges on an incorrect decision of the referee, if with the available technologies the FIFA and UEFA oppose the introduction of a “challenge” which works very well in other disciplines, then I just don’t understand their obstinacy. This challenge is used in sports where one point this or that way does not play such a huge role, for instance, in tennis. In football, one wrong decision of the referee can distort the result of the entire game.

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And sometimes a loss running into tens of millions of euros Precisely. Such amounts are paid for winning the finals of the world championships or Champions League. As long as the rules remain unchanged, some investors will not be interested in sponsoring football. Other issues that PM

hamper investments in Polish football are the behaviour of fans and the ineffectiveness of the police in combating hooliganism at football stadiums. Rioting fans dressed in Legia’s colours harm not just the image of the club, but also the State. Whenever there are disturbances involving them, for example in the streets of Madrid (before a Champions League game – ed.) this casts a shadow not just on the football supporters, but on all Poles.

But the Ministry of Internal Affairs washes its hands. According to the Ministry, clubs should ensure that order is maintained at their stadiums.

Do you remember identical problems in the Netherlands and England 20 years ago? The authorities decided to deal with the matter and very severe penalties started to be applied. This problem cannot be resolved without the assistance of the State.

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If not football, then what?

Volleyball is a very spectacular discipline with a wide following in Poland. It is food for thought. One could finance several young and promising tennis players. For them, tens of thousands of dollars a year is often a matter of “to be or not to be”. I have certain plans in this regard, but it would be too early to disclose any details.

PM

Let us go back to business. You mentioned start-ups coming to you for funding. How do you evaluate such projects? Do you assess them from the perspective of a business plan or do you look for something that sets them apart?

We must remember that statistically 95% of start-ups end in failure. Out of 100 projects only 5 succeed. You have to be able to accept risk. First, I separate realistic projects from pipe PM

dreams, which reduces the field by approximately 50%. After deeper analyses another 25% are rejected because even if they are feasible, they will not generate a profit. You must look for pearls in the last 25%. They stand a chance of making their mark and bringing some money in the future. I like evaluating technical projects since I understand them.

What specifically do you look for?

First, the project must have potential. Second, it has to be something new. Recently, some people came to me with an interesting idea. However, I checked that a large Japanese concern has already been manufacturing that element together with a Polish company. I arranged a meeting with the manufacturer and the start-up people realised that they would not be able to compete.

Another stage is observing those who apply for funding. If someone comes and says that he/she needs PLN 100,000, showing a prepared budget based on the assumption that if it comes off, then a profit can be made, that is OK. But if this person wants to receive substantial remuneration from the beginning, it means a red flag to me as far as project evaluation is concerned.

PM

Finally, I would like to ask you about the Honorary Pearl which you received during the recent Gala of the Pearls of the Polish Economy. Are awards like the Pearl of any value to a businessman with a track record like yours, or are they just trinkets that look nice on a shelf?

Such a distinction is very nice for me. It shows that my hard work in business and the effects of my work over the last 30 years have been appreciated. I am proud of my business achievements and I can say that I am a lucky • man.

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POLAND IS ONE OF THE TEN KEY MARKETS ARKADIUSZ PRZYBYŁ, President of Santander Consumer Bank, talks to "Polish Market".

Deloitte recently presented a report, which states that CFOs believe that the Polish economy in 2017 will continue a steady growth. What is your opinion on this? At what percentage level we can expect the economy to grow?

The consensus resulting from the said CFO Survey shows next year's GDP growth of 2.5%.

In this respect, we are a little more optimistic and expect that next year it will be 2.6% -2.9%. But keep in mind that the uncertainty accompanying us in the forthcoming period will be incomparably higher than before, which may have an impact on the final value of the indicators. On the one hand, we have a complex situation in the international arena, where, contrary to the predictions, an increasingly important role is played by new actors or factions previously confined to a niche. Brexit, Donald Trump’s victory, elections in Germany and France – the euro zone’s two largest economies – these are just some of the factors generating global uncertainty. To all this you need to add the specifics of our market, an ambitious country wishing to catch up with the European leaders in terms of quality of life. Undoubtedly, programmes supporting consumption, and a nearly 4% growth in private consumption suggesting that the 500+ scheme is of this nature, EU funds for investments in the new perspective and a falling unemployment rate will bring us closer to the goal. The challenge PM

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remains to balance the benefits and expenditures of the state budget. Assuming that the government manages to secure the funds for disbursements of the already introduced and planned social programmes in subsequent years, an increase in debt associated with co-financing from EU funds appears to be inevitable after all. We anticipate that within 12 months investments will increase by a few percentage points relative to the current year, which may also affect the growth of the economy, but also the amount of public debt. Continuation of long-term economic growth coupled with poor demographic situation is already increasing difficulty in recruiting qualified staff. Unemployment rate below 6% will translate in a natural way into an increase in the operating costs. In certain industries this effect may partially offset by the growth of the employment of Ukrainian citizens.

The Santander Group is one of the largest financial groups in the world. The Group occupies a significant position in the UK. Do you fear any negative effects of Brexit?

The Santander Group's business model is based on autonomous subsidiaries, which means that each of the banks in the Group is subject to local law, self-sufficient in terms of capital, liquidity and funding. The deposit base built in the UK is used to finance lending in the UK only. From the operational PM

point of view, Brexit will not have any impact on the Group.

A separate issue is the contribution of Santander UK to the Group result. Since 2004, or the takeover by Santander of Abbey, one of the leading players in the UK financial sector, we have we have reached a critical mass.

The United Kingdom is for us one of the 10 key markets in which we operate and Brexit does not change anything in this regard. We still want to achieve our our strategic goal helping people and businesses prosper. The United Kingdom remains one of the most important contributors to the results of the Santander Group.

You have received a Pearl of the Polish Economy in the financial sector. You are present in almost every ranking. This confirms your good financial results, but also the effectiveness and growth dynamic of Santander Consumer Bank. How the results generated in Poland compare to your other entities in Europe?

Operational efficiency and the ability to maintain satisfactory profitability are now the top priorities for the boards of Polish banks.

Increasing regulatory and fiscal pressure, a demanding labour market, the need to invest in technology to ensure security and adjusting business models to the expectations of increasingly mobile customers who require the highest quality of service and products PM

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– all this generates costs. On the other hand, the banking sector as a whole, has a limited ability to generate profits, which is particularly evident in times of record-low interest rates. The key to development is to find our own niche and continuous improvement of the way in which we operate. Without fake modesty I can confirm that over the years we have developed our own way. The decision on the consistent development of consumer finance market brings results, as evidenced by the long-term presence among the recipients of the Pearls of the Polish Economy, and this year's first place. Our advantage comes from speed, effective adaptation to the changing environment and having a team of competent people. As a medium-sized bank – in terms of value of assets we rank in the second ten – we have taken a permanent place among the most viable banks in Poland and are in the forefront of the most profitable banks, taking into account the return on equity. We offer reliable support for Bank Zachodni WBK, the capital group we have been operating in for more than two years. We are also a key part of the Santander Consumer Finance division, which can be found in 15 European countries and the USA.

Is Poland among the key ranks for Santander Group?

Poland is one of the ten key markets of the Group – next to the already mentioned Great Britain, Spain, USA, Germany, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile – currently generating approximately 6% of reproducible result. Our presence in Poland is based on two pillars: Retail Banking of Bank Zachodni WBK and Santander Consumer Bank specialising in consumer loans. We, as Santander Consumer Bank are the leader of efficiency in the Polish banking sector, and at the same time, what few people know, one of the largest lenders in Poland. One in five consumer loans granted in our country comes from Santander Consumer Bank. Considering our current market position and prospects for development and bridging the distance to the mature European markets in terms of the living standards and the level of banking services usage, Poland is not only a key market for the Santander Group, but is seen as one of the key sources of growth in the coming years.

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Increasingly, we are talking about rePolonisation and domestication of banks.

While banks domestication can combine different capitals, Polish and foreign, rePolonisation means that banks only have Polish capital. What is your view on this?

Are we able to talk about re-Polonisation in today's world, where money knows no borders?

The consolidation of the banking sector was inevitable, and the avalanche of events triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was only the catalyst for the process. Poland as a market has been an attractive area of expansion since the beginning of the free-market transformation, also for financial institutions. From an objective point of view, the largest market in Central and Eastern Europe was a natural choice for investments. Some banks developed a full range of services, others focused on specific niches.

After several years, it is time to evaluate these investments. Those who failed to achieved an adequate scale of operations had to decide about the future. Some have left our market, others still have this decision in front of them.

Consolidation is not over, and the number of players who are able to actively participate in the M&A market is very limited. In addition to Santander, which appeared in the context of virtually every change in recent years, only a small group of banks have a real potential for acquisitions and development of business in this country. In Poland, players from the outside of the banking sector have been playing an increasingly important role in recent years. On the one hand, we have an objective reason to engage in the processes of consolidation of companies with Polish capital. On the other hand, a political climate conducive to this type of undertakings has developed. I would venture to say that the origin of capital is not important from the point of view of the customers, because what counts for them is having access to funding on attractive and transparent conditions, at a place and time in which they need it. The key question is what the consequences of the re-Polonisation of the banking sector will be for the shareholders of banks and consolidating entities. The past shows that the political nature of the decision did not always go hand in hand with economic rationality. Time will tell how it was in this case.

Santander Consumer Bank provides loans to individual customers and businesses.

What type of loans predominates?

We focus on individual customers. So far, we have served more than 11 million of them.

Every year we help to finance the daily needs of more than half a million Poles who come to us for the first time. A large part of them come back for further products and assistance in buying a car, home furnishing and all kinds of services. A significant portion of our sales is accounted for by our partners: car dealers, shops and providers of services. Altogether, more than 20,000 entities. Some of them use our services in the form of financing their activities. Strategically, they are an important part of our business. However, PM

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY in terms of volume, it is much smaller than loans to individuals.

What are your plans for next year?

Our goal is to maintain a leading position in the consumer finance market, which we achieved by a series of activities addressed to different groups. From the perspective of customers, we focus on continuing the development of the consumer credit market. Our offer will include new products, we will continue to develop an online presence and expand our distribution channels. In a few months the services of Santander Consumer Bank will be made available for the first time at a leading DIY chain. We are also talking to major players in the FMCG market on the support that we can provide them. This year we also started co-operation with PSA and collectively – through a joint venture – we want to promote the sales of Peugeot and Citroen cars.

The goals require investment in our team. We conduct a partner dialogue with our employees carefully listening to their suggestions and responding to areas requiring attention. We will invest in building competence, professional and personal development. In terms of the level of commitment we can easily compete with the best companies in the market, but in this respect we want to be a reference point for others.

One of the target groups of our activities will be the local communities and promoting a healthy lifestyle within the Santander Academy of Health. Several hundred thousand people have heard about the project, launched in the spring of 2016 under the auspices of Justyna Kowalczyk, and several thousand Poles took part in free nordic walking classes and Polish Nordic Walking Cup. We want to continue in this direction next year, too.

And finally, we have our shareholders whom we promised to implement certain revenue plans. I have no doubt that the result of our team work will be positive next year as well.

As a young team and the leader in the consumer loans market we have considerable ambitions and an even greater appetite for success. Our high place in next year’s Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking will be a good • summary of our work.

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ZINC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AT ZGH BOLESŁAW SA ANDRZEJ SZARY, Member of the Board, Marketing Director at ZGH Bolesław SA, talks to "Polish Market".

A month ago you took a number of key decisions setting out the directions of actions to be taken by the Management Board aimed at developing the company and zinc production. You have formulated new raw material policy assumptions.

For many years our smelting plant was based on its own raw materials. We mined ore in mines and processed it into a concentrate, from which we produced zinc and lead. We were self-sufficient in terms of raw materials.

However, since about 10 years ago, the situation has been changing. The growing metal production requires increased amounts of raw materials and the percentage of zinc in the ore is naturally getting smaller. Our current knowledge of the state of the deposit and relatively favourable current economic conditions mean that the closure of the Olkusz Pomorzany pit has been postponed. At the peak period we produced nearly 2.7 million tonnes of ore containing 4.2% zinc and 1.7 % of lead.

In the last year it was 2.3 million tonnes of ore containing 2.7% of zinc. The difference in the extraction is significant, and as you can see, the resources exploited now contain far less metals. In 2016, the mine contributed just 50 percent of raw materials consumed in the production of zinc. Over the last 10 years, we had to create a strategy for how to acquire the remaining 50% in order to maintain zinc production in our works at the current level. This involved, of course, answering the question of prices, and above all, whether PM

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we would be able to do well economically in the new situation.

Particularly, since we have been observing lately a tendency towards reduced availability of raw materials in the world and a growing deficit of concentrates in the market. In 2016, the deficit of zinc concentrate is estimated at 800,000 tonnes.

With the declining output of the OlkuszPomorzany mine and high concentrate prices there was a serious threat to the continued production at ZGH Bolesław.

We were fully aware of this and therefore focused on an alternative solution and namely on recycled zinc oxide which could replace the classic concentrate coming from the mine. Hence the creation of the company Boleslaw Recycling and processing of the so-called metallurgical dust and other zinc waste into the charge material for our plant.

We were aware that it was a difficult task, because the oxide from recycling contained much chlorine and fluorine, which interfered in the electrolysis process, consequently limiting the possibility of its use. For this reason, initially, just like other producers, we directed limited amounts of the oxide from recycling to the roasting process, where it was purified of these hazardous contaminants. The main direction of our work was the development of technologies for purifing the oxide to a level allowing us to increase the share of these materials above the 10% allowed. As a PM

result, more than four years ago we commissioned a new investment project enabling the removal of chlorine and fluorine from the oxide. The first such patented and effective facility in the world allowed us in 2016 to use up to 30% of recycled oxide as a charge material for the smelting plant. Assessing the charge material situation in the current year, we can conclude that we must buy only 20% of the concentrates because currently 50% are concentrates from our mines, and 30% comes from steelmaking dust recycling. Initially, we only bought the concentrate from other producers, including Sweden, Ireland, the Balkans. With time, we launched our own mine in Montenegro and are developing extensive co-operation with many mines in this region of Europe: Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia.

What is the role of the Montenegro mine in supplying the mill with raw materials?

The mine in Montenegro can provide a supply of both zinc-lead and zinc concentrate. Currently, it mostly prepares the zinclead concentrate for the Miasteczko Śląskie zinc smelting plant. This is done deliberately, as it gives us the opportunity to build a purchasing strategy for abruptly changing demand for concentrate at ZGH Bolesław after complete cessation of mining operations at Olkusz Pomorzany.

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At the same time you were searching for ways of extending the operation of the

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Olkusz-Pomorzany mine, which was supposed to be closed next year, and starting production from new deposits in Klucze and Laski.

We had two licences for prospecting the Klucze deposit located to the north of the Pomorzany mine and the Laski deposit situated to the west of that pit. A prospecting licence means that based on the geological knowledge regarding the presence of the ore further tests and drilling are carried out.

We did this. Currently, we are exploiting three deposits at the Olkusz-Pomorzany mine: Pomorzany, Olkusz Podpoziom and Klucze I. Three years ago we applied for a licence to extend the exploited area to include the Klucze I deposit. We received it at the end of last month, after a final decision of the Minister of the Environment about the changes in the licence of 2009. Extending the Klucze I mining area will enable us to extract some 2 million tonnes of ore from the part located outside the fault. Considering that the resources of the Olkusz-Pomorzany mine are approximately 4 million tonnes and additional increments, this should enable us to maintain extraction until 2020.

Initially, we wanted to start the operation of the Klucze deposit independently from the Olkusz Pomorzany mine following its closure. Although the deposit would be approached from the direction of Pomorzany, the small mine would have to have its own separate infrastructure. However, we encountered considerable public opposition to the construction of surface facilities and changed the concept, accepting simultaneous exploitation of the Klucze and Pomorzany deposits. This involved a change in the overall mining plan. As a result of the adopted schedule in the coming years we plan to extract 1.8 million tonnes of ore for 4 consecutive years. It has to be made clear that if not for the price of zinc this strategy would be difficult to implement. Market conditions have created the possibility of taking a new look at the mining part. After reducing the extraction, the charge material from the mine will constitute 40% of the total charge material.

And what about the Laski deposit?

We continue to work on this deposit. We have completed drilling and are preparing the geological documentation for approval, and then we will do everything to get a mining licence. It is a difficult task, because this deposit cannot be combined with a functioning mine. It is necessary to develop and implement an independent mining project and to overcome any resistance of the local community we are now faced with wherever there are new mining projects.

At the current zinc prices such a mine would be economically viable. We are talking about a project running for approximately 10 years with annual ore production of 1 million tonnes, or so. The future will show if our plans are realistic.

PM

You build the prospects of ZGH Bolesław based on recycled raw materials. The start-up of a new floatation tailings processing plant has been continuing for a month now.

Last year, as part of the programme for the development of concentrates production based on the processing of zinc waste we began the construction of our floatation tailings processing plant. We would like this raw material from recycling to account for a total of at least 50% of the PM

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A PROJECT RUNNING FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 YEARS WITH ANNUAL ORE PRODUCTION OF 1 MILLION TONNES, OR SO. THE FUTURE WILL SHOW IF OUR PLANS ARE REALISTIC.

raw material used in zinc production. Just like the aforesaid oxides purification facility, the secondary tailings processing system currently undergoing start-up procedures is also the first of its kind in the world. So far, nobody has processed this type of waste.

What is the problem and how are we resolving it?

The main waste material in the process of zinc ore processing are floatation tailings. Out of the annual production of 2.4 million tonnes of ore, some 800,000 tonnes is separated using the gravitational enrichment process, in the form of dolomite stone. The remaining 1.6 million tonnes is processed into zinc, lead, zinc-lead concentrates which total 100,000 tonnes. This means that some 1.5 million tonnes of mining waste ends up in settling ponds. This happens at all facilities manufacturing concentrates. ZGH Bolesław has been generating this waste for nearly 60 years. It occupies an area of almost 110 ha. Out of the 60 million tonnes of waste, approximately 30 million can still be processed.

First, we developed and patented the technology, and a year and a half later we commenced the project costing us PLN 58 million. We took out a PLN 42 million loan from the National Environment Protection and Water Economy fund. If we achieve the assumed environmental effect, part of this loan may be written off. We are currently commissioning the facility. The processing of floatation tailings is scheduled to begin next year. In the first year we are going to produce zinc-lead concentrates for Miasteczko Śląskie.

After completing additional separators, as of 2018 we will make zinc concentrate for ZGH Bolesław.

You have recently decided to build a new smelters shop.

Is this your biggest planned investment of recent times?

This is a purely business investment project. We want to use it to demonstrate how, for the first time in the world, it is possible to manufacture zinc by the electrolysis method using more than 50% of recycled charge material. Such electrolysis has never been done before. Therefore, we have applied for a PLN 40 million grant under the Smart Growth Programme from the National Research and Development Centre. The costs of the entire project are estimated at PLN 265 million.

This demonstration facility is to show that zinc can be produced using charge material which is recycled in more than 50%. We will test this technology with scientists from the Non-Ferrous Metals Institute and AGH University of Science and Technology. We also want to use this facility in our production operations in order to achieve a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of electrolytic zinc per year as quick• ly as possible.

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THE DOMESTIC MARKET IS IMPORTANT FOR US KATARZYNA RUTKOWSKA, President of AC SA, talks to “Polish Market”.

Present on the automotive market for 30 years now, AC SA specializes in the delivery of modern LPG and CNG systems for motor vehicles. Can you tell me more about it? Do you deliver components or complete sets?

Our core business is the production, under our own STAG brand, of modern systems for powering vehicles with alternative fuel: both LPG and CNG. The former is a mixture of propane and butane while the latter is methane. These gas fuels are significantly cheaper than conventional fuels.

They enable saving around 50% on fuel costs and at the same time have a favourable impact on the natural environment because gas combustion generates much less pollution than the combustion of petrol and diesel.

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We carry out the whole process in a comprehensive way: from developing the concept and building our own product to obtaining international certificates and approvals to production, sales and technical support for customers. We are now the largest firm in the gas systems segment in Poland, with an over 50% market share, and one of the four most important producers of complete gas systems in the world. More than 4 million vehicles in the world, including 1 million in Poland, have been fitted with the STAG autogas system made in our plant in Białystok [a city in eastern Poland – ed.]. Under current conditions, the cost of converting to gas is recouped in less than 10 months on average. Then, you can spend what you have saved on pleasures. We deliver complete solutions. We manufacture the main components of the system by ourselves: electronics, which is the “brain” controlling the system, wire harnesses, filters, emulators, switches and the mechanical system. We constantly improve and miniaturize them, and launch new products.

AC SA also designs and produces high-quality electronics and wire harnesses, including more than 1,000 different models of sets for tow hooks, mainly for the demanding German and Western European market, and harnesses for electric cars.

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AC SA is a pioneer of change in the area of autogas systems. What does this actually mean. And what have these changes involved – increased security, lower fuel consumption?

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY Many of our solutions are innovative and set a direction for the development of the sector in terms of products, and sales and marketing methods. Our objective is to achieve the compatibility of the STAG system with all of the widely used engine solutions. We try to make our solutions as universal as possible.

The biggest advantage of the STAG system’s know-how is the software written by our engineers. It is updated every couple of months to keep up with new engine models and rapid technological progress in the automotive industry, and to meet the requirements of various markets with different technical and environmental requirements – from Siberia to Thailand. Our systems are easy to install as they are developed in close cooperation with installers. A properly calibrated and fitted system reduces gas consumption. Additionally, we have developed various mobile applications for installers and drivers. Our systems comply with international quality and safety standards, which is confirmed by international approval authorities. We operate on the competitive automotive market, which is stimulated by technological innovation. To keep pace with car makers, we spend over 3% of our revenue on research and development.

We have our own research and development centre with modern equipment. We employ there more than 60 engineers specialized in the field of electronics, mechanics, information technology and automation. The effort of our designers is now focused, among others, on solutions for cars with direct petrol injection as more and more of them appear on the market. In response to this, we are soon going to launch on the market our own universal solution with the use of LPG injection in liquid state.

When we speak about gas systems we often think of petrol-powered vehicles. But I know that you have tested the LPG and CNG systems for diesel engines. The results of the tests are certainly of interest to the vehicle owners. What were they?

For two years now we have offered solutions not only for petrol engines but also diesel engines. The latter are mainly intended for vehicles consuming large amounts of diesel oil, like for example means of road and water transport, construction machines, stationary engines and agricultural tractors and machines. In this case, we have to do with dual fuel technology: diesel and LPG or CNG. This allows you to cut fuel costs by up to 30% depending on engine type. Although we cannot expect here such significant savings as in solutions for petrol-powered engines, it is a very interesting system and not only for transport fleets in the case of high fuel consumption and PM

a large number of kilometres travelled. It is also worth mentioning the ability to achieve a significant increase in engine power, which is essential for agricultural tractors, for instance, and a favourable impact on the natural environment through a reduction in pollution, including an almost complete reduction in solid particles, like for example soot. The quality and reliability of the product has been tested not only in laboratory conditions, but also in long-distance road tests of over 100,000 kilometres. It has been shown that the system has the same lifespan and performance as the original engine. The STAG Diesel has all the certificates and approvals needed for it to be sold not only in Poland, but also on tens of other markets, from Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan to Thailand and Japan. The system can also be used to convert electricity generators to gas. Dual fuel technology should attract the interest of growing numbers of owners of vehicles powered by diesel, especially as diesel vehicles are increasingly banned from city centres because of high emissions. The latter does not concern vehicles with dual fuel technology because in principle the injection of gas into a diesel engine reduces emissions.

AC SA sells its products in 50 countries across the world: from Peru and Canada to Italy, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand and Japan. What is the strategy for the company’s presence on foreign markets?

The domestic market is important for us and accounts for around 40% of our sales. Poland ranks third in the world in terms of the number of vehicles running on gas, which exceeds 3 million. It also has a dense network of LPG refuelling stations. However, if we want to expand we have to move boldly beyond Poland and look for markets where PM

there are good conditions for the development of autogas, that is markets with favourable fuel price differentials and a network of gas refuelling stations. Beside innovation, exports expansion is part of our DNA. We are present with our products on more than 50 markets on six continents and are still looking for new marketing outlets. Such a geographical diversification enables spreading the risk which appears from time to time, for example macroeconomic risk, political risk and risk associated with unfavourable prices of autogas relative to prices of conventional fuels. We are actively looking for new markets, in particular in Asia, the slowly-awakening Africa and South America. Of course, we remember that the maturing of a market where there is a potential for the popularization of autogas is sometimes delayed and you have to wait. For example, many African countries have access to cheap LPG or CNG and could start saving on transport fuel costs.

However, they usually do not have a network of gas refuelling station yet. Considering the long-term potential of Latin America, we set up our own company in Peru in 2014. And in 2016, we set up our company in Italy, the “cradle” of autogas.

It is worth mentioning that our STAG systems have been installed in police vehicles in several U.S. states. This confirms that our products are economical, environmentfriendly and safe. We hope that governments and public institutions in Poland and other countries will also become more interested in this form of cost-cutting and care of the environment. Poland is a leader in the development of technology for powering vehicles with autogas. We can offer our long experience in this field to many markets across the world.

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3M SCIENCE CHANGING POLAND FOR 25 YEARS

SEBASTIAN ARANA, Managing Director 3M in Poland, talks to “Polish Market.”

It is 17 times a day that an average Pole encounters 3M products. It is one of the brands with the strongest presence in Poland. The American giant employs in the country nearly 2,900 people and works with over 6,000 Polish businesses. These are only some of the facts illustrating 3M’s road in Poland since 1991 when the company entered the local market. What has the company managed to achieve over this period and what are its plans for the future?

3M has invested USD0.5 billion in Poland so far. An innovative and rapidly expanding company, providing jobs to nearly 3,000 people, has come into being. It is an impressive success.

Over the 25 years of 3M’s operations in Poland we have managed to build an innovative company with a real influence on the shape of the nation’s economy and its development.

We have invested here USD500 million, we employ nearly 3,000 people and the product range we offer exceeds 10,000 items. Since the beginning of our activity we have consistently supported our employees and partners.

Our priority is science and innovation. And our strong basis is sustainable development.

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How did the development of this infrastructure begin?

The year 1991 marked the beginning of 3M’s operations in Poland. Ten years later the company took over the Wrocław-based plant of Viscoplast, a manufacturer of protective and medicated plasters. In the same city, Wrocław, we started to build in 2002 a new plant to manufacture Scotchcast orthopaedic casting products as a replacement for gypsum plaster. Within just a few years we managed to develop in the city a super-hub, 3M’s huge and fastest developing manufacturing centre in the world. 3M also opened its factories in Janinów, near the town of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, to manufacture household cleaning agents, and in Skomielna-Biała, near Rabka, where we manufacture abrasives, including our flagship: the CubitronTM II abrasive grain product. Since 2013 we have had a special Innovation Centre in Wrocław. The Centre has already been visited by over 5,000 people: PM

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entrepreneurs, public figures, scientists and students. In 2016, the company came up with a new investment project on the Polish market – a Global Service Center, which now serves more than 52 countries in the EMEA region.

But 3M deals not only with manufacturing and marketing activity in Poland. It also has its own research and development department in the country.

Every year 3M spends as much as 5-6% of its financial resources generated from its global sales on research and development. In 2015 alone, the company spent USD1.763 billion for this purpose. This has a direct influence on the operation of our R&D Centre in Wrocław where 60 Polish engineers work daily on improving 3M products. Science remain just science until it starts changing the world that surrounds us. Solving the most difficult problems of our civilization and shaping the future is what “Science Applied to Life” means. In 2015, more than half of all new product ideas in Central and Eastern Europe was generated in Poland. Consequently, we rank among the top 15 countries in the world in terms of influence on the development of new 3M technologies and products.

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What else has the presence of 3M in our country meant?

For 25 years 3M has transferred modern technologies to Poland, helped in shaping its business culture, stimulated the development of talent, supported research units and conducted broad educational activity for professionals from various sectors. The success we are particularly proud of is our contribution to social development. The company’s operation, PM

since the beginning of its presence in Poland, has been predominantly based on employees born and educated in Poland. A major group at which 3M’s activities are targeted are students.

The young people have an opportunity to benefit from our mentoring programmes, placements and paid internships, workshops and in-house lectures on such topics as the supply chain, process engineering, R&D, marketing, recruitment and the labour market.

What are 3M’s investment plans for coming years in Poland?

To a large extent, our investment plans in Poland involve developing what we have already managed to build. Therefore, we plan to significantly increase investment in production to be able to carry out more and more complex processes in the manufacture of 3M products. In the next several years we will continue to invest in the development of the 3M Global Service Center, which has turned out to be a big success. We will also increase our presence on the local market. Poland offers 3M an enormous development potential, which enables the company to carry out further investment projects on the local market and, consequently, expand its operations. We are also considering making a bolder move and bring to Poland 3M’s full global capabilities in the area of research and development. We are at the stage of work which will enable us to reach this goal and increase our activity in the area of research and development in Poland in coming years.

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More information on www.raportwplywu.pl

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

AUTOMATION OF WAREHOUSE AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE KAROLINA TOKARZ, President of the Board and Managing Director Promag SA

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he ongoing process of domestic and regional markets’ integration into a single global market for goods, services and capital forces companies to optimize the efficiency of internal logistics processes. The main goal of contemporary companies is enhancing their competitiveness. One of the most important measures needed to achieve this goal is the automation of warehouse and production processes. So far it is mainly large foreign-owned global corporations that have decided to carry out investment projects of this kind. This group is dominated by manufacturers and the distribution centres of shopping chains. But the awareness of other customers of the tangible benefits of automation is growing at a fast pace.

This year, The District Cooperative in Kalisz (OSM Kalisz) set aside tens of millions of zlotys for investment in streamlining production and warehouse processes. The money was invested in raw materials storage, production, packaging and the warehouse with finished products. The comprehensive system

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for the palletizing, packaging and storing of products implemented at OSM Kalisz is now the most modern solution of this kind in the Polish milk-processing sector. The project has been carried out and the system started up within a mere six months since the moment when Promag and OSM Kalisz began talks on the technological solutions.

“The installation of the vertical and horizontal transport systems integrated with robots carried out at our company by Promag significantly increased labour efficiency in the area of palletization and transport,” says Kazimierz Gęsicki, president of The District Cooperative in Kalisz. “In turn, the storage systems enabled us to use the space available in the warehouse to a maximum.

I can say with confidence that at present we have one of the most modern solutions of this kind in our sector.”

A marked improvement in process efficiency, reduction in unit costs, shorter order processing times, and the elimination of mistakes in order picking are the most important benefits resulting from automation.

It is wrong to believe that automation is expensive, or even too expensive, to pay off. It initially requires considerable financial investment. But in the long run, it is the only way enabling the company to cut operating costs and thus ensure its further development.

Modern intralogistical solutions are gradually becoming cheaper and, consequently, are available to a growing group of customers.

For an automation process to be successful it has to be adjusted to the needs of the company, its character, scale of operations and potential. Secondly, the automation solution has to be flexible and modular so that it can be developed in the next years. Investment in automation means not only building new fully automated warehouse spaces, but also constantly improving existing processes and modernizing the resources which the customers already have. With this in mind, Promag SA tries to treat every project individually. Thanks to this approach, for 35 years now Promag has been a partner of choice in optimizing the efficiency of intralogistical processes.

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DECISIONS ON BUSINESS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN

BY INCOMPETENT PERSONS! PIOTR LISZEK, Vice-President of Petrax Sp. z o.o., talks to Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

I remember our conversation in 2014 when we talked about an oil price of USD70-80 a barrel. Now the price is around USD48.

The price cuts we saw this year at petrol stations were mainly due to the falling prices of crude oil on global markets. Will this trend continue in 2017?

We could see a big drop in 2008 - from USD147 to USD33. I stopped dwelling on the expected currency exchange rates and the prices of oil and diesel a long time ago. We are not a “George Sorros”.

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The dollar is now worth around PLN4.21.

And before the U.S. election it was worth around PLN3.80! But this does not matter for Petrax because all of our trade transactions are protected through financial and commodity hedging. We earn our margin by optimizing our processes, cost-cutting, reaching the broadest possible group of customers and thanks to our reputation on the European market for petroleum derivatives.

PM

Last year, we published an interview with Petrax President Sylwia Mikołajczyk. She called 2015 a year “full of challenges”, both when it comes to the company’s operation and economic conditions. Has anything changed since that time?

We work all the time with state-owned companies. We are a link connecting foreign customers with Polish suppliers and vice versa.

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We export a variety of products that we buy directly from Polish oil refineries. We import diesel oil by ships to Poland – mainly from Russia. We pay taxes. We have a licence for trading liquid fuels on the international market (OPZ). A company dealing with liquid fuels trade on foreign markets needs to have the licence. It involves the requirement, under the energy law, to pay PLN10 million as a security to protect the present and future tax dues connected with the company’s operations. We have the licence, which is issued by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE), as one of six private companies.

depend on real effects in securing businesses’ assets and on real tax collection I come to the conclusion that only the officials who generate real money for the national budget will be promoted.

PM

My congratulations. But I remember your bitter words for tax authorities.

We operate in a strategic and sensitive industry. We are exposed to various kinds of activity by third persons, actions aimed not only against the state, but also against honest businesses. I support the measures taken by the state to exclude these unfair businesses. We always try to understand the state’s point of view, but I also ask about the methods used.

So it is no surprise that businesses are subject to audits by tax authorities so often.

No, I am not surprised at the audits. I am surprised at the methods. Our whole sector, not only Petrax, is “harassed” by audits.

If during an audit I have to do with people who know less about tax law than me then I ask who I am talking to. It is a big misunderstanding if people dealing with personal income tax are moved to work in the area of corporate income tax. These people do not have any knowledge of how a company like ours operates in practice. They often do not know the name of EU certificates which every entrepreneur operating in the sector knows excellently. They do not know how the electronic system for customs and tax supervision functions. And the biggest problem for them is interpreting specific tax provisions.

And? Let me stress again, I understand the state’s action because businesses have to be audited. But when I read a June 2016 letter of former Minister of Finance Paweł Szałamacha where it is stated absolutely clearly that managerial posts in the national tax administration

The problem is that a tax provision can be interpreted in various ways and sometimes the interpretations are contradictory.

But from the point of view of a company which generates millions of zlotys for the national budget in the form of excise tax, VAT, fuel duty and other duties, the taxman treats

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us as if we were gangsters. I say so with full responsibility. Unfortunately, incompetent tax officials are now beginning to manipulate evidence for their own benefit, like for example to secure promotions in the newly established tax administration.

This is a serious accusation.

We have experienced this at our company, with evidence intentionally manipulated by tax officials to smear us. This is unacceptable. We have taken the appropriate legal steps.

PM

Was your company audited only this year?

After all, audits were conducted in the past and will be conducted in the future.

Indeed. But in the past tax officials cooperated with us, learned a lot from us and tried to understand our procedures. At present, it is a dictate. Only the tax officials are right, although they often do not have relevant knowledge. However, the blame should be put on those who send to the fuel sector auditors who have had nothing to do with it.

At the same time, these people are given freedom to take decisions. Over the 17 years when I represented Petrax before various tax offices I met only several officials who really had knowledge of the fuel market. One example is the tax audit in Bydgoszcz. Although it lasted almost 1.5 years, it was very professional.

But in many cases, I have to explain to tax officials what intra-community supply and excise movement control system (EMCS) means.

This is unthinkable!

PM

Perhaps this is due to the old mentality of the official having the upper hand?

Tax officials decide whether a company will continue to exist on the market. Decisions on securing business assets should not be taken by incompetent persons. I once encountered a situation where a tax office extracted individual sentences from an administrative court decision and compiled them into an illogical justification of its standpoint, saying it was a court ruling. Interestingly, the conclusion of the ruling was not in favour of the tax office. This is ridiculous.

PM

I hope it was due to ignorance, rather than ill will or manipulation.

Let’s assume so. The fact is that every exporting company is, as a rule, at risk of tax audits. The Polish tax system is obsolete and unsound. Since June this year the number of decisions to secure the assets of companies which have financial resources and make a profit increased dramatically. I think the PM

reason is the minister’s letter and particular interests of individual tax officials who have received specific guidelines.

VAT collection is of great importance for the national budget as it enables financing social projects.

Of course, this is the state’s role. We do not question it. We only question the incompetence of officials of the tax administration, which is slowly turning into apparatus of repression.

PM

The government, summing up the first year in power, promises to make life easier for businesses, including a reduction in CIT and the Constitution for Business with its assumption of the entrepreneur’s honesty, friendly interpretation of regulations and so on.

Indeed, the proposed Constitution for Business seems to support enterprise. But this is too nice to be true. The promises are great, but I am waiting for the proposed provisions to come into force.

PM

This requires time.

But why? It is now in vogue to adopt laws overnight. Let us base our law on the Constitution for Business. If these rules indeed come into force then all the praise goes to deputy Prime Minister Morawiecki. But the principle of presumption of innocence is nothing new.

And what is the result? I think these rules are not respected by tax offices at all.

PM

Do you see any positive aspects?

I do. I appreciate the introduction of the fuel package at the beginning of August because the market has normalized. The aim of the package is to tighten up the VAT collection system in intra-community fuel purchases and licencing fuel trade with other countries. The informal economic activity has indeed been restricted here.

I also support the establishment of the National Tax Administration because the customs and tax authorities will be merged.

Customs officials have excellent knowledge, especially of the EMCS system. Tax officials often question transactions conducted under the EMCS system, which in fact means they question decisions taken by another state body: the customs authority!

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According to the International Energy Agency, the sector is in stagnation. It does not invest in equipment and infrastructure, does not prospect for new oil deposits.

The oil price is only USD48 a barrel while the break-even price is around USD80-120.

With the present prices, it is not profitable to invest in the development of infrastructure and modern technology.

We cannot talk about diversifying the energy sector without taking oil into account.

No one can answer the question when the world will run out of oil. But we can be sure that this will happen one day. Note that the German car maker Mercedes plans to produce exclusively electric cars since 2030. This tells us something.

PM

What about energy security?

Let us first create conditions for development. Why are we restricting competition?

A new law on liquefied gas trade comes into force on December 1. Every company which would like to import LPG will need to have an OPZ licence, meaning they will have to pay PLN10 million as a security. The LPG market is, or was, very fragmented. But who will now be able to pay PLN10 million as a licence security? You can expect price hikes for ordinary consumers.

PM

How many firms have remained?

Five or eight perhaps. Only large corporations can afford putting PLN10 million on the table. Unfortunately, the state has created conditions for monopolizing the market.

Fuel would be much more expensive if only large state-owned and foreign corporations operated on the market.

PM

But, despite the obstacles, your company is faring excellently. Your annual revenue has stayed at around PLN750 million for years. You generate high and stable profits, which is confirmed by the Pearls of the Polish Economy ranking.

Thank you for this award. Indeed, we are a stable firm, with a well-established reputation in Poland and abroad. For seven years we have recorded a net profit, thanks to our efficient and close-knit team. This is probably what hurts our competition and tax offices.

PM

What next?

We are focusing on the LPG market. We have a well-established position on the diesel market and import large amounts of it by sea. When it comes to biofuels, our positions is also well established. We hope for further cooperation with Polish and foreign fuel groups.

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NEW METHOD OF STUDYING THE UNIVERSE PROF. ANDRZEJ KRÓLAK from the Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, member of the consortium which discovered gravitational waves, and winner of an Honorary Pearl in Science, tells Marcin Haber about gravitational waves, the detectors which allowed their registration and the history of a discovery which is a candidate for the Nobel Prize.

Let’s start from the beginning: what are gravitational waves?

This is a certain effect predicted by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity 100 years ago. Gravitational waves are a phenomenon similar to waves on water or electromagnetic waves, but they are extremely weak, which makes them very difficult to detect. The discovery of these waves verified Einstein’s gravity theory. It turns out that it is correct and predicts effects not envisaged by Newton’s theory of gravity which explains in great detail other phenomena.

PM

Your observation exactly matched earlier simulations stemming from the theory of relativity…

These observation perfectly matched the predictions made by Einstein’s theory, confirming yet again that he was right in his General Theory of Relativity and many other theories pertaining to gravity. This is a huge field in physics but it turns out that this particular theory put forward by Einstein works best.

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LIGO is a very complex facility, or rather two twin facilities. Can you tell us something about its construction? This is possibly the most accurate measuring device ever built by man.

PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY These are laser interferometers. The detector is built like the letter “L”, but in order to be sensitive enough its arms must be very long – at least several kilometres. They utilise some very advanced technology – lasers enclosed in vacuum, excellent electronic instrumentation, mirrors polished to a tolerance counted in nanometres to reflect light perfectly. The accuracy of our measurements ran into fractions of the size of elementary particles such as protons and neutrons, but this was made possible thanks to a laser beam which is extremely stable.

David Reitze, director of LIGO, compared this discovery to Galileo, who, with his telescope, opened a new chapter in the observation of the universe. And how is this discovery going to affect the lives of “ordinary folk”?

This is a confirmation of one of the fundamental laws governing nature, which will allow us to fathom how the Universe is built. All physical phenomena observed here on Earth are also based on these laws. As I have already mentioned, gravitational waves are similar to electromagnetic waves. When electromagnetic waves were discovered and Maxwell’s theory describing this phenomenon was confirmed, people did not know either what could be the practical uses of these waves. In the case of gravitational waves the signal is very weak.

At present, it would be hard to come up with any practical application. They are primarily of cognitive importance – this is a new method of studying the Universe. In the past, such studies were based on optical observations. Today, we can add gravitational waves to the array of research methods. Thanks to gravitational waves we can study black holes – another phenomenon predicted by Einstein.

The signal of a gravitational wave is a trace left by a collision and merger of two black holes.

Those observed by us come from a collision which took place more than 1.3 billion years ago. Thanks to our read-outs all stages of this merger process can be closely observed and studied. We were able to calculate the mass of these black holes, their distance and determine with reasonable precision the place where the collision occurred. Currently, one of the goals of scientists is to learn what happens inside black holes. Einstein’s theory does not describe this. Studies of this problem have been continuing for decades and, maybe, gravitational waves will help us solve this mystery.

In order to understand something we have to observe it. There exist some very good mathematical models which try to solve this puzzle, but they are only theoretical deliberations.

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Currently, there are two working LIGO facilities in the USA, with a third in Italy

being modernised. There are plans to build three more. How can increasing the number of detectors help?

It is important to have three detectors. This allows to precisely determine the source of the waves – the direction from which the signal is coming. The more detectors, the better the observation. It should be said that these two detectors with which the waves were discovered are the second-generation detectors. They have been modernised. At the same time there was also the VIRGO detector. They operated from 2002 to 2011, after which they have been upgraded. The VIRGO detector is in the process of modernisation and we anticipate that it will begin working in March next year.

Why only now? Why so much time had to elapse between Einstein’s theory and the discovery of these waves? What were the obstacles?

100 years ago, Einstein calculated and predicted the existence of gravitational waves.

For 50 years there were continued discussions and theoretical research to confirm or disprove this theory. At some point, even Einstein himself backed out saying that the waves do not exist. However, research has led to the confirmation of the existence of these waves.

It took the next 50 years to develop the idea and technology which would allow the waves to be observed. The problem was mainly the size of the waves. What was needed was some very expensive technology and organizational effort to convince the funding agencies to allocate such large amounts. In the end, when they succeeded in building the detectors, it turned out that for more than 10 years nothing could be detected. Only the improved detectors revealed the existence of gravitational waves, which was a big surprise, because it seemed that this was not yet the level of technology allowing such discovery to be made.

PM

So, what now? You say that building the detectors is extremely costly. They have already fulfilled their function. What will be their use now?

Three signals of gravitational waves have been detected. The detectors have been activated again and will function for some six months. In mid-March they are going to be joined by the Italian VIRGO detector. I am convinced that another signal of gravitational waves will be detected before Christmas.

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What are the roles of scientists from Poland in this project?

The input made by Polish scientists over the last 100 years has been considerable, ever since the talk started of gravitational waves. Initially, Leopold Infeld was an associate of Einstein.

He worked on various aspects of gravitational PM

100 YEARS AGO, EINSTEIN CALCULATED AND PREDICTED THE EXISTENCE OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVES. FOR 50 YEARS THERE WERE CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS AND THEORETICAL RESEARCH TO CONFIRM OR DISPROVE THIS THEORY. AT SOME POINT, EVEN EINSTEIN HIMSELF BACKED OUT SAYING THAT THE WAVES DO NOT EXIST.

waves. Later came his students, including Professor Andrzej Trautman – currently Professor Emeritus at the Department of Physics, Warsaw University, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He made a very considerable contribution to the understanding of this phenomenon in the first fifty years. The next stage involved work on detecting the waves. I came in during this stage by initiating research in Poland. In 1986, I was granted a scholarship to work under Professor Bernard Schutz at Cardiff University where the first group studying ways of detecting gravitational waves had been formed. After returning to Poland, I began to develop this area. In 2007, we set up in Poland a group which then joined the French-Italian VIRGO project, a member of the consortium with the American LIGO project. At present, 19 researchers from nine Polish institutions are engaged in the project. Thanks to the membership in the consortium we are part of the project which detected gravitational waves.

We have made a significant contribution to the elaboration of the methods of analysing data received by us. Since the signals are very weak, they must be extracted from the detector’s background noise. This required mathematical methods which we develop in Poland.

We are also working on modelling and calculating the shape of the waves.

You mentioned nine institutions in Poland – where specifically is this work performed?

The leader is the Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), but the group also includes the Astronomy Centre of the PAN, Warsaw University, National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) and Universities in Kraków, Białystok, Toruń, Wrocław and Zielona Góra.

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INNOVATIVE

and unorthodox administration

OF DRUGS

Professor Mirosław Ząbek, Founder of the Integrated Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care (INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital, talks to "Polish Market".

The Integrated Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care (INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital is the second such facility in the world. The first is located at the University of California in San Francisco. How come the first such centre has been established in Poland?

Some 20 years ago, I organised a very large medical event. A journalist from “The Warsaw Voice” arrived and asked me the very same question: why here, in Warsaw? I still have no answer. I think that in life one has to be in the right place at the right time. Creating something on such a large scale in Poland is not easy, primarily because of financial constraints. For this reason, competing with Europe, or the world, is very difficult. Therefore, I cannot give you a rational explanation. I think that this has to be linked to my commitment and the amount of thought I have given to the subject.

Because if you are pondering on something all day long, all the obstacles can be eliminated in this thought process. If you think that you can succeed, you usually do. We also try to convey this idea to our patients, to make them think that they can overcome their illness. Then, the therapeutic effect is better.

Certainly, many people were involved in the Integrated Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care (INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital project, but I was the one who connected and powered the entire process of its creation.

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Professor, can you tell us what is really going to take place here. We have heard of surgeries with realtime brain imaging.

What does this mean? Is this a technological

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breakthrough worthy of a new era? Can this save patients who, until now, could not be helped?

The technology which is going to be used here is unique. However, it would be premature to talk about a breakthrough. Such talk will be justified when we register a drug based on our work here. However, for this to happen we need to carry out further studies. Nevertheless, I think that we are on the right path and are unlikely to deviate from it. This process may last several more years, depending on the disease we are talking about. Today’s cancer treatment is a combination therapy.

Surgery, radio and chemotherapy are recognised methods based on facts. Alas, there is the blood-brain barrier and 98% of protein particles cannot get from blood to the brain. Consequently, it is difficult to manufacture a drug which can enter the brain. Today’s treatment standard in the world is surgery augmented by radio- and chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy causes problems because it affects all body cells. In addition, there is a problem with reaching the brain. When this happens, the drug affects the entire brain, and we want it to work in a clearly defined area only. However, drugs used in chemotherapy can be packed in nano-particles surrounded by a lipid membrane which means that the medicine is released gradually without poisoning the entire body and can be administered to a specific spot. Our objective is to turn brain cancer from a fatal to chronic disease, just like in the case of diabetes where we have learned how to control glycaemia. We already have first, highly promising test results from the USA.

What are the plans regarding the Warsaw centre? There will be continuous co-operation with its sister centre in the USA. But what else? Will there be time for training new specialists?

We are currently acquiring partners for financing our research. In April we are going to be visited by companies which finance research into Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases. We will also apply for the financing of trials using chemotherapy. We have already had talks with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) which has a large, modern animal surgery centre. Research on pigs, which helps understand Huntington’s disease, is being carried out at that centre. Therefore, we can run parallel tests on animals.

PM

You mentioned the involvement of the government. But how did things look like here, when the Centre was being established?

I can compare this to Robert Lewandowski who is an excellent footballer, but had to learn his skills somewhere and did it in Polish clubs.

The same applies to us. Today, we are managing this Centre, but it was created at a State-owned hospital. Province Marshal Struzik and the management of Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital all helped us a lot. We came up with the idea and the rest happened at the Local Government of Mazowieckie Province and the Management of the Hospital. They found the funds to finance the construction of this Centre which was not an easy task, requiring an intervention at the European Union level. The time between the concept and the creation of the Centre was just two years.

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ONE LIFE is not

enough to bring a project like this to its END

Professor Krzysztof Bankiewicz, M.D., Ph.D., Founder of the Integrated Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care (INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital in Warsaw, talks to “Polish Market” about the establishment of the Centre, the technologies which are to be used there and the co-operation with the unit in San Francisco.

The Integrated Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care (INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital is the second such facility in the world. The first is located at the University of California in San Francisco. How come the first such centre has been established in Poland?

I think this is due to my very long history of collaboration with Professor Mirosław Ząbek and the Integrated Translational Center Advanced Neuro Health Care (INC) at the Mazovian Brodnowski Hospital in Warsaw. Over the years, this collaboration has intensified, largely thanks to our shared interest in innovative treatment of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Earlier, I had received a proposal to set up a similar centre at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris. I spent a lot of time conducting talks regarding the opening of such a centre. After returning to the States I asked myself why not try and do this in Poland? This idea led to a number of actions and considerable efforts. You can see the results today. This centre has been created to develop innovative technologies first elaborated in the USA. These procedures are so complicated that they cannot be carried out even at the best modern hospitals which have not been properly adapted to conducting such operations. My vision of this centre is based on people who are familiar with this technology because this discipline requires considerable experience.

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Professor, please tell us what exactly is going to take place here. We have heard of brain operations with realtime imaging.

What does it mean? Is this a technological

breakthrough ushering in a new era? Can this save the patients who until now could not be helped?

What you are seeing today is the utilisation of magnetic resonance imaging and other technologies at 120% of their capacity. Everything has been designed and equipped with the achievement of a specific goal in mind.

Nobody has done this before. This is a centre oriented towards administering drugs to patients with various diseases of the central nervous system.

The technology we are going to use is based on an innovative and unorthodox way of administering drugs. It consists in delivering drugs directly to the patient’s brain, exactly to the place affected by the disease process in the brain tissue. We have chosen this technology for two reasons. First, many therapeutic agents which could have a positive impact upon the brain are unable to reach it using the current drugs and methods. Currently, even if we are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, these drugs flood the entire brain and cause many undesirable effects. The brain is such a delicate organ, responsible for so many operations that we do not want a given drug to affect parts of the brain other than those chosen by us as our target. What we have created at the Emergency Neurotherapy Centre is targeted drug delivery. This may sound very simple, but believe me, it cannot be done so easily.

Sixteen years ago I helped Professor Ząbek introduce the deep brain stimulation technology.

It consists in targeted administration of a drug containing electricity. It stimulates the brain at a very specific place. This was the first step to

something that today is called interventional neurology. It allows us to affect the brain in a deliberate and controlled way. At present, the most common illness in which we can use our technology is Parkinson’s disease. We are able to significantly alleviate its symptoms.

It cannot be cured completely?

Alas, no. This is symptomatic treatment.

Deep brain stimulation affects the part of the brain which is more activated due to the muffling of the other part caused by degeneration. Our intervention consists in eliminating the consequences of this degeneration.

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Everybody stresses that this is the first such centre in Europe. Does it mean that it is going to treat patients from all of Europe or at least from our region? Or are you going to concentrate on patients from Poland?

We are going to begin with Polish patients.

I have recently received a consent to conducting gene therapy in children with an inherent genetic mutation resulting in brain dysfunction. There are only approximately 120 such children in the world. We have two cases in Poland and 13 in Germany. There are 27 documented cases in the entire EU. We will begin this study by administering this gene to the first child in California this summer. Gaining this experience is of critical importance. We would like to be able to carry out similar operations in Warsaw soon. If we succeed then patients from all over the world will come to us.

This is a step which may lead us to establishing a European.

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PEARLS OF THE POLISH ECONOMY

IMPLEMENTATIONS ARE THE SALT OF RESEARCH INSTITUTES STANISŁAW TRENCZEK, PhD, Director and Associate Professor at the EMAG Institute of Innovative Technologies, tells Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś about the state of Polish innovations.

I have found a very interesting visual presentation of the innovation process on your website. It begins with a problem which, thanks to a concept, science, research and a prototype, ends with a specific product.

With a proper use of know-how and technology, this product constitutes an innovative solution. This is a visual, theoretical description. And what is the reality?

Exactly the same. Some innovations are inspired by the need arising directly from the industry and they usually end with the implementation of the innovations, others are inspired by scientists. No matter what kind of inspiration, the product that is the result of the project can be a pre-commercial prototype. The role of the institute may end here.

PM

Commercialisation of research and new technologies and services is associated with a risk for the entrepreneur. How many of such prototypes are never implemented?

True, the risk is borne mainly by the entrepreneur. As to the issue of implementation, even if we implement one innovative product or solution this is already value added to the economy. I am a member of the Team for the Transformation of the Ministry of Industrial Development. The team's task is to analyse the most important directions of development of the Polish economy in the context of the fourth industrial revolution "Industry 4.0 – digital transformation." The transformation has two aspects: we invest in the industry, but also re-Polonise it. The efforts undertaken by research institutions to create innovation would come to nothing if they do not fall on fertile ground. And who can invest in our Polish innovation?

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Companies owned by the State Treasury.

Precisely. The more the state can order, the greater the chance for more innovation. Innovative but systemic solutions will affect the potential customer. Unfortunately, too often the obligatory character of specific legal provisions means that entrepreneurs are forced to implement innovative solutions.

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For many years now we have been talking about innovation. Both business and government officials speak with one voice: more innovation. I feel that the word is overused. And in the rankings we are doing only so-so.

You are talking about the rankings comparing European countries in terms of innovation.

Yes, Poland does not look so great in comparison to other countries. However, you have to take into account the fact that Polish solutions are implemented by Polish companies. Major international corporations use their experience, innovations derived from their research and development centres. In Poland the situation regarding innovation is very good, but it is just not visible. Ideas that are created at universities and institutes are appreciated and you can boast about them. The issue of implementation and dissemination depends on the size of the Polish economy.

PM

So, it is the fault of business which does not want to commercialise research?

It is difficult to talk about fault. Business and economics come first. In 2007-2013, the Innovative Economy Operational Programme was in force. Then the development of innovative products was dominated by universities and institutes. They were the leaders of projects and tried to convince entrepreneurs to embrace their ideas. Now the situation looks a little different. Currently, the Smart Growth Operational Programme (POIR) gives an advantage to entrepreneurs, who are the applicants. Even if the entrepreneurs and scientists together prepare the substantive input to the application for a project, a given institute or university has no guarantee that it will participate in this project. It enters a competition for the performance of industrial research, like any other unit, despite already participating in the application for the project.

The input of those who has work on the proposal is huge, and the anticipated research or development work does not always go to the one who has invented it. In fact, the institute bears the costs of preparing the input, and it PM

is not at all certain whether it will be the beneficiary of the project.

And what is the golden mean in this situation?

I believe that both systems can, and even should, operate in the current POIR, depending on who is the driving force behind a given innovative solution. The genesis of the path from the concept to the industry is simple. The concept is born in the head of the entrepreneur, and he, after consultation and with the help of scientific institutions, refines the project, cofinances it and implements. The second option is a concept created at the level of the institute or university, and here these institutions should engage in consultations with entrepreneurs, to convince them to form a joint venture.

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Can the Institute boast of the commercialisation of specific research results?

The spectrum of our activities is very broad: from medical devices to automation. Seemingly, these are areas that have nothing in common, but they share the intelligence of the software, which allows not only to monitor, but also to evaluate and respond to dangerous incidents. I would like to mention several implementations of products created by EMAG with other consortium members which took place in the last few years. These include, for example, a non-collision rail transport system at ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice KGHM Polska Miedź S.A, or (also there) a system for continuous monitoring of the occurrence of hydrogen sulphide gas hazard. Other examples are the implementation of the pilot project entitled “Virtual Public Services Consultant,” as well as the OSCAD continuity of operation and data security management system (MeteoRisk) developed for the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.

Summarising the issues relating to innovation, one could say that it is at its most effective where there is close co-operation between industry and science and the other way round, with a solid financial support from public funds and entrepreneurs.

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Innovation

WE EDUCATE VERSATILE MINDS PROF. JAN SZMIDT, Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology, talks to Marcin Haber.

There has been much talk recently about students of technical universities, particularly the Warsaw University of Technology. They win awards and honourable mentions at prestigious international competitions and take part in such projects as HyperLoop. Is this the moment when we can already start speaking about the commercial success of projects developed at Polish universities? Have the universities started to boldly enter the world of business?

My answer has to be negative: unfortunately, they have not. I am deeply convinced that there is still a long road ahead of us. Universities should start thinking ten years or even several decades ahead in their education processes and their approach to scientific research. This is what universities are for.

Solving current problems in business is not their task. It is the task of relevant institutes and research and development centres. They have the people specialized in a specific field.

As regards the successes of our students, they are excellently prepared – in contrast to what politicians say about us, for example those sitting on parliamentary committees whose meetings I sometimes attend.

I have heard at one of such meetings that Polish universities provide poor education. The fundamental error in this sentence is painting all the universities with the same brush.

Besides, note that international corporations eagerly employ our students. I have nothing against this if these corporations have their premises in Poland. However, there is a problem when our graduates leave to work abroad because many of them do not return. But it is us who have financed their education and the costs are not small. Our level of financing – I am speaking here not only about all technical universities in Poland – is two times lower than the European Union average, several times lower compared to the best European PM

universities and as many as 50 times lower than in the case of Stanford University.

But our students score successes, nonetheless.

Indeed. But Polish people have always been miracle-workers. It is just like the “Miracle of the Vistula” [the completely unexpected and decisive Polish victory in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw against invading Soviet forces – ed.] – something which seems impossible becomes a reality. The very unfair marks we receive from politicians are translated into the level of funding for higher educational institutions from the national budget. In the 2017 budget, the funding is to be raised only to keep up with the general inflation rate. But this level of inflation is for food products, for instance. In modern technologies, the inflation rate is much higher. The cost of advanced engineering activity and the maintenance of technological and measurement equipment is going up at a terrific pace.

Prices of some indispensable components may double in a year. One of the reasons is that the components contain, for example, rare earth elements whose extraction has been monopolized by China and the country has imposed higher prices. Therefore, it is wrong to measure us with the same yardstick as other industries.

Research funding is gradually growing, but funding for higher education – apart from the statutory rises given to us - is decreasing in real terms. How are we supposed to educate better under such conditions? Our cooperation with business is very asymmetric because the companies which would like to work with us expect us to solve their specific current problems. But this is not what we are for. We are also expected to contribute our own means to developing a solution to the problem while we do not have the money. Polish business is not ready to risk committing substantial resources long term. As a result, the government is trying to and should be a patron in this process. The state’s support PM

for the R&D work which will produce results many years later – a work we have to conduct today so that the world does not move even further ahead of us – is necessary. This is obvious across the world. If the state does not invest at least 1% of GDP long term in research and development there will be no such progress. Highly developed countries are lucky because this has already become there a natural mechanism of action. We have been doing this for less than 20 years. This is a very short period. This kind of thinking was absent before 1989. The conclusion of what I said is that we – I mean the whole business and research ecosystem - are not yet ready for a broad and effective cooperation between universities and business. However, I am optimistic – we have to do that because there is no other way for Poland’s development.

Speaking about cooperation between science and business, companies are watching universities carefully and picking out the best students. Does the same mechanism work the other way round? Do universities observe the market and adjust their curricula to its trends.

This is a great dilemma. We do not educate people to meet specific needs. We educate minds so that they are able to respond to these needs.

If we educate our students well they will be doing excellently in their jobs after a short period of preparation and investment in them by the company. If we educate a person to meet specific needs they will probably not be able to cope beyond the narrow sphere for which they have been prepared. There are schools which turn out highly specialized graduates, but these are not people who, working with research centres, will develop new innovative solutions. They will be engineers for specific tasks. Of course, such workers are also needed. In Poland we have 400 higher educational establishments. It will be quite enough if, say, 350 of them ed• ucate such people.

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Economy

DIRECTION:

JAN PARYS, Head of the Political Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, talks to Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

We attach increasing importance to Poland’s promotion abroad. We are aware of its significant role in attracting foreign investors, a process which largely depends on the activity of the Ministry of Economic Development. And what does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do to promote Poland?

In today’s world, a country’s image is a very important thing. One can say that it has its measurable value because it influences decisions taken by foreign investors, for instance.

Image-building should begin with providing information about our country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established the Internet portal Poland.pl. Published in English, it is intended for people interested in Poland, foreign experts, diplomats and journalists. The Interministerial Team for Promoting Poland Abroad will also be responsible for building Poland’s good reputation. The person responsible for the Programme of Poland’s Promotion is Minister Adam Lipiński of the Prime Minister’s Office. We have to broaden the perception of Poland so that it is no longer seen merely as a country of storks and Chopin. We would like to show all assets of our country, especially economic ones. Compared to other European countries, our position is good.

Poland did not suffer during the financial crisis, which hit almost all European countries PM

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Economy

in 2008. We have relatively high economic growth and low debt. All this means we have a good reason to be proud. Additionally, the Plan for Responsible Development of deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is a good showpiece of our government’s economic policy.

Taking care of the country’s good image is a different issue and it includes fighting false and aggressive opinions.

I have the impression that when it comes to correcting false opinions, as you said, we react very swiftly and effectively.

I am glad about such impressions. We would like to react even faster and be even more successful. Of course, we do not want to interfere with the freedom of press - we are not going to try to prevent critical opinions. What we want is to ensure that they are based on facts.

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There are also very positive opinions about Poland. We are regarded as a predictable country stable economically and politically. These traits encourage western investors. Poland is becoming a leader in the region.

I think the policy of our successive governments has been quite consistent. We have avoided sharp turns in our economic policy. We are one of the Big Six in the European Union. Indeed, Poland is perceived as a stable and predictable country. But equally important is the fact that we do not have a colonial past. This means we have a clean record in relations with Asian and African countries. Additionally, we have a stable political set-up for the next three years.

PM

And what about our country’s role in European politics if Britain indeed leaves the European Union? Is it possible for us to achieve the position of a strong leader in the Union?

It is in our interest to ensure that no country dominates Europe. Naturally, there are countries which are stronger economically and militarily than others. Poland would like to build coalitions rather than impose its will on anyone.

An excellent example is the Visegrad Group. Our role in the Group proves it is possible to build cooperation without fixed structures and domination. At the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016, we showed we know how to respect various interests and opinions, but that we pursue a common goal. Broad cooperation in the group of Central European countries is also an instrument we use in our activity. For example, we cooperate with China in the 16+1 format. This format is advantageous for us. We are a strong country in this group. We do not aspire to be the leader, we just want to be a guiding spirit. No one has the feeling that Poland, as the largest country, dominates the group. Other countries simply respect our opinion. Our standpoint is based on experience and the in-depth identification of problems. It is thoroughly thought out. Even in Beijing they have come to appreciate the countries situated between Russia and Germany as a region which is set to gain in importance.

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Speaking about Asia, in the context of an agreement on cooperation between Poland and the Republic of Korea, is Asia seen as a region offering us long-term prospects?

There are several Asian countries which are very important for us. Among them are China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Singapore. These are highly developed, modern and rich countries. They are attractive partners.

One should look at Asia from two perspectives because it also includes developing countries, like for example Burma and Vietnam. These markets are also attractive and we should be active there. I want to stress in particular the policy of opening Poland to China because I think it is one of the biggest successes of Poland’s economic diplomacy. Our task is to open our economy to the world.

Striving to boost exports is not enough. For security reasons, we should also seek to diversify our economic relations with other countries. We have decided to make the Polish economy independent of the performance of European economies and provide it with an additional driving force in the form of cooperation with China. A symbol of this cooperation is the railway line linking the Polish city of Łódź with Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province. This is an initiative of the private operator Hatrans. The line is a huge success. Thousands of trains have already travelled it in both directions. Each train is composed on 41 wagons packed with containers. Remember that we transport goods not only from Łódź, but also from across Poland and even a few other countries.

This means China is one of the most important targets of our foreign policy. Are there any other equally promising markets?

We want to reopen our diplomatic post in Mongolia.

And the country is a very promising market. Among its economic and political elites there are many persons who know Poland and Polish culture because they once studied in our country. Moreover, we also plan to open a diplomatic post in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

PM

The NATO Summit in Warsaw was a very important event in 2016. Do you think the year 2017 will see equally important events?

Poland will be seeing to it that the decisions of the NATO Summit come into force. A very important issue for us are our efforts to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The election will take place in June 2017. By that time we have to win the support of many countries.

PM

We are keeping our fingers crossed for Poland to gain the non-permanent membership of the Security Council. But tell us, what would that mean for Poland.

Please remember that the status of non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is not at all guaranteed to us. We have to approach this issue very calmly. The membership by itself does not provide immediate benefits. If we succeed in our efforts to become a member Poland, together with superpowers, could take part in taking decision on global security. It is an image-building success, but undoubtedly it also strengthens the country’s international position and opens opportunities for cooperation in non-political spheres.

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Economy

A YEAR MARKED BY REINVESTMENT What is a bigger success for PAIiIZ: a new foreign investment project or reinvestment?

I am very glad you are asking me this question because this is exactly my responsibility as a deputy president of Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ).

We provide assistance to foreign investors at every stage of the investment process: from the selection of location and assistance in taking an investment decision to entering the operational phase and post-investment assistance. If the investor is satisfied this leads to reinvestment. Poland’s business climate and economic foundations are reflected in one of PAIiIZ spheres of activity which is encouraging reinvestment. The year 2016 has been very good in both investment and reinvestments. Speaking of the second one, a very large number of investors decided to reinvest and stay in Poland. They reinvested a total of PLN30 billion, which accounts for 60% of all foreign direct investment in 2016.

What makes us very optimistic is the fact that Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) is reporting an increase in foreign investors’ interest in the Polish market. Most of the strategic projects are implemented with PAIiIZ support. We have serviced Toyota’s new investments, Volkswagen that has just opened the Crafter’s plant near Poznań or Bombardier that is starting to manufacture PM

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KRZYSZTOF SENGER, Member of the Board of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ), tells Marcin Haber about ways to encourage foreign investors to invest and reinvest in Poland, the role of Special Economic Zones and the role of PAIiIZ in contacts between investors and public administration. high speed train body shells for Deutsche Bahn railways, this November. We also assisted in the investment agreement signed with Daimler or helped Japan - based Mabuchi to open its first European factory in Opole.

Now, PAIiIZ already has 187 active projects in the pipeline. Their combined value is estimated at EUR 4 billion.

Next, fifty one have been ended with a positive investment decision this year. That is much more – in terms of the number and a total value - than at the same time a year ago. The important thing is that a large part of projects carried out in Poland represents the high-tech and R&D sectors, which is in keeping with the guidelines of the Strategy for Responsible Development.

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So what does Poland look like in the eyes of foreign investors now? Several years ago we were still perceived as a country with cheap labour. Foreign companies located here their call centres while there was a shortage of investment in high technologies. Today, we often hear about foreign companies building their logistics centres in Poland and setting up their headquarters for Central and Eastern Europe – one can see a big change.

How has the profile of foreign investor on the Polish market changed?

Economy To fully answer this question, one should go two decades back to the beginning of the modern history of foreign investments in Poland. The first investors from abroad appeared with the start of the privatization process. These were mostly American companies. After the period of privatization, or capital investment, there came the period of direct investment. These were greenfield and brownfield projects usually focused on simple production processes requiring large amounts of low-skilled labour. Foreign companies located their manufacturing sites in Central and Eastern Europe where they had access to cheaper labour force. One should remember that it was a global trend – this is what the globalization process looked like those days.

Since then, the situation has changed in Poland. In recent years, we have witnessed a significant progress in investment. Foreign investors have moved from simple production processes towards much higher level of the value chain. As regards production, we are seeing more complex investment projects than in the past, in keeping with the global trend towards automation.

I am very glad to see the growing trend among investors from automotive, aerospace and R&D sectors that are active in various parts of our country by opening manufacturing sites with production processes based on automation. However, let us stress that this is no threat to our labour market. Just the contrary, this trend corresponds with the global labour market change: the demand is for much more highly qualified employees.

Not only does the production industry but also the service sector follow this tendency.

Today, the call centres, we already mentioned no longer shape the landscape of Polish service sector. Poland is one of the most attractive places in Europe to locate advanced process outsourcing rather than only HR and accounting. There is also investment in such back-office areas as knowledge outsourcing, which means not only data processing but also developing ways of this processing. In the area of financial services, we can even see the development of centres of excellence in Poland.

is the feedback we frequently get from the investors the Agency works with. Thinking of Poland, one should also know that Poland means creativity. More and more Polish firms are involved in complex research processes and embrace innovation. We are also a rising hub for start-ups.

This trend is in keeping with the pace of change in the Polish economy and change in the profile of investments that enter the country. Every big or advanced project is a business accelerator and attracts other new business players from abroad or from inside the country. Every foreign investment brings into being a cluster of suppliers and customers, creating a natural business environment around the investor. For instance, one job created by an automotive investment project supported by PAIiIZ, brings four more in subcontractors.

The investment decision making is also strictly related to logistic factors. At the time when the first foreign investment was made in Poland we did not have a well-developed transport network of motorways and expressways, yet. Much has changed since then.

Now, the growing number of road connections is one of the aspects which the investors we work with appreciate the most in Poland.

They say that this factor has changed the most in our country, over the past 25 years. Combining the expanding transport network with access to a huge market of 550 million consumers of Central and Eastern Europe we get the strong competitive advantages of Poland.

Assessing the foundations of the Polish economy, foreign investors look at many structural factors, as the above-mentioned access to good quality of labour or the maturity of the sector they are interested in or good location that gives them access to consumers. But they are also looking for incentives.

One of the most attractive sets of incentives is offered by Polish Special Economic Zones.

Therefore, a significant number of companies investing in Poland have their sites located in SEZs, which have expanded and become a real safe haven for investors with both - foreign and Polish origins.

What happened in Poland over the past 20 years to enable this big change in the perception of Poland and Polish people as employees?

The Polish economy changed and matured. So did the Poles. Investors have followed that trend. Today, Poland is associated with increasingly well-educated, laborious young people and loyal employees. There is no doubt that the Poles, their qualification and attitude toward employers are one of the strongest magnets attracting investors. This

You have mentioned Special Economic Zones. Their activity has been recently extended by another 10 years. To what extent do they really contribute to encouraging foreign firms to invest in Poland?

Economic zones are an instrument of economic development well known across the world. PAIiIZ works very closely with all Polish special economic zones and selects locations which match the investor’s field of activity best. In almost every sector, we are able to select a location and set of incentives

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FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN PAIIIZ PORTFOLIO OF ONGOING PROJECTS (BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: • • •

•

United States: 51 projects worth EUR708 million Germany: 26 projects worth EUR697 million France, South Korea: 9 projects, each (worth respectively: EUR 57.4 million; 97.6 million) Poland: 8 projects (worth EUR 219.6 million)

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN PAIIIZ PORTFOLIO OF ONGOING PROJECTS (BY SECTORS): • BSS (SSC+IT+BPO): 74 projects worth EUR140.2 million • Automotive: 33 projects worth EUR 743.9 million • Food: 16 projects worth EUR 661.6 million • R&D: 11 projects worth EUR 56.8 million • Aviation: 7 projects worth EUR 429.9 million

to win over the prospective investor. Today, the transformation of the zones in Poland and, consequently, the economic development of the surrounding areas, offers value added to the investor. In 2016, over 20% of the completed projects PAIiIZ has supported will go to special economic zones, creating around 2,500 new jobs.

The better an economy develops, the stronger SEZ as an investment instrument is.

Today, economic zones play a double role. On the one hand, they still offer investment incentives and tax exemptions within the limit of state aid allowed in the region combined with other forms of assistance, such as government and EU grants. On the other hand, the zones have become a place where clusters are established. And it is a very important bargaining chip in the context of indicating a potential location to a foreign investor.

It should be stressed that there is very strong competition for foreign investment in today’s world. Measuring up to the incentives offered to direct investors by our counterparts across the world has become a real challenge. Therefore, a steady inflow of direct investment to Poland is a good reason for optimism, considering that the global FDI market is in decline. I think the situation is so good in our country because we have very strong economic foundations, political stability and predictability for foreign investors who are present in Poland.

With their presence and reinvestments, they prove that it is worth investing in Po• land.

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Uncertainty and slow growth or acceleration – what awaits Us in 2017?

Economy Economy

ExpErts at thE consulting company DEloittE triED to answEr this quEstion. thE rEsults of anothEr EDition of DEloittE’s “cfo survEy” havE just bEEn rElEasED. thE survEy incluDED 1,200 chiEf financial officErs with morE than 100 rEsponDEnts in polanD. it was conDuctED in Early octobEr 2016 in 17 countriEs (austria, bElgium, finlanD, francE, gErmany, irElanD, italy, thE nEthErlanDs, norway, polanD, portugal, russia, spain, swEDEn, switzErlanD, turkEy anD thE unitED kingDom).

ewelina Janczylik-Foryś

Economic uncErtainty and BrExit incrEasingly affEct thE mood of cfos Poland is feeling the effects of global turbulence. The latest figures published by the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS) for the 3rd quarter of 2016 indicate that the Polish economy grew at a rate of 2.5%. Chief Financial Officers (CFO) believe that the Polish economy will continue its stable growth, but they are showing increasing signs of concern. Interestingly, in the Deloitte report 42% of the CFOs said that the rate of growth would be pegged at the level 2.5%-3.6% for the entire 2017. On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund, along with the Polish government, sticks to its forecasts of growth reaching 3.6%.

Previous editions of the survey demonstrated that the CFOs provide reliable predictions regarding the development of the Polish economy. Their earlier GDP growth forecasts for Poland in 2013 (1.5%), 2014 (3.0%) and 2015 (3.0%) proved correct. They predict that growth in 2016 will be approximately 3.0%.

Poland and othEr gloBal EconomiEs Unfortunately, economic uncertainty grows. Poland is not an exception in this situation. Uncertainty about the global economy is the highest since 2013. The CFOs are simply afraid of how the geopolitical and economic factors may affect the situation of companies. In Poland, 64% of the

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CFOs identified the level of uncertainty as high. Only 28% of respondents believe that this level is standard, and only 8% that it is low. It is true that economic uncertainty applies to all industries, but the highest level of uncertainty is felt in the energy and mining sectors (70%) and business services (74%).

On the other hand, the level of optimism (net difference between those indicating improvement in the economic situation and talking about its deterioration) among the CFOs in Poland has fallen for a third semester in a row to the lowest level since 2013 (from 40% a year ago to 18% now). Six months ago it was 21%. "The number of companies that believe their economic prospects in 2017 will be better than in 2016 is higher than those who think the opposite. Historically a decline in optimism was a predictor of lower GDP growth, as reflected in the lower forecasts of GDP growth for 2017," said Krzysztof Pniewski, Partner at the Consulting Department of Deloitte.

The highest net level of optimism and the lowest level of uncertainty in Europe and in Poland is reported in the public sector, health care and manufacturing.

As it turns out, when it comes to both of these indicators Poland does not look so bad compared with other European countries, where the optimism index is -1% and with the Euro zone, where it stands at 4%. Unfortunately, this indicates that things are going to deteriorate. 47% of the CFOs in the UK believe that the situation of their enterprises will be worse than last year. Indicators also dropped for

Economy Economy

Ireland and Italy, but the optimism index in up for Norway and Russia!

The highest level of uncertainty can be seen in the UK: 87%. This is the effect of Brexit. Interestingly, we have a similar picture in Germany and Holland which have strong ties to the British economy. However, in Finland this opinion is expressed by just 36% of the CFOs.

them the economy will grow by 2.5-3.6%. If the most pessimistic forecasts of the CFOs come true, we are going to see an economic slowdown. The budget assumptions of a 3.9% growth seem unrealistic. These results show, albeit not unequivocally, that Polish entrepreneurs expect the GDP to increase by less than 3%.

“In Poland, the reasons for this uncertainty are different than in other EU countries. Polish CFOs fear a shortage of skilled workers, as indicated by 34% of those surveyed, followed by an increase in operating expenses, which was mentioned by 31% of the respondents. Businesses also bear the risk of frequently changing economic and tax law, which for 30% of the respondents constitutes a greater threat than the risk of decline in market demand or price pressure,” said Krzysztof Pniewski.

As many as 76% of the CFOs expect inflation in 2017 to remain below 2%, and only 16% predict deflation. This means that they do not expect to see an inflation impulse resulting from the 500+ programme or the implementation of other promises made by the new government. The CFOs (nearly 73%) also forecast a stable and slightly weaker rate of exchange (PLN/EUR 4.1-4.4). In Poland and in Europe only the energy and mining industry and the financial sector expect a reduction in employment.

But interestingly, despite the high level of uncertainty, the tendency to take risks and invest in Poland is growing. The study indicated that it has increased by about 6 percentage points and now stands at 28%. Moreover, this inclination is at the same level as the risk tolerance of the EU countries (where a decrease by 3 percentage points has been observed).

In Poland, the willingness to take additional risk during six months rose from 22% to 28%.

Unemployment will decrease slightly or remain unchanged, so think approximately 28% of the respondents. However, 48% of them believe that unemployment will decline, which is consistent with the assumptions made by the government. We will notice an increase in employment in the public administration sector and health care, and a reduction in employment can be expected in the energy, mining and financial sector.

What arE thE sPEcific concErns of Poland’s cfos rEgarding this uncErtainty?

PrioritiEs

CFOs fear a shortage of skilled employees, higher operating costs and changes in the law.

Until now, they most feared heavy market pressure on prices and a fall in demand. Currently, 34% of the CFOs indicate that the most important risk factor is the fear of shortage of skilled workers. Another is an increase in operating costs (approx. 31%), which is associated with the changes that are being introduced, such as labour costs and pay, or even energy costs. Changes in commercial and tax law can also be found on the podium, with 30% of the directors mentioning them.

forEcast for 2017? modEratE oPtimism!

58% of the CFOs believe that exceeding GDP growth of 2.5% in 2017 is impossible. As already mentioned above, according to 42% of

An increase in revenues is a major priority for entrepreneurs. An increase in revenues in 2017 is planned by 83% (compared to 76% in the previous survey). Moreover, more than half of the respondents, as many as 57%, are looking for new markets. Poland is one of the few countries that include expansionist activities in their strategy. In most European countries defensive strategies dominate, focused on reducing costs, improving operating cash flows, etc.

Almost half of the companies in the country (48%) believe that their operating profitability will see an improvement. This level is the same as six months ago, which indicates that there is a large proportion of companies that consistently increase their profitability.

Bank credit is still by far the most attractive source of financing. A total of 66% of the respondents rated this as an attractive form (including 17% as very attractive). "At the same time the availability of credit is falling. In

the last year this index returned to the levels of 2014. A year ago, 62% of the CFOs said that loans were readily available. Now it is only 33%.

This is associated with a number of changes in the banking sector, such as the bank tax, conversion of loans in CFH and bankruptcy of co-operative banks. These events can have an impact on the tightening of the credit policy of banks," explained Krzysztof Pniewski. In the opinion of the CFOs capital financing is still not an attractive source of funding and is used relatively rarely. Due to the risks stemming from a more difficult access to credit financing, the attractiveness of capital issues in growing.

BrExit not so Bad? More than half of the companies (53%). see no impact of Brexit on Polish enterprises and the economy. However, more than a third (36%) believe that it will have a negative impact on their business. They are probably exporters whose activities are linked to the United Kingdom. The average for all countries surveyed is 50% and 37%. The biggest concern about the negative effects of Brexit are expressed, understandably, by the CFOs in Great Britain (65%), Portugal (52%) and Ireland and the Netherlands (48%). The effects of Brexit will be felt primarily in sectors connected with industrial production and financial services. In typical state-owned industries such as energy and the public sector, these fears are much smaller.

According to many domestic CFOs, Brexit will introduce tariff and non-tariff barriers which will increase the cost of business transactions, lengthen delivery times and reduce the competitiveness of Polish goods. In addition, 23% of the CFOs believe that Brexit will also cause other trade difficulties. Only 17% of the CFOs believe that Brexit will significantly restrict workers' mobility.

conclusion Most of the respondents forecast that the Polish economy will develop. What will be the GDP growth? It is hard to predict, 58% of the respondents say that it will not exceed 2.5%.

A high level of economic uncertainty can be explained by the concern about the lack of availability of qualified personnel, higher operating costs and uncertainty resulting from the changes in commercial law. As in other countries, up to one-third of the CFOs fear • the negative effects of Brexit.

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Economy

THE BEST BECAUSE IT’S

POLISH

WITH THESE WORDS, POLAND’S PRESIDENT ANDRZEJ DUDA OPENED THE 590 CONGRESS, WHICH WAS HELD AT THE EXHIBITION AND CONGRESS CENTRE IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN CITY OF RZESZÓW ON NOVEMBER 17 AND 18.

T

he name of the event was taken from the barcode prefix used for products made or distributed by Polish firms. The initiator of the congress is the Sławomir Skrzypek Foundation whose founder is Prof. Adam Glapiński. The originators of the congress want to point to the importance of Polish entrepreneurs, Polish producers and Polish human capital.

President Andrzej Duda, the honorary patron of the event, spoke about the importance of Polish entrepreneurs and presented economic awards during the congress. Opening the congress, he said: “590 is the beginning of the code signifying that the product is Polish. And it is Polish products that we want to promote, it is Polish enterprise that we want to promote, though of course inviting at the same time foreign investors. But, as every wise government does and every wise society wants, it is first of all Polish engineering solutions that are important for us. And it is the Polish entrepreneur first of all that we look at with great respect and interest, whom we wish well and whom we try to support at every step.”

President Andrzej Duda pointed to the place where the congress was held – Podkarpackie province, which until recently had been called Poland B and regarded as the less developed part of the country. But now Podkarpackie and its capital Rzeszów are developing very rapidly. Investments made by the regional and local authorities, and ordinary residents of the province are clearly visible.

President Duda assured the entrepreneurs attending the congress that his office was and would always be open to the needs of Polish businesses. He said that micro, small

80 polish market

and medium businesses by generating the gross domestic product were contributing to the development of the Polish economy. “They make up an overwhelming, absolute majority in our country. They constitute the absolute foundation of the Polish economy. It is the enterprise sector that young people enter at the start of their careers and life to pursue their aspirations,” the president said.

The president said that until recently we, Poles, used to think that “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” we loved foreign products and treated those made in Poland as somewhat inferior. A consequence of this policy was that Polish firms were being taken over by foreign ones, or closed down. In the president’s view, one of the priorities is to “make every effort to bring together all the capabilities and good ideas which can help us reverse this tendency and heal those wounds, and will lead to raising Poles’ living standards.” He added that cooperation between the public authorities and the business sector, and innovation in the economy were equally important aspects.

At the 590 Congress, deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and of Finance Mateusz Morawiecki unveiled his Constitution for Business, an extensive package of legislation designed to remove many onerous and often absurd duties imposed on Polish businesses.

The Constitution for Business is to replace the existing law on the freedom of economic activity. “We have prepared a thorough reform of economic law, proposing a positive turning point in relations between business and the public administration. The watchword of the package is freedom while its heart is the law for entrepreneurs, which will

Economy

replace the law on the freedom of economic activity of 2004,” Mateusz Morawiecki said.

So what does the Constitution for Business introduce? Firstly, several basic rules are to be incorporated into economic law: 1. What is not forbidden by law is allowed, which means that entrepreneurs can run their business freely unless they break clear bans or restrictions; 2. Presumption of honesty, which means that entrepreneurs do not have to prove their fairness – any doubts as to the circumstances of a specific case are to be decided in favour of the entrepreneur; 3. Friendly interpretation of regulations, which means that doubts about unclear regulations are to be decided in favour of the entrepreneur; 4. Principle of proportionality, which means that a public office is not allowed to impose unjustified burdens on the entrepreneur, for example demand documents which the office is already in possession of.

“Apart from the above rules, the reform of economic law also proposes many other regulatory changes prepared by the Ministry in conjunction with a team of experts in economic law, law academics and people practicing law - lawyers with vast professional experience.

SMALL-SCALE ACTIVITY WITHOUT REGISTRATION

Small-scale activity, one generating a monthly revenue of up to 50% of the minimum wage, would not be regarded as business activity. This means that people who, for example, deal with small-scale trading or occasionally give private lessons would not be required to have their activity registered and pay monthly contributions.

EXEMPTION FOR A START Fledgling entrepreneurs would be exempted from social insurance contributions for the first six months of their business activity. Then just as is the case now, they would have the right to pay reduced contributions for two years. The change applies to more than 200,000 people who take their first steps in business every year.

SIMPLER TAXES THE MINISTRY PROPOSES: • removing many formal obligations in the area of income taxes; • simplifying and clarifying the rules for tax deductible business expenses.

They are one of the most frequent reasons behind disputes between taxpayers and the tax authorities; • unifying forms for local taxes, like for example real estate tax, agricultural tax and forest tax, and making it possible to submit them in electronic form; • exempting persons who have inherited a business, or a stake in it, after the owner’s death, from inheritance and gift tax; • businesses to be required to keep their financial statements for five years rather than indefinitely, as is the case now; • in VAT regulations, the period after which the creditor has the right to benefit from a “bad debt” relief is to be shortened to 120 days; the same relief is to be introduced in income tax regulations.

On the commissioner’s request offices would be obliged to clarify the most complicated regulations. The commissioner would also have the power to suspend any audit if there is a serious suspicion that the tax officials have violated the law. The commissioner’s tasks will include supporting mediations between businesses and public administration bodies, and issuing opinions on laws concerning business activity at every stage of the legislative process.

JOINT COMMISSION

OF THE GOVERNMENT AND ENTREPRENEURS

The commission would be a permanent forum for discussion and cooperation between ministries and representatives of entrepreneurs. Its tasks are to include issuing opinions on legislation relevant to business activity and working out joint solutions.

REMOVING THE REGON IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

NOT ONLY ON PAPER With the consent of the entrepreneur, it would be possible to handle some official matters by phone, e-mail or other means of communication.

REGULATIONS EXPLAINED IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE

Tax offices are to provide “explanations for regulations” written in a simple language.

If the entrepreneur applies them they would be protected during an audit, for instance.

COMMISSIONER FOR

In contacts with public offices, businesses are to use exclusively their Tax Identification Number (NIP). NIP is to replace the REGON number in the REGON national register of businesses.

REMOVING ONEROUS PROVISIONS

The Constitution for Business package contains solutions removing from Polish law provisions which make life unpleasant for entrepreneurs or make law unnecessarily complicated. One example is the repealing of the July 6, 1982 law on conducting business activity in the People’s Republic of Poland in the area of small-scale production by foreign legal and natural persons.”1

ENTREPRENEURS’ RIGHTS

The Ministry proposes establishing the office of Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights.

1 The Ministry of Economic Development plans for the economic reform to enter into force next year.

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Economy

GOOD YEAR? DEMOCRACY IS GOVERNED BY ITS OWN RULES. OFTEN, THE ELECTION CANDIDATES CONSIDERED UNDERDOGS, ALL OF A SUDDEN GAIN HUGE POPULAR SUPPORT AND WIN THE ELECTIONS. WE CAN STILL HEAR THE ECHOES OF THE ELECTION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHERE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP HAS WON THE RACE TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE USA AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON. DESPITE ENJOYING HIGH SUPPORT IN THE POLLS, HOWEVER, HARDLY ANY EXPERT OBSERVER BELIEVED IN HIS VICTORY. AND HERE IS A SURPRISE FOR THE WHOLE WORLD. Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś Last year, the story in Poland was the same with the presidential election. Andrzej Duda, known to few voters, won the election with Bronisław Komorowski, the incumbent President of Poland. "The wind of renewal blew," one might say. The win of the Law and Justice party in the parliamentary elections was a foregone conclusion. And so it happened. On October 25, 2015 Poles decided to entrust the country to this party and a candidate to the post of Prime Minister of Poland, Beata Szydło.

On November 15, almost a year after the inauguration, the Prime Minister presented a summary of the annual work of her government. In a document entitled "#goodyear" Prime Minister Beata Szydło wrote: "Thanks to the 500 plus programme, this year has given Polish families hope for a better tomorrow, stability and security. We took care of the Polish countryside, senior citizens, Polish workers and pensioners. We are developing our economy, rebuilding Polish industry, introducing facilities for entrepreneurs. We are repairing the administration of justice.

We are introducing changes in the school system, because we want to give young Poles a good start. We are effectively managing the finances of the State. Unemployment is the lowest in 25 years."

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S

It has to be said that within this period many election promises have been fulfilled, mostly of a social nature. However, everyone knows that social reforms and their conduct requires financial outlays. And these are inextricably linked with the economy.

The most popular initiative of this government is the "Family 500+" programme. A benefit in the amount of PLN 500 has been paid from April 1, 2016. This benefit is granted to every family for the second and subsequent children and in the case of less well-off families – upon meeting the financial criterion – even for the first child.

The "Flat+" is another project of a social nature. In the November issue of "Polish Market" Andrzej Adamczyk, Minister of Infrastructure and Construction, said: "The Polish government has adopted the National Housing Programme, which sets out ambitious targets for increasing the availability of housing and improving the living conditions in Poland until the year 2030... One of the actions foreseen in the National Housing Programme is using the potential of the land belonging to the State Treasury." What does this mean in concrete terms?

Flats for purchasing or for rent are to be built on that land for every citizen (although preference will be given to low income families). The pilot project envisages building 6,000 flats.

In addition, several other solutions relevant to employees have been introduced, such as the minimum hourly pay amounting

Economy to PLN 12 for those working on the basis of civil law contracts or a minimum wage of PLN 2,000 as of January 1, 2017. These figures do not inspire much optimism among employers.

The government recently endorsed a presidential bill lowering the retirement age to 60 years for women and 65 for men.

Currently, the law adopted by the Parliament will go to the Senate. The changes will take effect as of October 1, 2017.

And in this case, both economists and employers express serious misgivings.

WE BELIEVE IN ECONOMIC PATRIOTISM

wings by excessive public administration and numerous tax interpretations – more on this on page 80.

Moreover, as of January 1, 2017 the Corporate Income Tax for businesses is to be reduced to 15%.

Towards the end of July, an amendment to the public procurement law came into effect. Preference is now to be given to companies employing staff on the basis of contracts of employment and facilities will be adopted to make the operation of small and medium-sized enterprises easier.

The government, listening to the voice of entrepreneurs, has abandoned the criterion of lowest price in tenders.

This move has been received enthusiastically by almost all entrepreneurs.

Rebuilding the Polish economy, we need to start not only with making life easier for entrepreneurs, although this is very important, but with building Polish technologies. An the often repeated slogan is: Innovative, not imitative economy!

G

After a few months, the government of Prime Minister Beata Szydło adopted the Plan for Responsible Development drawn up by Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The government will base the development of Poland on five pillars: • reindustrialisation (supporting existing and developing new competitive advantages and specialisations of the Polish economy), • the development of innovative companies (creation of a favourable environment for business and an innovation support system), • capital for development (more investment and building savings of Poles), • foreign expansion (support for exports and foreign investments of Polish companies, a reform of economic diplomacy, promotion of Polish brands), • social and regional development (including a reform of vocational education, inclusion of rural areas and small towns in the development processes).

The Plan for Responsible Development is to be implemented

by Polski Fundusz Rozwoju S.A. (PFR S.A.) whose aim is to integrate the activities of institutions such as PARP, ARP, PAIiIZ, KUKE or BGK.

COAL-BASED POWER INDUSTRY

Polish power industry will be largely based on coal, which is to form the basis of Polish energy security (despite some experts claiming that energy security can be provided by diversification). The priority is to secure jobs for miners, additional investment into mines and their modernisation.

I am glad that the LNG terminal in Świnoujście whose construction began in 2005-2007 has been opened. This investment project is considered important from the point of view of the economy and the power sector. After just 10 years, on June 17, 2016 the LNG terminal in Świnoujście received its first shipment of commercial supplies of liquefied natural gas.

POLAND’S STRENGTH IS BASED ON BUSINESS

During the 590Congress held towards the end of November, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development and Finance Mateusz Morawiecki announced the Constitution for Business – a package of many legislative changes. And all this to enable Polish entrepreneurs to develop without clipping their

INNOVATION

On November 23, President Andrzej Duda signed the Act on the Amendment to Certain Acts Defining the Conditions of Conducting Innovative Activity, which is considered a temporary remedial document. It is called "Small Innovation Act." Jaroslaw Gowin, Minister of Science and Higher Education is responsible for this piece of legislation. What can we expect from this law? Incentives in the form of tax relief, stabilisation of the funding for the commercialisation of research results and procedural facilitations designed to contribute to the attainment by 2020 of R&D expenditure equal to 1.7% of GDP, for example, an extension from 3 to 6 years of the right to write off the costs of R&D activities.

On the other hand, at the beginning of the year the Council for Innovation was established. It is to be the most important inter-departmental co-ordinator of the innovation policy implemented by the government, becoming a permanent element of the public administration system. Mateusz Morawiecki, Minister of Economic Development, said during the inauguration of the Council: "We are at the turning point in the history of our economy. We need to break out of the middle income trap. Paraphrasing the words of Marshal Józef Pilsudski one could say that the Polish economy will be either innovative or will be mediocre. Innovation is absolutely essential.”

In addition, the “Start in Poland”programme has been launched. Its aim is to encourage start-ups to develop their activity in Poland. The government has earmarked PLN 3 billion for the purpose. It has calculated that over the next seven years 1,500 companies capable of competing against technologically advanced products in international markets may be established in Poland.

PROMOTION OF POLAND

Several institutions are to assist in building the brand Poland abroad. The government has announced the formation of the Polish National Foundation, which aims to build a positive image of the country abroad, promote Poland and the Polish economy, defend the good name of the country from negative and often false information such as "Polish death camps". The project currently involves 17 companies owned by the State

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Economy

Treasury. But other businesses too will be able to co-operate with the Foundation, not just State-owned companies, but also private or foreign entities operating in Poland.

Taking care of the good name of Poland, the Polish government has strengthened cooperation with the Polish community and Poles abroad. The authorities want the Diaspora to contribute to this policy.

SECURITY

HENRYKA BOCHNIARZ, President of the Polish Confederation Lewiatan, comments on the summary of the first year of the Law and Justice goverment The Polish Confederation Lewiatan, which I have the honour to chair, has carried out a comprehensive assessment of the first year of the government of Prime Minister Beata Szydło, noting positive aspects and pointing our mistakes.

First of all, we can praise the introduction of tax changes to support innovative activities of enterprises, that is, among others, raising the tax breaks on expenditures on research and development. The deregulation package, containing 40 changes to reduce administrative costs, is also beneficial for the development of Polish entrepreneurship. We can positively evaluate changes in the Labour Code aimed at removing the so-called first daily rate syndrome and the minimum hourly rate for contractors and the self-employed.

The planned deep and horizontal changes in labour law prepared by the Codification Commission composed of eminent lawyers and representatives of employers' organisations and trade unions could lead to the introduction of modern solutions in the Polish labour market, so that we are better adapted to the challenges posed by economy 4.0.

As President of the Council for Social Dialogue, I am glad that many ministers get involved in the work of the Council in order to develop the best solutions for Poles. The development of our country will be possible only on the basis of fair social dialogue, involving regions.

Lewiatan agrees with a statement contained in the Strategy for Responsible Development, that rapid and sustained growth of the economy requires increasing investments and their efficiency. Increasing investments and strengthening the work ethic is necessary to increase employment and productivity, raise the standard of living and strengthen our country in the international arena.

Unfortunately, many actions of the government in the first year can bring the opposite effect, including draconian penalties in tax law, the adoption of a tax on retail sales and promotion by the government of the Bill banning retail trade and services on Sundays, the Act lowering the retirement age, subsidies for permanently unprofitable coal mines, or the revolutionary reform of the education system carried out at a dizzying speed. We also have doubts regarding the reform of the health care system prohibiting commercialisation and privatisation of hospitals, which may prevent private operators from offering medical rescue services.

So far, most of the actions taken by the government have amounted to the fulfilment of costly election promises. Let’s hope that the time now comes for supporting entrepreneurs and pro-business attitudes. We need good solutions and not declarations.

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In such volatile times Poland as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization can feel safe. As the Minister of National Defence said, "NATO is today becoming the main point of reference for our everyday safety." Undoubtedly, one of the biggest successes of 2016 was the organization of the NATO Summit in Warsaw, which took place in July. Our expectation has been confirmed at the summit. Our main goal was to strengthen the security of the eastern flank of NATO, primarily through a qualitatively measurable new presence of allied forces in the east. Was it a landmark summit? This is hard to say. Certainly, Poland as the organiser, but also a member of NATO is satisfied with its decisions, or strengthening the security of Poland, thanks to the eastern flank of NATO and the stationing of NATO troops in the form of four battalions and commanding forces in Poland and the Baltic States since the beginning of 2017.

Before the NATO summit, there was an equally important event in the form of the inauguration of the construction of a missile defence shield base in Redzikowo. The installation in Redzikowo will be deployed as part of the construction of the US missile defence system in Europe. The base in Redzikowo will be used to store and launch the SM-3 missiles to counter short and medium range kinetic weapons.

Equally commented was breaking off the offset agreement negotiations with Airbus Helicopters, the company with which the government was supposed to sign a contract for the purchase of the H225M Caracal multi-task helicopters. Airbus Helicopters had won a contract to supply helicopters under the previous government. The official reason given was "differences in the negotiating positions of both sides." However, one of the election promises of the Law and Justice was thorough examination of that contract. And so it happened. Should one be surprised? The new government did as promised. The representatives of Airbus Helicopters, as well as the French defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian are surprised.

Y POLAND AMONG THE LEADERS OF EUROPE?

Jan Parys, Head of the Political Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said this in an interview for "Polish Market": "In the interest of Poland is that no single country dominates Europe ... Poland intends to build coalitions, rather than impose its will upon anyone." One must admit that the Premier has put a lot of work into building the position of the Visegrad Group. From the moment Poland began chairing the Visegrad Group the cooperation within the V4 has become more visible, dynamic. Since then a common position of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic concerning EU matters has been developed.

C

C

Economy

We strive to become a strategic partner of China, it is quite natural considering that China is developing at a terrific rate. Such cooperation is possible, and both sides see it as a mutual benefit. For China Poland is a "window to the world", at least to Western Europe.

In June, during a visit of the President of China, Xi Jinping, several international agreements were signed, such as the abolition of the VAT on flight connections, mutual recognition of certificates and degrees, a protocol on cultural co-operation, collaboration between space agencies and economic ministries.

AND NOW SOME FIGURES

The government assumed a 3% growth of the GDP. However, the data presented by the Central Statistical Office for the 3rd quarter show that the economy grew by just 2.5%. A lower GDP means lower budget revenues. And election promises and reforms have to be financed somehow. Deloitte has recently published the results of its “CFO Survey” (more on this elsewhere in the magazine) where most CFOs interviewed forecast that next year the GDP would increase by no more than 2.5 per cent. But they probably did not expect their predictions to come true in 2016.

A STORM IN A TEACUP?

Talking to journalists during the 590 Congress, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economic Development and Finance Mateusz Morawiecki tried to reassure them saying: "We are dealing with a cyclical slowdown in the European Union and also in the larger part of the global economy .... All countries in Europe, especially Central Europe, feel the pinch. In all these countries, growth was lower than expected. So you can see that the reduction in the rate of growth is nearly universal and also affects the Polish economy.

He also assured that the economic growth of 3%, and even higher was still possible thanks to exports and investments driving our economy. "A recovery in investments and also quite strong exports should push the economy back up," said Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

According to preliminary data of the Central Statistical Office of Poland, after three quarters we noted a slight increase in exports of goods from Poland by 1.2% (to nearly EUR 134.9 billion) and a decline in imports by 0.6%. (to EUR 130.7 billion).

"Despite the temporarily weaker economic data, there is no risk to GDP growth in 2017 of more than 3%, which undoubtedly will be one of the best results in Europe," said Morawiecki.

IN CONCLUSION of the foreword to the ”#goodyear” report Premier Beata Szydło wrote:

"Of course, it is never so, that one does not make errors. We also commit them, but the most important thing is that we draw conclusions from them. We are faced with other challenges, other busy days. New projects to help and support Poles. Calmly, according to plan and gradually we are reforming our country. We want Poland to be a great place to live. We want Poles each day to feel that they live in a fair, modern country based on solidarity. In a country where every citizen has equal opportunities and possibilities."

We all want for the Polish economy to develop, the Polish GDP to grow and entrepreneurs to set up companies with advanced technologies employing workers paid ever higher wages. I'll risk saying that we want "life to get better. For everybody”

ANDRZEJ MALINOWSKI, President of the Pracodawcy RP, commnets on the summary of the first year of the Law and Justice goverment The last 12 months have seen a lot happening in the economy. The events of the year are the Strategy for Responsible Development and the Constitution for Business. Both of these documents are of great importance and give high hopes for an improvement in the situation of Polish entrepreneurs. The Strategy is a comprehensive vision of development of the Polish economy, containing an accurate assessment of the current status and indicating the obstacles to economic growth. It is good that it has been created – now you need to put it into effect as quickly as possible. Its elements include the Constitution for Business, a document in which the government, finally, after many years of appeals and exhortations, meets the expectations of Polish entrepreneurs. It is they who can become the engine of growth, providing the bureaucratic and legal obstacles stifling their potential are removed. Therefore, we hope that at the same time, on the occasion of changes in legislation there will be a change of mentality and the way officials think. We want them to become partners for the entrepreneurs in the joint work of building the Polish economy.

There are reasons for rejoicing. However, announcements of drastic changes in taxation or the idea of punishing entrepreneurs by seizing their businesses give rise to concern. The lowering of the retirement age which will only increase the labour deficit, ill-thought out changes in labour regulations – it is hard to square all this with the declarations contained in the Strategy or the Constitution for Business. We see a need to clarify these issues between the representatives of business and politicians. Poland’s development and prosperity is at stake here. There are enough macroeconomic threats and global problems for us to add new ones resulting from simple lack of mutual understanding.

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Chemical Industry

WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF MEETING ANY

CHALLENGES

W

ojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne SA (Military Automotive Works, WZM SA), a company with 70 years of experience, deals with the maintenance, repair and modernization of military tracked and wheeled armoured equipment.

The Leopard 2 tank is now the most important project for WZM SA and will be so in coming years. The company’s goal is to develop a comprehensive centre of excellence specialized in the area of Leopard tanks. It is to serve as:

• MAINTENANCE and repair centre for

the Leopard tanks using the company’s own design and technological documentation, and a centre for the modernization of the Leopard tanks in conjunction with a foreign partner;

• CENTRE for training the tank crews and

technical personnel of the tank users, as well as the company’s employees involved in the repair and modernization work;

• CENTRE for logistics material supply deal-

ing with the production and delivery of spare parts under a logistics system connected with the user.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), the manufacturer of the Leopard, is the strategic partner for WZM SA in the area of the tanks’

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maintenance and repair. WZM SA is going to build the maintenance potential for the Leopard 2 tanks on many different levels. For example, the company has been awarded the exclusive right to the maintenance and repair of engines used in the Leopard tanks (MB 837Ka) in its Power-Pack Centre. Additionally, an agreement signed with a key foreign partner gives WZM SA the right to offer authorized warranty maintenance services on behalf of Motorenund Turbinen-Union (MTU) Friedrichshafen GmbH. WZM SA provides these services to the Jelcz company.

At the same time, to meet halfway the expectations of the Minister of Defence, WZM SA takes part in the Ministry’s new programmes for tracked and wheeled vehicles, offering powerpacks for newly designed vehicles for the Polish armed forces. An example is the power pack which is now being designed for the new mechanized infantry combat vehicle. The leader of the combat vehicle project is Huta Stalowa Wola SA. Another very important project carried out

by WZM SA is the repair and modernization of the armoured recovery vehicle Bergepanzer 2 for the Leopard 2A4/A5/PL tank. The vehicle is based on the chassis of the Leopard 1 tank.

The modernized Bergepanzer 2 is to be used, for example, to take out the power-pack from a Leopard tank in field conditions. The vehicles will also be used to carry out the tasks of engineering forces. This is a good proposal of the

PGZ arms group, a good product, with a decent price and with a potential to be quickly implemented. In this area, the key partner for WZM SA is Flensburg Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG).

Many Polish companies, including members of the PGZ group, are to take part in the modernization project. For example, Huta Stalowa Wola SA could be responsible for the delivery of highrisk equipment, including cranes, while WZŁ Nr 2 SA in Czernica could deliver communications equipment. Polish components will account for 57% of the whole modernization package.

Another project carried out by WZM SA, still in the concept phase, is the development of a new wheeled armoured personnel carrier (NKTO 6x6). The vehicle was initially being developed for the Ministry of Defence as part of its Technical Modernization Programme. Although the contract was awarded to another bidder, WZM SA has not abandoned the project and is now looking for opportunities to implement it.

The vehicle proposed by WZM SA offers excellent mobility, a high level of crew protection without losing buoyancy, and the capability to perform patrolling and reconnaissance missions.

WZM SA has based its success on cooperation with institutes and universities. Its design and technology office has attracted a team of young engineers. Working under the guidance of experienced designers, they are not afraid of meeting any challenges – neither in the arms sector nor on the civilian market.

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Economy

MISSION AND BUSINESS “The Capital Market as a Pillar of the Polish Economy” – a lecture inaugurating the 2016/2017 academic year at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) by Prof. Małgorzata Zaleska, President of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) and Director of the Institute of Banking at SGH

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t was a long time ago, nearly 200 years back, that the first stock exchange was set up in Poland. It was established at the same time as Wall Street in New York.

These were completely different times, with a session lasting only an hour and 90% of trading taking place on the Warsaw market. In 1938, there were 130 securities listed on the Warsaw exchange: government, bank and municipal bonds, covered bonds and equities.

The Second World War, followed by the communist period, meant that in 1991 we started everything from scratch. At first, only five companies were listed and everything was done on paper. At the end of 2015, there were 487 companies listed and daily turnover was close to PLN800 million.

The year 2000 was a special time in the history of WSE as it became a public company listed on the Warsaw floor. Since then WSE has had to meet at the same time the difficult challenges of being an organization pursuing the mission to develop the capital market and a public company generating profit and growing for its owners.

It should be clearly stated that over these 25 years WSE has achieved undeniable success.

After the 25 years, we are one of the world’s most modern exchanges. At present, WSE is the biggest exchange in Central and Eastern Europe. It is Europe’s biggest exchange for small and medium companies. And it is

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them that create 70% of jobs and nearly 50% of Poland’s GDP. The Warsaw floor is also one of the few exchanges in the world were real capital is acquired.

The Warsaw exchange is the heart of the Polish economy, a heart which supports Poland, its development and innovation because WSE is not only where companies acquire capital. It is also a place of the companies’ daily valuation, a place which makes it possible to increase their recognisability. It is no feat to float a company on a stock exchange. The feat is to create the best possible conditions for its functioning on the exchange. WSE is often seen through the prism of equity market. The equity market is of course very important. But let us remember that we also have here a bond market and a commodity market. And I hope that in the near future REITs, that is long-term safe savings instruments, will also appear on WSE. The Warsaw exchange is a good place to build long-term savings. If we look at how much we can earn on the Warsaw exchange in the case of some entities we can see it is often more than from a traditional bank deposit. The bond market needs to develop further and it certainly requires simplification. This market should be more transparent. One of the elements in building its transparency is the need to assign ratings to corporate bonds. We want to establish a Polish ratings agency, mainly for

medium-sized companies. Work on such an agency will be started by the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Polish Development Fund.

Restoring a good reputation of the capital market and confidence in it is what we need today. Confidence in the financial market is the most important thing. Also very important is confidence in the capital market. If institutional and retail investors perceive the capital market as safe, one which may bring them profit in the long term, it will be beneficial not only from the point of view of these investors but also for the development of the Polish economy as a whole.

In its activity, WSE will continue to consistently combine its mission and business.

The Warsaw exchange will still be working to fulfil its mission of supporting the development of the capital market, building its infrastructure and educating Polish people about finance. We will also be trying to be the best possible company for retail and institutional investors – investors from London, New York and Asia. The Warsaw exchange is our asset which we should all take care of. We also have to learn how to promote the Polish economy abroad even better than now. Poland deserves to have a better image. There are things we can take pride in.

I believe that our graduates will be the best ambassadors for Poland and the Polish economy. This is what I sincerely wish for us al. •

Economy

BUSINESS ANGELS SUPPORT POLISH INNOVATION AND START-UPS

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n October 27, in Warsaw a conference was held of private investors (Business Angels) organized in the framework of the EU ESI programme. The organizers are European and national organizations of business angels in Poland: Business Angels Europe, Cobin Angels Investment Group and Meta, together with the National Contact Point for Financial Instruments of the EU Programmes. Honorary patronage over the meeting has been assumed by the Minister of Economic Development, Minister of Science and Higher Education and the European Commission. A special event accompanying the conference was the signing of the memorandum of a nationwide representation of the business angels community - the Confederation of Business Angels Networks.

A very positive phenomenon, which is part of the current government policy is the fact that both the European Union and the Polish government invest in the development of startups. This is to enable Poland to catch up with the West in economic terms. However, these are usually mechanisms aimed at supporting the initial phases of creation and development of start-ups. So far we lacked support at later stages of development, and this gap is to be filled by Business Angels. It is increasingly pointed out that start-ups are based on the “2 x A” concept, meaning Accelerators – places where young, resourceful people can create new projects, and Angels – people whose experience, knowledge and capital can support young entrepreneurs.

Early Stage Investing Launchpad (ESIL) is a programme financed by the European Commission as part of the “Startup Europe” initiative forming an element of the “Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan”. ESIL is oriented towards education and development of the community of Business Angels (BA) in selected Member States where this market is only beginning to develop.

The main objective of the programme is to develop and stimulate the activity of business angels through an international educational programme and exchange of experience. The first phase of the programme, ESI Pilot, has been

focused on three countries of Central Europe: Poland, Romania and Slovakia, where the number of business angels and activities associated with this form of financing innovation and investment is still relatively low and the market is only now emerging. Particular attention in the ESI Pilot is paid to the mechanisms of investment and support for the development of highly innovative start-ups and SMEs in the field of new technologies and international co-investments between business angel networks in the Member States. The pilot scheme will be implemented until December 2016. In the event of success of the programme there are plans for a bigger support programme, which will be directly linked with the Horizon 2020 framework programme.

“The development of the Polish market of private investors is a vital component of one of the important tasks of our government, which is to ensure that science and economy have access to finance, particularly innovative projects.

The ESI programme, as an instrument aimed at education and the development of the Business Angels community in Poland, will certainly help in these tasks", said Jaroslaw Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Higher Education.

The EU operators of ESIL are European BA market organisations: Business Angels Europe (BAE) and the European Business Angels Network (EBAN). In Poland, the project is operated by: the Cobin Angels and Meta Polska networks of business angels.

"Investments and the personal involvement of Business Angels support in a very effective way the development of innovative companies. This is certainly one of the key pillars of any mature market. In Poland we still have a lot of work to do in this area, because in the most developed countries like the United Kingdom and France the number of business angels per million inhabitants is more than ten times higher than in Poland. We believe that by supporting programmes such as ESI and instruments created as part of Start in Poland we can quickly make up for the gap,"said Robert Ługowski, President of the Board of Cobin Angels and a

representative of the Confederation of Business Angels Networks.

According to the representatives of the Confederation of Business Angels Networks, Poland needs information and education activities aimed at stimulating private capital to finance innovation and encouraging investments in businesses at an early stage of development.

The direct aim of these activities should be an increase of the number of Business Angels and the number of transactions where “smart money”, meaning knowledge and experience provided to start-ups by individual investors, plays an important role. Just like in other European countries, this goal should be supported by the State in the form of programmes aimed at developing the Business Angels community, education and promotion or angel investments and creating an investment culture based on motivations going beyond financial considerations, e.g. social mission, economic patriotism or utilisation of one’s own knowledge and experience.

One example of a rapidly growing network of business angels is Cobin Angels - a network of private investors (Business Angels) involving private capital in innovative projects in the early stages of development. The main task of the Network is the selection of start-ups, organisation of meetings with investors, during which the originators present their projects and support of Business Angels in the investment process. An interesting phenomenon is the involvement, in addition to entrepreneurs, of people working as contract employees, often senior managers of multinational corporations.

In many cases, the motivation is the desire to exploit the existing potential, implement innovative ideas and ultimately be an entrepreneur. Cobin Angels' experience shows that this type of investors may be a particularly valuable support for start-ups during their international expansion.

The Business Angels investment market in Poland is in the emerging phase. Innovation and start-ups can be one of the essential pillars of development of our economy. Support for this sector is one of the objectives of the Plan for Responsible Development.

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Economy

FURNITURE MARKET IS VERY FRAGMENTED TOMASZ MODZELEWSKI, President of Paged S.A., talks to Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

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Economy When we say “Paged” we think of furniture. But Paged S.A. is a whole group of companies.

Paged S.A. is an industrial and investment group with more than 80 years of history. After the Second World War the history of the factory became closely associated with Paged State Wood Agency, a wood-exporting enterprise set up at the State Forests agency in 1931.

In the 1990s, the enterprise was privatized.

A controlling stake in the company was bought

by Paged S.A. It is now an industrial-investment holding. Our activity is focused on three areas of business: the wood industry segment (plywood, furniture and trade); the segment of advanced internal logistics systems and industrial automation; and the segment of other activity, which includes capital investments in undertakings offering long-term prospects.

PM

PM

Why have you decided to diversify your activity?

Today’s economy requires such an approach.

In the wood segment, you have plywood and furniture production lines, but also a trade business. Which of the businesses generates the highest revenue for you?

It is definitely the production of plywood.

In the first three quarters of 2016, our plywood sales were worth PLN350.5 million and accounted for 60% of our overall revenue. Additionally, plywood production accounted for nearly 80% of our EBITDA profit (PLN74.9 million).

PM

I am surprised. I thought it was furniture.

The furniture segment is today just a small part of Paged Group's business. In the first three quarters of 2016, it generated around PLN108.6 million, that is only around 19% of the Group’s overall revenue.

PM

But the furniture sector is one of the most important industries in Poland and a solid support for our exports. Poland ranks 6th in the global league table of furniture manufacturers.

Indeed. It is a large business in Poland, but it is very fragmented – there are many furniture makers in Poland. Although Paged Meble is an important furniture producer, it is still a relatively small player. We estimate that we have an around 5% share in the Polish market. It is worth stressing that we also deal with furnishing offices, hotels and restaurants. Today, we work mainly as suppliers for many of the world’s leading brands.

PM

PM

But now, when we are backing Polish firms so strongly, maybe it is worth promoting Polish products.

It is true, but in order to develop our products well, we need both good design and high quality.

Polish designers, competing for a position on the international market, achieve numerous successes. Paged S.A. is also developing its own designs.

All our products and services are wholly Polish – starting with design to material to making the finished product. The person responsible for the Paged Collection brand [furniture intended mainly for offices, hotels and restaurants – ed.] is Tomek Rygalik as creative director. The designer has used in the collection an eclectic combination of an upholstered seat, plywood backrest and bent elements. The models stand out with the careful selection of materials and subtle allusions to the highlanders’ craftsmanship tradition. An example is a short stool with angled legs and proportions typical of highlanders’ seats. The k2 family includes chairs, armchairs and bar stools with ergonomic seats and of various heights. The use of a unique technology available at our plant in Jasienica has enabled fixing the legs by means of a hoop made of solid wood. This element ensures structural stability and gives the models a special character. The k2 family also includes footstools, hassocks and coffee tables. I think that in terms of product quality and sophistication we are now definitely among the leaders.

PM

Paged’s furniture is sold on the Polish market and in 50 other countries on all continents, including such distant places as Japan, Australia, the United States and Colombia. Is it easy to develop a product that can be liked by everybody?

We have European countries where tastes are quite homogeneous. But there are also countries where we have to adjust not only the colours but virtually the whole product to meet the specific tastes of the market. We have a very well developed line of bent-wood furniture, which is manufactured with the use of a unique traditional process. We are one of the few producers in the world who use this process. The furniture sells very well in Germany and even in Japan. But there are countries where we do not export these products at all. For example, British people have a taste for solid and heavy furniture. In turn, Italians prefer light furniture with a designer feel.

PM

Is it modern design or classical pieces that dominate your sales?

The truth is that we sell both. We would probably prefer to sell more of the newer design because it requires more advanced production processes. Besides, we have invested PM

in modern equipment and automated production systems. A good example is our bentwood furniture plant in Jasienica. The plant, established in 1881, is seeing modern technology support traditional bent-wood furniture production methods. The plant now has a capacity to manufacture 25,000 chairs a month.

But hand-made furniture is very expensive. This job requires artistry.

In Poland the problem is often the price.

We prefer cheaper products and do not pay attention to how the furniture has been made – by hand or in a large factory. In contrast, Germans attach great importance to this.

PM

So the price shapes Polish people’s tastes?

It depends. We base our success on high quality and design. Developing an exceptional product is more expensive. But the price is of little importance for a customer seeking a unique product. However, when it comes to mass products, the price indeed matters. We are constantly working to find a happy medium. Our goal is to be ahead of new trends.

If we respond quickly and keep up with the trends we will build a strong brand and will be perceived as a modern company.

PM

What makes it possible for your to respond to current fashion trends?

This is a result of constant observation - we always try to take part in international fairs, but we also experiment quite a lot. We pay attention to what has caught on, what kind of furniture is in demand and only then launch the production of such furniture. But remember that every piece of furniture has to undergo tests. We check the quality of the materials used, their durability and ergonomics.

We take a different approach to the structural design. Shortly speaking, we are moving towards research and development.

PM

This means innovation. Is it needed in the furniture industry? Do you work with higher educational establishments and research institutes?

We work with both universities and institutes dealing with wood technology. We have been promised R&D funding from the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). We will be developing our furniture and plywood in this direction. Without modernizing our organization we will not move forward. Modern solutions are a necessity. We want to avoid the fate of many Polish firms which, failing to invest in development, have at best become merely suppliers.

Paged S.A. has different aspirations. We are building the Paged brand, a brand of a very high quality.

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Economy

EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION

A REQUIREMENT OF THE TIMES...

THE TOPIC OF THE 15TH CONGRESS OF POLISH EXPORTERS,HELD ON NOVEMBER, 17 IN WARSAW UNDER THE HONORARY PATRONAGE OF THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROVINCE MARSHALS, WAS FOREIGN EXPANSION OF COMPANIES AS PART OF THE STRATEGY FOR RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT. DEBATES IN THE CUPOLA ROOM AT THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADDRESSED DIRECTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION OF POLISH BUSINESSES AND DEVELOPMENT OF EXPORTS IN THE PRIORITY FOREIGN MARKETS.

Maciej Proliński

D

uring the Jubilee Congress panellists drew attention to the need to take further actions aimed at accelerating foreign expansion of enterprises and improving systemic solutions designed to achieve an optimal growth of exports. References were also made to the implementation of the Strategy for Responsible Development, and in particular promotion and the potential for opening new foreign markets and intensifying the actions taken by exporters in this regard. Responding to the needs of exporters, the 15th Congress of Polish Exporters assessed the status and implementation prospects of a strategy focused on export-driven development of the Polish economy. It appears that the current situation in international markets caused by the on-going embargo in the Eastern markets requires further export diversification. Therefore, a coherent pro-export policy will be pursued as the main driving force behind the development of our economy.

During the talks it was stressed that Poland had a considerable chance of remaining on a slightly higher level of development compared with other countries because it has major reserves, in particular, with regard to professional, scientific and intellectual potential, and a young and welleducated workforce. However, the overriding task is the implementation of an economic model based on competition, innovation and modern technologies. These measures will also be supported by the new EU budget plan until the year 2020. The Association of Polish Exporters predicts that exports will grow to EUR 240-250 billion in 2020, including agri-food exports worth approximately EUR 40 billion.

The position of the 15th Congress of Polish Exporters regarding foreign expansion of enterprises as part of the Strategy for

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Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, editor-in-chief of Polish Market, laureate of Economic Journalist of the Year 2016 Responsible Development also states that additional instruments should be deployed in this respect, including, among others, strengthening the activities of economic diplomacy in countries offering prospects for the development of Polish exports, intensifying the activities of companies in markets with a potential demand for Polish goods (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Balkans: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Macedonia and Greece and Maghreb countries: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as Latin America), statutory regulation of the co-ordination of interministerial co-operation between the ministries of development, agriculture and foreign affairs in promoting exports, and shaping a positive image of the Polish economy abroad.

During the Congress an official gala was held where the representatives of dozens of Poland’s best exporting companies were presented with

numerous awards and distinctions. The 1st Prize of the Minister of Economic Development and Finance in the form of a Statuette and a certificate went to URSUS SA Lublin. The 2nd Prize of the Minister of Economic Development and Finance in the form of a Statuette and a certificate was awarded to PPUH Horus – Energia Sp. z o.o. from Sulejówek. The 3rd Prize of the Minister of Economic Development and Finance in the form of a Statuette and a certificate was received by the Factory of Rescue Equipment and Miner’s Lamps “Faser” S.A. in Tarnowskie Góry.

Honorary Medals for Services to Exports, Congratulatory Letters and Outstanding Exporter of the Year 2016 Cups and Economic Journalist of the Year 2016 Medals were presented. The recipients of the latter distinction included Krystyna WoźniakTrzosek, editor-in-chief of "Polish Market".

Speaking on behalf of the award winners in this category, she said”: "Ladies and Gentlemen, Three weeks ago, during the 14th Gala of the Pearls of the Polish Economy held at the Royal Castle in Warsaw we presented statuettes to the best businesses chosen in a ranking compiled by academics from the Warsaw School of Economics. Why am I mentioning this? The best companies in that ranking are enterprises which operate in foreign markets. In order to succeed one has to face up to the challenges of the global market. Second, a complete success requires modern management systems. I think that Polish exporters cope with all this very well.

I also think that the global upheavals will not undermine the position of Polish exporters.

I wish them this. I would like them to be able to better promote their brands. This will happen if their brands are supported by a strong Brand Poland!"

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Chemical Industry

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Events

24

TH

EUROPOWER ENERGY CONFERENCE

SOCIETY – ENERGY – ECONOMY The 24th EuroPOWER Conference, combined with the 2nd Innovative Manufacturing Forum, was held at the Radisson Blu Centrum Hotel in Warsaw on November 9 and 10. It was an opportunity for business people, public officials and experts on the energy sector, its development and alternative energy sources to meet together.

“

We are facing great changes. The dilemmas we have spoken about for years need to finally see their real operationalization,” Leszek Juchniewicz, PhD, chairman of the EuroPOWER Advisory Board, said when opening the conference. It was stressed already at the very beginning of the conference that an energy policy is only sensible if it is based on long-term strategies. But for many years the situation looked quite differently. There was no uniform concept for the development of the Polish energy sector and the energy mix. And there was also uncertainty in the distribution of powers between regulatory institutions and public administration bodies. The energy sector, as a strategic sphere of the country’s operation, should be transparent in this respect. “In the past years, there were several documents under the name of Guidelines for the Energy Policy, or a similar name. They had a few common traits. They were very extensive and littleknown, and none of the policies has ever been fully implemented. This is a sign of some weakness of the Polish governments over the years,” Juchniewicz added.

Today, energy policy has become a section of the wide-ranging Strategy for Responsible Development proposed by deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. It was a topic of a major part of the conference. An Oxford-style debate was held for the first time at EuroPOWER and it was devoted to the Morawiecki Plan. However, it was very unusual and as such did not fulfil its role because one could see no clear-cut lines between the

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opponents and advocates of the strategy. An observer could have the impression that both sides agreed with the same points of the strategy and had doubts about others. It is thus clear that their perception of the government’s strategy is similar.

Greeting the conference participants, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, government commissioner for the restructuring of the coal mining sector, pointed to the key role of the energy sector. “The energy industry is a crucial sector of the economy for every country and the European Union as a whole,” he said.

“The circle in which we are meeting today – experts, business people and a large group of specialists - is an excellent opportunity to talk about challenges and chances for us in coming years.”

Stressing the importance of such conferences as EuroPOWER, Jadwiga Emilewicz, deputy minister of economic development, said: “We are meeting at a point when we should decide on issues of strategic importance for the Polish economy. This discussion is now on. We are at a moment when these fundamental dilemmas are on the table and have to be resolved by means of a dialogue like the one you have organized today. (…) At present, we are participants in what is called the industrial revolution 4.0. We can and want to take part in it. We have bet on two key elements: reindustrialization and modern industry, which is inseparably linked to the development of the energy sector.”

The subject matter of the first day of the conference focused on a diagnosis of the state of the Polish economy, industrial policy and

From left: Leszek Juchniewicz (PhD, chairman of the EuroPOWER Advisory Board) and Piotr Woźniak (President of the Polish Oil and Gas Company PGNiG)

priorities and determinants of its development, and the energy sector in the process of modernization. An important item on the agenda was a debate on electricity generation, with an attempt to answer the question of what energy mix will be determined by energy policy. Among the participants in the discussions were Andrzej Piotrowski, deputy minister of energy, Remigiusz Nowakowski, president of Tauron Polska Energia, Dariusz Kaśków, President of Energa, Piotr Woźniak, president of the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG), Maciej Bando, president of the Energy Regulatory Office, Jarosław Broda, vice-president of Tauron Polska Energia, and Eryk Kłossowski, president of PSE Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne.

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International Relations

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Events

150

YEARS OF “PRZEGLĄD TECHNICZNY” (TECHNICAL REVIEW) "Ideas, thoughts and concepts are equally important in the history of our civilisation as concrete, tangible achievements: discoveries and inventions, structures and mechanisms. The latter need the former. In this context, it would be difficult to overestimate the role of technical press."

Ewa Mańkiewicz-Cudny and Professor Michał Kleiber presented the “Honorary Gold Engineer” title to Professor Henryk Skarżyński, Director of the Institute of Physiology and Pathologyof Hearing.

T

Photos: TECHNICAL REVIEW

Jerzy Bojanowicz

hese are the opening words of a letter from Polish President Andrzej Duda to the participants and organisers of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of “Przegląd Techniczny”. The President assumed the patronage of the event and the letter was read out by Zdzisława Sipiera, Governor of Mazowieckie Province, on November 18 at the Warsaw Technicians’ Association House built 90 years ago.

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The publication of the Polish journal dedicated to technical issues was initiated in 1866 by Paweł Kaczyński (17991878), engineer, constructor and designer of machines and industrial plants. It came out a week after the publication of the English “Engineering" magazine.

The President stressed that since the beginning “Przegląd Techniczny” has been the voice of Polish patriotism and positivist ideas combining strengthening national existence with building a strong economic position. When Poland did not exist on the map of Europe the magazine’s great achievement was integrating the engineering communities from Poland’s territory divided into three parts, popularising new technologies, introducing Polish technical terminology and drawing up an economic programme for the future independent Polish State. In the reborn Republic the people associated with the journal did a lot to create Poland’s modern industry, participating in projects such as the Gdynia port and the Central Industrial District.

“Przegląd Techniczny” played a special role in the 1970s and 80s. Although published legally, for all intents and purposes it became an opposition publication criticising the deficiencies of the centrally-planned and managed economy, backwardness and economic absurdities rife under communism. As a result, it was disliked by the authorities and had to cope with frequent interference by the censors.

It is worth remembering that in 1882 “Przegląd Techniczny” co-organised the 1st Congress of Polish Technicians in Kraków, in 1896 it introduced a permanent column entitled “Polish technical terminology”, and its editors co-authored the first Polish technical dictionary, in 1905 it supported the establishment of the Warsaw Polytechnic, propagated campaigns designed to improve the qualifications of engineers

Events

and played a significant role in the erection of the Technicians’ Association House in Warsaw by announcing a competition for its construction. It was the first Polish periodical to introduce sections dedicated to natural protection and computers (the “Przegląd–Komputer” insert appeared in 1983), and in 1987 it organised Poland’s first International Computer Exhibition INFOSYSTEM in Wrocław, which a year later was transformed into the International Telecommunications and IT Fair INFOSYSTEM organised by the Poznań International Fair until 2008. It continues to propagate new technical solutions and acts as a forum for discussions among engineers during the Congresses of Polish Technicians and World Congresses of Polish Engineers.

The latest was held in 2016 in Wrocław.

"I am also full of admiration for the activities and opinions presented by 'Przegląd Techniczny' during Poland's economic transition period. You rightly pointed out that in order to be strong, competitive and globally important, Poland needed its own industry, scientific ideas and promotion of technical culture in society, and a robust education system producing highly professional engineers. I want to thank the Editors for organising valuable initiatives furthering those goals, such as the Golden Engineer or Young Innovator contests, wrote the President. And wishing the journal an excellent future matching its wonderful traditions, he stressed his conviction that “as before, 'Przegląd

Techniczny' will remain an important centre shaping Polish economic patriotism. That the wide community created around the publication will contribute to achievements in dealing with such ambitious challenges of our times as reindustrialisation, innovation, significant participation of Poland and Poles in the on-going fourth industrial revolution.”

The history of “Przegląd Techniczny” was presented

by Ewa MańkiewiczCudny, its editor-inchef and president of the Polish Federation of Engineering Associations NOT. And Professor Michał Kleiber, Ambassador of the European Commission for the New Narrative for Europe, president of the Polish Economy of Science between 2007-2015, delivered a lecture entitled “Initiatives of 'Przegląd Techniczny' for science, technology and economy over 150 years.”

On the occasion of its anniversary “Przegląd Techniczny” was presented with the Pro Masovia Medal, Ewa Mańkiewicz-Cudny received the Pro Patria medal and the journalists with State awards and Certificates of Appreciation of the Marshal of Mazowieckie Province, NOT Gold Badges and medals of individual NOT associations.

However, “Przegląd Techniczny” reciprocated. Ewa Mańkiewicz-Cudny and Professor Michał Kleiber presented the Honorary Gold Engineer title to Professor Henryk Skarżyński, Director of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing.

“Przegląd Techniczny” also received best wishes from Konrad Jaskóła – member of the governing bodies of the Gold Engineer Club with its 151 members, and Professor Józef Suchy, vice-president of FSNT-NOT, who, speaking on behalf of the Board, said that “Przegląd Techniczny” is a flagship product, our journal, showing the activity of FSNT-NOT, glorifying us.” It is worth adding that on October 25, 2016 the National Board of FSNT-NOT adopted the Statutes stating that its press organ was “Przegląd Techniczny – Gazeta Inżynierska.”

The jubilee Gala hosted by Krzysztof Michalski ended with a fragment of “The Haunted Manor” by Stanisław Moniuszko, performed by the European Vocal Art Promotion Foundation. The abridged libretto was read by Beata Wardak – its founder and president, soloist at the Warsaw • Chamber Opera.

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Food Industry

POLISH FINE ORGANIC FOOD “The organic food market is not as easy as the market for conventional food. It is farmers who choose whom to sell their products. Quality and confidence are very important. This market is really special, but it is also true that exceptional products are made thanks to it,” Paweł Krajmas, President of the Polish Ecology Association, set up in 2006, tells Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

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Food Industry fields, for example fields where oilseed rape is grown. If the farmer meets all the conditions of organic food production they receive the certificate.

Consumers are increasingly aware, but they ultimately look at the size of their wallets and facing the choice between organic food and cheaper food they unfortunately choose the latter.

We now have conventional production and organic production: two markets and two kinds of food products. They are produced in different fields, they are processed under different regimes, they are sold in different stores or from different shelves, they are labelled differently and are subject to different regulations.

If we manage to educate a future consumer starting when they are in a kindergarten we will then have an aware consumer. Now, it is mainly parents with children who are interested in health food. We think teachers and educators also play a major role. We work with many primary schools and are glad to conduct lessons about health food.

I have to admit that the awareness of organic products is very high among children. They know organic food labels, and what conservatives and food colourings are.

As for the prices, remember that organic products are getting cheaper. A few years ago the prices were much higher.

PM

The Polish Ecology Association is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Do you regard the promotion of organic food by educating the public as your main success in this period?

Indeed, our biggest success is educating the public and the fact that organic food is now present in so many stores while 10 years ago it was there in trace amounts. Ten years ago people asked what organic food was and how it differed from ordinary food.

PM

So what is the difference?

Organic food means respect for consumers by selling them clean and good products and respect for the environment because organic production protects the soil. We do not use fungicides, insecticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. All this is fully controlled from the field to the table. Organic food is the safest food because there are so many checks in the process of its production that it is impossible to cheat.

PM

How do you check individual producers?

How can one know that what they produce is really organic?

An organic certificate is issued following an audit conducted by a certifying unit. It is valid one year only. The farmer has to take appropriate care of the soil. Very important is the period of conversion when the soil “rests after a period of conventional cultivation.” The farmer has to raise animals in appropriate conditions and slaughter has to be performed under the supervision of a veterinarian. The same is the case with the production of cold cuts and cheeses – everything is done under supervision. A special example of organic food production is beekeeping. Organic apiaries have to be located at a distance of 2 kilometres from conventional PM

And what about the restaurateurs’ awareness?

This is the biggest problem for us. We have negotiated for years with restaurant owners to persuade them to at least try and introduce our Polish products. Many chefs take a shortcut and seek ingredients that always have the same properties. Meanwhile, it is not that easy with organic production. To be frank, in organic farming we have to do with crops which depend on weather conditions.

Cooks are often unable to turn diversity into an asset. They think it is a shortcoming. The seasonality of products is exceptional. Our strong point is product diversity.

PM

Culinary matters are now in vogue. Food fairs enjoys successes. And how do you promote fine Polish food abroad?

We carry out campaigns in third countries such as Singapore and the United States. Of course, we are looking for marketing outlets for our products. Besides, we learn through cooperation with foreign partners, which allows us to see progress and global trends. As a result, we know the place of Polish organic food and what it is worth doing for its further promotion. I have had the pleasure on several PM

occasions to take part in a fair in China. This market is growing at a terrific pace.

We are telling our members what the organic world looks like. We propose fine Polish food through cooperation with universities, especially the Medical University of Warsaw, catering schools and even theatres.

Every year we organize 60 events in Poland and abroad. All our members are united by passion. I am convinced that creating such a dynamically operating organization as the Polish Ecology Association would not have been possible without our members. Despite many internal discussions and differences we have and want to reach an agreement for the sake of our common goal, which is the promotion of Polish organic food.

We are on the eve of a decision to be taken

by European Union countries on signing a free trade agreement with Canada (CETA).

Many reservations are being voiced about this agreement. They are raised in particular by organizations associated with food production. And what is your opinion?

We are opposed to signing this agreement. The Association is for protecting the Polish market. It is not at all easy to sell a Polish product in Poland. However, I see a good point in the discussion about CETA – I am glad that we have started talking about Polish food, including organic food. The issue allows us to raise public awareness. This whole media commotion will bring a lot of good to organic food. Thanks to the publicity, we have managed to draw attention to a few problems: poor food quality, consumers’ failing to read labels and their ignorance of food products’ ingredients. In our view, the chain from the producer to the consumer should be increasingly short.

PM

Why is it difficult for Polish producers to sell on the Polish market?

We have less and less of Polish trade. Shopkeepers work for foreign corporations and choose products that the corporations force on them. These are not necessarily Polish products. The press and the media have an important role to play in encouraging Polish consumers to buy Polish products. A patriotic approach is needed here to promote good Polish organic food. Just look at European trends – every country takes care of their own interests. This approach is quite popular now, but we have already been talking about it for 10 years. We continue to stress the importance of our local market. If all institutions worked to instil economic patriotism in Polish society, starting with young kids, Polish producers would not have to look for marketing outlets abroad.

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Food Industry

PATENTS AND CONTINUES

TO IMPROVE OUR PRODUCTS PIOTR BARCZAK, President of P.H. Royal Sp. z o.o., talks to "Polish Market".

For 26 years P. H. Royal sp. z o. o. has been importing, exporting and manufacturing luxury food products. It is a family-run business with exclusively Polish capital.

Please tell us how it all started.

The company began trading in 1991. At that time making a phone call to Germany required placing the call through a telephone exchange, and any trip abroad required a visa and passport. From the beginning, Royal has been importing olives under its own Royal Brand and tinned tropical fruits, such as rambutan, lychee, breadfruit. Many of these products appeared in Poland for the first time. P. H. Royal sp. z o.o. was the first importer of olives to Poland after 1989.

PM

But later the company began manufacturing spices according to its own patented utility model.

Yes. We succeeded in placing these products in many delicatessen stores. Thanks to the co-operation with customers we developed a product offer containing in excess of 200 spices. We also designed a mahogany spice rack enabling stores to display our products in an attractive way. Proprietary Royal Brand mixes, such as wild chicken or scrambled eggs with chanterelles soon found favour among consumers.

Currently, our offer also includes original containers with flavoured salts from different countries, chestnut products and organic coconut flour and coconut sugar. The packaging of Royal Brand spices is also a patented PM

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utility model, protected in the entire European Union.

You mentioned patents. How important to you is patenting products and ensuring their quality?

Both quality and patents are very important. The company holds a number of patents and continues to improve its products. For example, we have launched an innovative cardamom, guarana, cinnamon-flavoured drinking chocolate. Recently, one of the American retail chains said that the Royal brand organic chocolate with guarana was a product never seen by them before.

Many products enjoy popularity among customers. For this reason, since 2009 the company has been receiving the Mark of Quality (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), the Silver Quality of the Year and finally the Gold Quality of the Year in 2014. These prestigious awards were granted by the Chapter of the Quality of the Year Mark under the patronage of the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily. We have also received the Eco Quality of the Year Award.

PM

Where can we find your products?

The customers of P.H. Royal sp. z o.o. include the best stores in Poland, such as Piotr i Paweł, Carrefour, E.Leclerc, Intermarche, Stokrotka.

PM

And what about other countries?

I must add here that P.H. Royal sp. z o.o. also delivers its products to Poland’s key food PM

manufacturers. Thanks to direct contacts in Guatemala, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia we are able to maintain the required quality of spices and low prices. We specialise in importing difficult products, including vanilla, although our import portfolio contains over 260 assortment items.

As regards foreign markets, we sell our products in Central Europe. The company has been presented with the “Golden Bison” award for export to Kaliningrad in Russia.

Our representatives are often invited to various fairs. Sometimes we are the only company representing Poland. This was the case in Paraguay and Guatemala. We are a frequent visitor at fairs in Italy and Germany. Recently we presented our products at the Biofach Exhibition in Nuremberg, in a stand shared with the “Polska Ekologia” Association, where we are an active member.

There is no doubt that P.H. Royal sp. z o.o. enjoys excellent reputation and has conquered the palates of its customers with its products. What now?

We want to develop. We are developing new innovative spice products, and planning the implementation of new products storage methods, especially for those most expensive and difficult to store. Certainly, we are strengthening our co-operation with domestic agricultural producers and planning to increase the company’s production capacity • by modernising our plant.

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Food Industry

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF BUILDING THE ORGANIC FOOD SECTOR. JUBILEE OF THE POLISH ECOLOGY ASSOCIATION Education of consumers - Support for manufacturers and processors - Opening to foreign markets - Good use of favourable economic situation Bohdan Juchniewicz

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he organic food market in Poland is growing dynamically and is worth PLN 800 million. These results are due in no small measure to the work of the Polish Ecology Association, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. This splendid jubilee is a good occasion for presenting its successes in business, achieved by motivating producers and processors and opening doors to new markets on several continents. But building the organic market also means educating consumers over many years.

It has become a tradition that at many fairs, food festivals, fetes and even during the science picnics organised by the Medical University of Warsaw the stands of processors or producers from the Polish Ecology Association attract the largest number of visitors. They want to try the flavour of organic foods or learn how to make spelt bread dough or take part in a rare event where a whole bull is spit-roasted and then eaten. But above all, they receive a large helping of knowledge about good, natural, organic food. They also learn about its opposite: the food without certificates.

“We also take our vitamin and anti-sclerosis crusade to the largest organic food fair BioFach in Nuremberg," said Paweł Krajmas, president of the Association of Manufacturers and Processors of Organic Products Polish Ecology. "Many of our members offer a range of fruit and vegetable preserves and other products considered to be among the healthiest, functional foods; we also bring forest fruits and mushrooms, goat cheeses, sausages, groats, herbs."

Poland finds itself in ascendancy when it comes to organic food. Just like in many other countries, here too the awareness of consumers is growing as they increasingly notice the dangers posed by industrially manufactured food.

Domestic organic producers and processors closely follow strict agricultural techniques and technological regimes, have modern equipment used for sorting, chilling and packaging. In recent years they have established trade contacts with countries in Europe, as well as in Canada, the USA and Asia”.

Opening new markets, especially in Asia, and sending Association members on trade

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During a Gala organised by the Editors of "Polish Market" President Paweł Krajmas, just like in the previous years, presented the following active partners of the Association with an award for services to the promotion of environmental protection and organic food: ) Irena Baran – Principal of the Mikołaj Spytek Ligęza Catering and Hotel School Complex in Rzeszów (the award was collected by Beata Łuka – photo); Michał Tabisz – former Director of the Department of Promotion and Economic Co-operation of the Marshal Office of Podkarpackie Region, currently President of the Board of Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport; Andrzej Arendarski – President of the National Chamber of Commerce (the award was collected by Jerzy Bujok, Deputy Secretary General; Professor Zbigniew Dolatowski, PhD – Department of Meat Technology and Food Quality at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin; Franciszek Siegień – owner of Elena Sp. z o.o.; Zbigniew Nowak – Chairman of the National Council of Polish Butchers and Meat Processors (absent)

and study missions is an organisational challenge, but it gives satisfaction.

Paweł Krajmas: “We are aware of the analyses of Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas indicating an eight-fold increase of exports to China since 2007 and the forecasts for the next eight years.

During my meetings in China, Japan and Singapore it turns out that we have products desired by the local consumers. Moreover, we bring the opinion that Polish organic products are of high quality setting a benchmark in this respect. The difference between the consumption of organic food in Poland and in the aforementioned countries is a higher level of awareness of the local customers. However, we do not just look at it passively. We try to intensify our educational role in Poland, starting with school lessons about organic food. We believe that the most important task is to draw the attention of the young generation to healthy food. We not only see changing consumer tendencies, but we actively participate in these processes since we are part of this market”.

It is worth adding that the development of organic farming and processing is accompanied by an influx of new members to the Polish Ecology Association and more intense activity of those who have been with us for a long time.

All Association members participate in an economic phenomenon entailing a dynamic development of the organic food sector. We see a 18-20% growth every year. I find these figures very impressive and think that they augur well for the future. Economic forecasts for the next 10 years predict that the value of this market will increase to PLN 3 billion per annum. This means that the prospects of the Polish Ecology Association are very bright.

Paweł Krajmas: “We are going to continue to actively promote the advantages of organic food by, among others, organising competitions for the best shop assistants at organic food stores or duels between chefs in preparing organic dishes. Besides, we do not forget about the young generation of chefs. Everybody is important to us”.

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Food Industry

DELICIOUS PLACES WITH HOSTS!

Restaurateur MARCIN KRĘGLICKI talks to Maciej Proliński.

How would you assess the gastronomic market in Poland in 2016? The last decade saw considerable changes for the better. When you look at the competition you can see a lot going on, also in the book or television market. Food, prepared by us at home, by professional chefs, or, finally, healthy, organic food, has recently become a very fashionable and certainly important topic...

I can say that we can feel the breath of our rivals on our neck. A lot has been happening in our sector. Ten years ago, my sister Agnieszka and I hosted the first cooking show on television entitled “A Couple in the Kitchen”. It was a small-screen guide for Polish foodies.

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We presented international recipes adjusted to Polish reality. Nowadays such shows are two-a-penny at every TV station. All this has developed beautifully and that is good because such programmes amount to important education of society. When 30 years ago I opened the first Chinese restaurant in Warsaw I had practically no competition. Now Warsaw has restaurants of every kind imaginable – from chains to vegetarian and ethnic, and places I would call sublime, created not for profit, but in order to make someone’s dream come true or to create a special place where guests feel at home and want to come back. Great! All this means competition which highlights and drives the quality of our services.

Food Industry “slow food Polish-style” tastes like. We have been operating in this market for nearly 30 years. We have our own history and continue to develop it. We have a good brand, but this means work and more work. Work and Fun. What else? For us gastronomy is not some “side business”, but the “core business”. And we know that you have to sacrifice a part of you in the business. Yet, we often say that the only element of our success which we ascribe to us is the choice of people occupying managerial positions at our restaurants. They are the true hosts at a given venue. Our quality is built by chefs from different countries and experienced Polish kitchen crews. So, we come back to the service, which is the key to success in our profession. And we really succeed if the guests are satisfied and want to come back.

Is the Warsaw market particularly accommodating for restaurant owners? Have you ever considered entering other markets?

What we do at our restaurants we also do for ourselves. We want to be with our guests, our managers and employees, instead of participating in this only virtually, from a distance. We are not interested in “management by remote control”. All this is happening a little bit by itself... We are not looking desperately for some new ideas, venues, etc.

PM

Such places require the owner to be fully engaged in the business and to make many sacrifices. Is this your recipe for success?

What makes success on the restaurant market possible? There are several elements.

First, the location. Second, the ambience, meaning the surroundings and how we feel in a given restaurant. Then comes the food.

Everybody wants to eat well and restaurant owners want to feed their guests well too.

Why wouldn’t they? And last, but not least, the service. From my point of view, service is the most important element. We can really come up with all sorts of stories, but if our service is bad then the entire undertaking will be equally bad.

PM

All restaurants signed with yours and your sister’s name are oriented toward Polish and foreign guests. However, each one is very different – from the menu to the design. So, there is power in diversity, one could say...

This is not due to some cunning plan.

A journalist once wrote that whenever the Kręglickis return from vacations a new restaurant is undoubtedly in the offing. I began in 1989 with a Chinese restaurant of the type I would like to go to with pleasure. Further ethnic, thematic venues were created on this basis. Since then, together with my sister Agnieszka, we have been pursuing our fascination with the cuisines of the world. We opened and continue to run the Mexican “El Popo”, the Greek “Santorini” and “Meltemi”, the Italian “Chianti”. We also try to ensure that “slow food Polish-style” is not just a return to the Old Polish cuisine. We are inspired by these recipes, but we create our own, tasty, healthy and seasonal food. At our “Restauracja w Arkadach Kubickiego” at the Royal Castle and at “Opasły Tom” you can try what PM

We are talking and eating at El Popo, one of your oldest restaurants. How much has this place changed over the last 25 years?

Has everything changed?

There have been many changes. However, the main thing – the best Mexican food in town, is the same. It is prepared by two Mexican chefs: Alberto and Angel. You have to oversee quality at all times, and we guarantee that our Mexican food is authentic. Lately, all our restaurants have been refurbished, including dining rooms and kitchens. El Popo has also undergone a major renovation. The entire kitchen has been modernised and fitted with air conditioning. As far as the dining room is concerned, we wanted to move away from the old, slightly rustic style. Now, straight bright walls display Mexican art, while retaining the character of this colourful and joyful place. I think that we have succeeded in achieving our intended goal.

PM

And the idea to open El Popo came about as a result of your trip to Mexico?

Yes. The idea for El Popo was the result of a meeting. It was in the early 1990s. I went skiing. On the slope I met Joanna KozińskaFrybes who spoke in a fascinating way about Mexico and its flavours. She said that in the USA the sales of Mexican salsa outstripped those of ketchup. I was surprised to hear this.

PM

We cooked several Mexican dishes together.

Then, Joanna was appointed Poland’s ambassador to Mexico and I and Agnieszka opened a Mexican restaurant in Warsaw. Joanna also came up with the name for that restaurant.

In the early 1990s, one had to wait a week for a table there! “This won’t come back”... But that was when we built the foundations of our joint business. We also taught Poles how to taste this Mexico. How to eat beans, salsa, nachos, fajitas.

Did you have problems with getting the original products and spices? Are these problems a thing of the past?

At first, we had huge problems with products. At that time there were no specialised wholesalers and distributors. We imported a container filled with ingredients from the United States. It was not easy. We also had to submit samples to the sanitary inspectorate and wait for the results of phytosanitary tests.

Now the situation has changed completely. We can import almost anything without restrictions. There are also companies that specialise in supplying products from all over the world.

PM

The catering services market in Poland is currently one of the strongest segments of the resturant and catering market. Its value is estimated at PLN 4.5 billion. It includes not only catering for events, but also for Christmas and Easter. This business is worth PLN 40-50 million. Where is this market going? Where are you going in this segment?

Organising large-scale catering with a varied and extensive menu is nothing new for us. For years we have been providing catering services for large events and visits of world VIPs, presidents, princes or generals.

We supply business events and smaller receptions. We organise all this not only at our flagship venue – “Forteca” in Zakroczymska Street, but also at Arkady Kubickiego at the Royal Castle in Warsaw and at Klub Bankowca in Smolna Street. In my opinion, this market is going to grow in the SME and corporate sector. Its direction of development is also determined by the expectations of customers. Until recently, many such events took place on company premises. However, the current trend is to move them to external locations. This forces catering companies to provide comprehensive support, and only some are able to do it. We are among the leading market players. Looking at the growth of this segment we think about our “Forteca” more in terms of a future conference and event centre. At night, when the building is lit up, you would be hard pressed to find in Warsaw a better, more attractive and mysterious event venue.

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Cultural Monitor

A REVIEW OF GENRES – FROM EXCELLENT POLISH CONTEMPORARY MUSIC, THROUGH EQUALLY GREAT JAZZ, POP TO CLASSIC ACOUSTIC ROCK – THIS IS THE MOTTO OF THIS CULTURAL MONITOR. NEW RELEASES RECOMMENDED

BY MACIEJ PROLIŃSKI. Małgorzata Sarbak, The Janaček Philharmonic Orchestra, Zsolt Nagy, Paweł Szymański, Dissociative Counterpoint Disorder, DUX – CD. Camerata Silesia sings Szymański, DUX – CD. Two new albums with music composed by Paweł Szymański – one of the greatest Polish composers of contemporary music. Each album is different. Małgorzata Sarbak, an excellent young harpsichord player, named the record with the title of one of Szymański’s latest works, written two years ago especially for her. All pieces found here make references to the Baroque style. Camerata Silesia, conducted by Anna Szostak, performed a concert highlighting the choral works of Szymański. It was one of the first performances held at the new seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. The recording was made on that occasion. Choral works of Szymański bring us contemplation and put us in a mystical mood. If watercolours offer the most delicate form of expression in painting and it is impossible to “tell a story with a watercolour” in a soulless way, Szymański tells us about the most important things (cleanly and without a hint of pathos) with his “watercolour notes”. I think that he also tries to hold a dialogue with one of the “Questions Without Answers”. Both new DUX releases show that he has also found respectable partners for a full dialogue. The strength of this performance lies in the precise elaboration of every piece and the openness to every stylistically different piece. It is also obvious that the Polish artists have understood the sub-texts of this music – its source, and sometimes even its deliberate quotes.

Zbigniew Namysłowski Quintet – “Polish Jazz – YES!” – Warner – CD Zbigniew Namysłowski is an artist whose role in Polish jazz has become a symbol. This excellent saxophone player, composer and arranger has been creating the image of our jazz for nearly six decades now. His new album was released in the “Polish Jazz” series as vol. 77. The volume number coincided with the 77th birthday of the musician who was born on September 9, 1939. Recorded together with excellent musicians of the young generation (the quintet comprising, among others, Jacek Namysłowski – trombone, Sławek Jaskułke – grand piano) the album is an impressive demonstration of his unflagging creativity and artistic potential.

Its title is a manifesto and the final declaration. Nine new compositions indirectly based on folk sources become the point of departure for metrical and tonal elaboration by the composer. Namysłowski is a master in this field. The marvel of the album is that despite the refined means these pieces sound juicy, flow freely with a clear dance pulse and the customary dose of humour. They are a joy to listen to because this art still retains its own hallmark. And the whole creates a mature, energetic and positive message addressed both to the oldest, faithful fans of Polish jazz, and to those who are still learning the multi-thread history of our jazz.

Dorota Miśkiewicz – “Piano.Pl” – Universal Music – CD&DVD Within just a short time Dorota Miśkiewicz has become one of the best recognisable Polish vocalists. Her strong and warm voice which skilfully copes with complex rhythms and registers can be heard in the sextet of Włodzimierz Nahorny, and, of course, on a number of her own albums. “Piano.Pl” is an audio/video recording of a concert which took place on May 16, 2016 at the Teatr Muzyczny Roma in Warsaw. The album contains well-known songs belonging to the canon of Polish music, arranged for piano and female voice only. Their choice was dictated by personal preferences of Dorota, subjective perception of music and text. The arrangement decisions were left to each of the pianists performing the chosen pieces. And we must add that these are pianists who for several decades have been creating the history of Polish jazz (such as Włodzimierz Nahorny, Andrzej Jagodziński, Bogdan Hołownia), younger pianists (Leszek Możdżer, Marcin Wasilewski), and representatives of the youngest generation (Dominik Wania, Piotr Orzechowski). Invitations to the concert and the recording were also accepted by Bartłomiej Wąsik and Emilia Sitarz (Lutosławski Piano Duo representing classical music). Some duets with pianists were accompanied by the excellent Atom String Quartet. I was really moved by this new offering from Miśkiewicz. And the source of my emotions was not the interesting musical material, great arrangements or improvisations. I was mostly taken in by the climate of the album containing a whole gamut of piano and vocal expressions. I also like the fact that Miśkiewicz presents rather than interprets all these songs.

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Cultural Monitor

CM – December 2016 Janusz Strobel – “Ślad” (The Trace) – Polskie Radio – CD Janusz Strobel, musician, composer and arranger, is one of the most outstanding Polish classical guitar virtuosos. He has composed many hits which have entered the canon of Polish popular music. His works were performed by the greatest Polish stars such as Ewa Bem, Hanna Banaszak or Edyta Geppert. He also created a number of jazz formations collaborating with leading Polish musicians. “Ślad” is his new artistic project with Sinfonia Viva orchestra conducted by Tomasz Radziwonowicz. Strobel also invited the bassist Paweł Pańta and the drummer Luis Ribeiro. The album is published in a sophisticated form, with short musings (in Polish and English) inspired by the title and broaching subject such as a trace in the universe, written by Professor Andrzej Strobel, astronomer and brother of the artist. But music plays the main role! It is very stirring. We are not dealing with typical jazz, rather a combination of symphonic music, impressionism and a subtle and multicoloured jazz world. Evocative images, space, singular climate, tranquillity or even relaxation – this is how one could describe the character of this noble music which certainly deserves high marks!

Magda Umer; Bogdan Hołownia – “Bezsenna noc” (A Sleepless Night) – Agora – CD A new album of two outstanding, and mature, Polish artists – singer Magda Umer and excellent pianist Bogdan Hołownia. Again we only have music with a female voice and the piano. Simplicity, sensitivity and talent. Melancholy and smile. And beautiful, timeless songs about love.

Umer sings here texts written by outstanding poets such as Marian Hemar, Julian Tuwim, Jeremi Przybora and Wojciech Młynarski. The composers too are famous: Henryk Wars, George Gershwin, Pat Johnson, Jerzy Wasowski, Seweryn Krajewski and Zygmunt Konieczny. I tell songs – she once revealed in an interview. The tales are still beautiful. Far removed from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, quiet, to be listened to at night, and telling in verse about the most important things. Magda Umer has a pleasant and pure voice. She also has “this most important thing” – originality. I am greatly impressed by Hołownia’s sparse and wonderful playing style. This pianist from the Pantheon of our jazz musicians no longer has to prove “how great he is” (as clearly demonstrated by his “Piano.Pl” album recommended above). And he is great! Both artists imbue these wonderful songs gathered on one disc with a special sense with their performance. It is worth entering this seemingly forgotten world! And give it some of our time...

Fisz Emade Tworzywo – “Drony” (Drones) – ART2/Agora – CD The Waglewski Brothers duo (sons of Wojciech, a legend of Polish rock) have probably never sounded so energetically. Over the last decade Fisz Emade have accustomed their fans to musical experiments, mixing different styles, trying to make sure that all their productions share one component - quality. This is also the case here. In the past their music used to be called “intelligent hip-hop”. On “Drony” their links to this particular style seem to be negligible. However, the art they create consistently follows the same track: increasingly interesting rhythm concepts, subtle relations between electronic music and more “traditional” arrangements (string quartet), and deeper and more poetic (this time terse) texts. “Touring the world” these young men grow up and learn more and more about it, mostly from their father (they are completely different in their art, but in the basic and ultimate sense they are exactly the same). As far as I am concerned, this “radical turn towards pop” is no mean effort. I have no idea if the album is going to sell well. But this interests me the least. I dedicate “have a drone and look into a drone” to every individual listener of this record. Pugnacious, melodic and wise. Completely unique in our market.

Wojtek Mazolewski – "Chaos pełen idei" (Chaos Full of Ideas) – Agora – CD Bass player and composer, Wojtek Mazolewski represents the best in young Polish jazz. On the one hand, he makes references to the classic sounds and recording techniques, being a heir to the giants of Polish jazz appreciated the world over. On the other hand, he creates music that is fresh and addressed to the young audience following new trends. Towards the end of 2016 he returns with a new project of his own. However, this time he invited illustrious guests, linking generations and mixing genres. In the space of one album we have a meeting of rock legends: John Porter, Wojtek Waglewski, Jan Borysewicz and Janusz Panasewicz, as well as Natalia Przybysz, Ania Rusowicz, Vienio, Misia Furtak and the youngest singers - Justyna Święs and Piotr Zioła. “At first, we met just for the fun of it. I used to call my friends, we played together and enjoyed the music. The aim was to utilise surplus creative energy and to share it with the audience over the Internet”, said Mazolewski. This has led to the recording of an album filled with strong emotions and musical dialogues which remain in our memory for a long time. All the pieces are an interestingly systematised, albeit stylistically varied mix of well chosen, rhythmic and melodic tunes. Musicians clearly find their way in this strong sound landscape. Listening to all this is easy and usually brings a smile to one’s face!

Perfect – “Muzyka” (Music) – Polskie Radio – CD Perfect is among the most popular rock bands in Poland. Sure, it does not create new directions in rock. Although it remains within the boundaries set out by others, it still influences the development of this music in our country and its songs, composed over several decades, still have a huge commercial potential. “Muzyka” is the band’s new album showing the full capabilities of this melodic, guitar-driven acoustic music, enhanced by the unique sound of jazz guests such as: Henryk Miśkiewicz (saxophone) and Andrzej Jagodziński (keys). All this is made whole by texts penned by authors who are friends of the band (they include: Piotr Bukartyk, Adam Nowak, Jacek Cygan and Wojtek Waglewski).

Avoiding clichés and banality, and focusing on love, joie de vivre, but also the inevitable passing of life... In summary: Perfect acoustic and intimate. Different. Worth exploring.

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Culture

REVOLUTIONS NEVER BRING GOOD THINGS

KRZYSZTOF OLENDZKI, PhD, Titular Ambassador, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (AMI), talks to Maciej Proliński.

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Culture is one of the best brand-building vehicles.

Several years ago in Poland we began putting the equation mark between the words “culture” and “capital”. I often add: “culture means development”...

What is the current situation in this area of development? I am asking also in the context of Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s “Plan for Responsible Development." Is this plan good news for the culture community?

Without culture there is no development, no innovation. A society which does not generate and consume culture is simply unable to compete in a responsible manner in the innovation market, in a global economy based on knowledge. These good examples come to Poland from directions such as Canada or South Korea. In those countries the level of education and culture consumption is very high and translates directly into results in the form of innovation. Also in Poland this is a sine qua non condition. Just look at Polish cities. Which ones are innovative? Only those that invest in culture, including cultural infrastructure, such as Wrocław, Warsaw, Gdańsk, Kraków, Lublin, Rzeszów, Katowice.

Morawiecki’s plan is very promising and inspiring also for the culture sector. Stimulating Polish entrepreneurship and creating strong development impulses by, among others, mobilisation of capital to participate in large industrial projects, more wellpaid jobs, support for Polish exports and facilitation of innovation, support for start-ups, strengthening the co-operation between science and business – all this sounds optimistic because it is reflected in culture. On the one hand, it will stimulate the creativity of artists, on the other hand, it will whet the appetite for culture. The implementation of this plan will boost the development of the creative industry.

It will create new conditions for people in the culture community to operate in. Last, but not least, it will

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highlight a simple fact that the industries of culture, the most innovative part not just of Poland’s culture, but also of its economy, are a very important branch of the Polish industry and one of the biggest driving forces in our economy. They are also of fundamental importance for the development of human capital and the labour market.

“Humanities are an inexhaustible source of creativity”, declared Jarosław Gowin, Minister of Science and Higher Education. I must admit that I draw succour from this declaration, after years of neglect of this field in our country. After all, without this basis there will be no good engineer or diplomat ...

Restoring the position of humanities is a very good decision. True, for years the situation in this area used to be rather dramatic. Specialists in humanities were made to feel superfluous in Poland. Decisionmakers quickly succumbed to the illusion that an economy based on knowledge is an economy based solely on exact knowledge. There is no point commenting on such thinking. Everybody who has had a chance to see the world realises that this thinking in wrong, not to say obscure. Man cannot be perceived as an “addition to technology”, a torpid element of the economic system. Only a sensitive mind may create new solutions. All that we come up with on the basis of our cultural heritage, humanitiesbased education: history, literature, music, our creativity is our strongest advantage in contacts with the rest of the world. The artist was, is and always will be the most creative! The person and works of Stanisław Lem are the best example here.

PM

Poland has always been a country renowned for its culture. Music in particular has a prominent place in the world, especially in Europe. So, it is worth mentioning here the AMI programme – Polska Music...

Not only Polska Music, but also a programme

Culture dedicated to contemporary music, sometimes referred to as popular, called “Don’t Panic! We are from Poland”. We remember and remind others that the contribution of Polish artists to the development of music in the 20th and 21st century has been unique and fundamental, albeit still not sufficiently appreciated. The Polska Music programme actively supports the performance of Polish classical music abroad by outstanding foreign artists. As an originator of stage productions and concerts, commissioner of musical works and promoter of contemporary music, Polska Music is a patron of numerous books and phonographic releases. The programme co-operates on a regular basis with many renown institutions all over the world, such as London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, Royal Opera, Berliner Festspiele, Deutsche Grammophon and Sony Classical. We continue to expand this programme and are slowly moving towards offering these venerable institutions works by contemporary Polish composers. The aim is not for some orchestra to play a work by Paweł Mykietyn or Paweł Szymański only from time to time. We want their works to be a permanent fixture in their repertoire. The other side of the coin is new Polish music which originates from popular music.

Polish artists working in this part of the music world are beginning to be noticed globally. Thus, we have to ask ourselves: how can we emulate the success of Björk Polish-style? These activities also have a different dimension: by propagating Polish musical culture we introduce Polish artists to the commercial sector connected with the film or computer games industry..

How would you summarise these nearly two decades of our “cultural seasons” in Europe and the world, organised by the AMI? What is left of them? I mean the infrastructure and geography of contacts at institutional level, but also contacts between individual participants in international cultural exchange...

In order to summarise we have to gather exact data first. Alas, neither the AMI nor I have access to such information. The launching of seasons in France, Germany or Great Britain was accompanied by public opinion surveys. However, they were rather simple studies showing how Poland was perceived.

There were no specialist marketing studies.

Such surveys regarding culture were carried out after the end of the seasons. This means that we have no “before and after” studies.

Therefore, it is impossible to give a precise answer to the question about the effects of these initiatives. Based on intuition, rather than hard data, we can say something about Israel. However, I have a feeling that in the case of France and Germany we failed to exploit the opportunity provided by the implementation of large projects in the form of cultural seasons. The co-operation between institutions is not intensive, and the exchange of artists and joint projects are few and far between. The interest in Polish culture and the desire to learn more about it is rather negligible. We must try and summarise the outcome of the last decade. The “Independent” programme will provide an opportunity for this. In January we are going to process the first batch of surveys allowing us to design the programme correctly. After its completion in five years’ time we will try to gauge the strength of Polish culture, its brand and artists.

Is there going to be a “revolution” at the Institute following your appointment as its director in September? What are the new tasks of the AMI, also in connection with the proposed new regulations regarding the promotion of Polish culture abroad? How to reawaken the interest in Polish culture among Londoners, Berliners or the inhabitants of Beijing or Tel Aviv?

And maybe the Institute is also looking in other directions? If yes, which?

Revolutions never bring good things because their main idea is “to change everything, so that everything stays the same”, as neatly stated by prince Salina, one of the main characters in Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s “The Leopard”. The AMI faces a considerable challenge in the form of implementation abroad of a huge governmental programme entitled “Independent”, designed to tell the world about the one hundredth anniversary of the re-birth of the Polish State from the perspective of one thousand years of its history and to draw attention to the fact that the strength, creativity and vitality of Polish culture which continued to develop despite the partitions made that re-birth possible. The strength of will of the creators of the “Independent”, from Marshal Piłsudski to a private in the Polish army defending the country against Bolsheviks stemmed from the sources of Polish culture, Polish heritage, shared by everybody regardless of their faith or ethnic origin. We want to present this story mostly to our neighbours in Central and Eastern Europe, since we share so much with them.

London, Paris, Berlin or Brussels are places where we are present, but we want to modify the co-operation format. It entails a continuous increase of the participation of local PM

REVOLUTIONS NEVER BRING GOOD THINGS BECAUSE THEIR MAIN IDEA IS “TO CHANGE EVERYTHING, SO THAT EVERYTHING STAYS THE SAME”...

partners in the implementation of projects proposed by us. I want our partners to be coexecutors of our projects, although Poland, just like Italy, “created itself” and never had our own Cavour who verbalised it so succinctly. In the coming years we are going to develop the Asian programme, where China occupies a prominent place. This region is a major challenge. Independence was an expression of Polish political, military but also administrative, structural and economic creativity. We are going to try and tell about all this using modern means of communication. The innovative and modern Polish video games industry is also a result and symbol of our independence.

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Culture Visitors to the Royal Castle in Warsaw have a chance to see the original letters written by Adam Mickiewicz, Poland' national bard, to his friend Antoni Edward Odynies, writer and translator. Manuscripts of both poets remain on display at the Royal Library until December 21, 2016.

Maciej Proliński

T

he exhibition of manuscripts presents a fragment of the legacy left by Antoni Edward Odyniec (1804 – 1885), writer, translator and friend of Adam Mickiewicz in his youth, and by Aleksandra Borkowska née Chomętowska (1828 – 1898), Warsaw journalist and editor of “Kronika Rodzinna”. Until 1939 the exhibits remained in the care of Maria, the poet’s granddaughter, and her husband Ignacy Baliński. The items were scattered during the war, but have nevertheless survived until the 21st century. By a happy coincident, after 50 years the legacy was brought together and moved to the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The first part of the materials was placed in the Archive in the 1980s, with part two following in February 2009, together with the collection of Dr Tomasz Niewodniczański.

The exhibition presents the most valuable items – memorabilia of Adam Mickiewicz, including a copybook with 14 letters of the poet to Odyniec written in the years 1828 – 1837, a joint letter of Odyniec and Mickiewicz to Jan Czeczot of 1830 and a Travel Diary from the years 1830 – 1832 with entries made by Mickiewicz, Zygmunt Krasiński and Stefan Garczyński. It was written during a grand tour of Europe in 1829/1830. On the basis of the Diary, in the mid-1860s Odyniec wrote a biographical novel entitled “Listy z podróży” (“Letters from a Journey”), which made him very popular and secured his place in the pantheon of glory.

The collection is complemented by an extensive set of letters reflecting the journalistic endeavours of Odyniec and Borkowska and their lively social life in the literary milieus of Vilnius, Warsaw and Kraków.

The archival documents are supplemented by original drawings and photographs of the correspondents dating back to the beginning of the century and the years 18601880. They include images of Antoni Edward Odyniec, Ignacy Domeyko, Klaudyna Potocka and Celina Mickiewicz. The legacy is complemented by property-related, official and personal documents from the Archive of the Chomętowski Family, connected with the family of Aleksandra Borkowska, including

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LAST FRIEND OF ADAM MICKIEWICZ

documents pertaining to her great grandfather Stanisław Chomętowski, hetman of the Crown, Voivod of Mazowsze, marshall of the army confederated with King August II; father of Franciszek Chomętowski, counsel to the Voivod of Sandomierz; as well as her aunt Izabella Piłsudska née Orłowska (died in 1879), a philanthropist. The documents also include a copy of the prenuptial agreement between Józef Dunin Borkowski and the future journalist Aleksandra Chomętowska from the year 1845.

Antoni Edward Odyniec was a Polish poet, translator and diarist. His poems and dramas have never gained wide recognition. On the other hand, he is considered one of the most interesting diarists of his epoch. In the years 1820-1823, he read Law at Vilnius University. In 1821, he joined the Filaret Association.

He is the author of the Filarets’ Song. In the

1823-1824 he was imprisoned by the Russian authorities. In 1825-1829, he lived in Warsaw. In 1829, he went abroad and together with Adam Mickiewicz toured Germany, Switzerland and Italy. He wrote about this trip many years later in his “Letters from a Journey”. These are no genuine letters, but essays penned many years later, after the death of the “recipients”, on the basis of notes taken during the trip. They are Odyniec’s memories from a journey with a very well-known Polish Romantic poet. It is quite obvious that this is a diary of a kind. Odyniec writes mostly about Mickiewicz, the person he was, the way he behaved, the people he adored and those who adored him, what he used to eat, the impression made by him on women and the way he dressed. The book was a bestseller of the 19th century Polish diary literature. It was praised for its approachable, chatlike and interesting style.

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Culture

THE CRAZY AND WITTY WORLD OF EDWARD DWURNIK The art of Edward Dwurnik, one of the best known and distinctive Polish contemporary painters, went on show in Opera Gallery at Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki this autumn. Selected works by the artist filled the gallery space on November 24. The exhibition will be on display until January 8, 2017.

Maciej Proliński

E

dward Dwurnik has graduated from Warsaw’s Academy of Fine Arts. He studied painting in the studio of Prof. Eugeniusz Eibisch and sculpture in the studio of Prof. Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz. In 1970, he received his degree under the guidance of Prof. Krystyna Łada-Studnicka.

The artist lives and works in Warsaw.

In 2013, he celebrated his 70th birthday. On this occasion, the National Museum in Kraków organized his large retrospective exhibition of nearly 150 paintings and works on paper.

“He is a true-born painter, seeing and perceiving the world as a painter. So it is worth entering this ‘crazy world of Dwurnik’,” said Zofia Gołubiew, the then director of the National Museum in Kraków, inviting the public to the exhibition.

Over nearly 50 years, Edward Dwurnik painted almost 5,000 paintings, and made around 14,000 works on paper and close to 3,500 prints. The artist developed his own distinctive style full of clarity very early in his career, winning favour with institutions and recognition from viewers and collectors.

He has shown Polish realities, from the times

of communist Poland to the present day, with humour and great irony.

Critics have written and said that his paintings resemble “cartoons reporting on contemporary developments,” that he “pays attention to homely reality,” and “is its chronicler” and “a bard of provincial Poland.” Without a doubt, Dwurnik is one of those Polish artists who have achieved commercial and financial success. He has also exerted influence on several younger and now very popular Polish artists.

Wilhelm Sasnal, for instance, does not hide that he was impressed by Dwurnik’s paintings.

Dwurnik observes, interprets, provokes, shocks, but first of all makes fun of the surrounding reality. And this reality, in all its diversity, is a source of his art. Dwurnik started his most famous series, “Hitch-Hiking” in 1966 and continues it to this day. His cityscapes from a bird’s eye view are full of details, with a multitude of small motifs and figures. One of the painter’s favourite subjects is Warsaw. “I was born in Radzymin, raised in Piastów, Grójec and Międzylesie [ed. – towns outside Warsaw], but will proudly say that I am a Varsovian. This is my city. I constantly paint Warsaw and I simply love it,” he stresses. But cities according to Dwurnik are not

a perfect reflection of reality. His works combine in a special way realism in depicting the world, symbolism and a bitter sense of humour.

His other well-known series include “Diploma,” “Road,” “Warsaw,” “Different Blues,” “Workers” and “Athletes”. Edward Dwurnik often says he would go mad if he stopped painting. Painting is for him a way of life and a necessity. Apart from painting, the artist also deals with graphic art and drawing, both independent series and illustrations. He also likes designing monumental painterly compositions in public spaces.

The exhibition is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one hour before every performance and during the intervals. Opera Gallery is a joint project of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

Its initiators are Waldemar Dąbrowski, director of Teatr Wielki, and Adam Myjak, rector of the Academy of Fine Arts. Every year the gallery hosts Polish avant-garde classics, a generation of artists who have laid foundations for modernity in Polish art. Among them are Jan Tarasin, Tadeusz Dominik, Teresa Pągowska, Zbysław Maciejewski, Leon Tarasewicz and Franciszek Starowieyski.

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Events

JUBILEE EQUESTRIAN GALA AT KLICZKÓW CASTLE The elite of the equestrian world will gather for the fifteenth time in Kliczków Castle to award prizes to those who deserve them, pay homage to the equestrian tradition, but above all, to have a great time!

A

jubilee edition of the Equestrian Gala in Kliczków Castle will be held in 2017. On January 7, the Castle will, for the fifteenth time, play host to the aficionados of horse-riding. This is one of the most prestigious events organised by the equestrian community in Poland. The Gala takes place in the form of a carnival ball, and is hosted, every year by Henryk Sawka, cartoonist and satirist, and privately a horse lover.

The Equestrian Gala is an elite event aimed at integrating the equestrian communities. This is a meeting of people who share one passion.

Many traditions surrounding the event have changed over the years. Every year, since the first Gala, a toast is raised at midnight for the horse’s health. Drinkers place their left leg on the table and sing the famous "Guard’s Vision" song, a tribute Polish cavalrymen. There is also a visiting card lottery with prizes founded by the partners of the Equestrian Gala.

The venue of the Equestrian Gala was not chosen without a reason. Kliczków is famous for its equestrian traditions. However, not many people know that between the end of the 19th century and the 1920s it boasted stables with a full-size racetrack! The harness-racing events held there were very popular in the community.

Next to the Castle there was a riding hall, one of the first in this part of Europe. Currently, the castle swimming pool can be found in this place.

The love of horses in inseparably connected with the history of the castle. One of the most interesting places in its grounds is the horse cemetery. Horses here were considered not just a means of transport, but above all, friends of people. Hence the homage to the steeds that passed away. Although the cemetery was seriously damaged during World War 2, it is still possible to admire its surviving part.

The Equestrian Gala is not only the event that cultivates the equestrian traditions of Kliczków Castle. Every year, a Knightly Junket is held there. This is a huge all-day event with jousting and archery tournaments. Moreover, the participants can enjoy such attractions like: a tour of the castle, a mediaeval village, court dances shows and many more. Towards the end of October there is the hunters’ feast known as

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Hubertus. The guests take part in swordplay and equestrian shows. There is also the traditional foxhunt. The event is accompanied by a horse jumping contest for the title of Master of Lower Silesian Wilderness (Bory Dolnośląskie). It is a cycle of four competitions and the winner is presented with a badge during the Equestrian Gala.

All events held in Kliczków Castle are supported by Brawura Equestrian Club which organises horse riding demonstrations. They are accompanied by the historical section organised in the grange stables of the Prince Manor Farm (Folwark Książęcy). Contrary to the appearances, the section has numerous young members. The stables are an efficiently managed facility housing eleven horses and one pony. They are open not just to professional riders, but also to those who seek a new way of relaxation and recreation.

Near the Castle and the Manor Farm there is a plot with an area of 800 hectares leased under an agreement of the State Forests. The local forests offer 280 riding paths used by the stables for organising horse expeditions. Depending on the guests, they may last between several hours and days. It is possible to take a ride along the River Kwisa, Poland’s purest river, make a stop at a viewing tower and, above all, enjoy fresh air.

The Prince’s Stables also have an extensive offer of attractions for the youngest visitors.

There is a riding school, and long weekends and holidays with horses are organised. Most

importantly, the Stables want more! "We would like to organise riding holidays with historical elements. The programme could include sabre fighting, maybe archery?", Jan Bodzianny from the Prince’s Stables talks of the plans for the future.

It would be hard to find a place that better utilises its potential while continuing to develop.

Kliczków Castle efficiently uses its history and tradition, selling them in an attractive package to draw guests from all over the world. It is worth coming to the Equestrian Gala in January 2017 to see for yourself that this is true.

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Chemical Industry

In the heart of Tel Aviv, our hotel is hugged by a white-sanded beach from one side, and by

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Each room with its private balcony offers a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea and free use of the Fitness Club.

Our comfortable and tastefully-appointed guest rooms feature luxurious bedding and offer the perfect accommodations to suit your needs and sooth your soul.

Visit our Fitness Club and inspire your soul while working out in our gym. You can also relax in the Jacuzzi, wet or dry sauna and enjoy a variety of invigorating massage treatments.

With direct access to the beach you can go for a quick run on the promenade or for a good refreshing swim. Relax and cool off with a dip in the refreshing waters of the largest fresh water indoor heated swimming pool in Tel Aviv. Open year round for your pleasure.

Renaissance Tel Aviv Executive Lounge on the top floor, offers light snacks throughout the day and evening appetizers, accompanied by a spectacular view.

Our conference rooms with natural daylight and a sea view can accommodate up to 250 people.

136renaissance-hotels.marriott.com/renaissance-tel-aviv-hotel polish market

Culture

NATALIA GOLD A SELF MADE MAN

THOSE WHO ADMIRE THIS BEAUTIFUL, LUXURY JEWELLERY SHOULD REMEMBER THAT “NATALIA GOLD” IS THE BRAND OF A WELL-KNOWN POLISH COMPANY MANAGED FOR THE LAST 37 YEARS BY JÓZEF CZERNIEJEWSKI, MASTER OF ARTS AND CRAFTS. The company Natalia Gold was founded in 1979 in Piaseczno near Warsaw. Its activity perfectly fits the local commercial and economic landscape and is a splendid example of what a modern Polish business with a bright future can mean… The founder and owner of the company is Józef Czerniejewski – craftsman – artist – manager, recipient of many awards.

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Culture

“

Natalia Gold specializes in the design, manufacture and sale of jewellery made of gold, silver and platinum. We deliver individual designs, at the same time not forgetting about our less affluent customers. I try to ensure that both lines are not uniformed and remain unique.

The products of our company are a combination of attractive design and perfect workmanship. Today, many goldsmith companies go for the number of shops. I am far from such a development strategy. It is difficult to speak of artistic jewellery if someone has more than 100 stores. I have two and still maintain that this is one too many. For manufacturers, designers of luxury goods, the current global economic situation translates very clearly into their development strategy. Besides, in the era of globalization we often forget about the beautiful things, mass-produce goods" and I have always despised clichés. You can take a look our products not only in our showrooms - in Piaseczno, but also at home, using the Internet. On our Facebook profile NATALIA GOLD Józef Czerniejewski and on our website: www.nataliagold.pl I present just a small fragment of our capabilities and our product range. I took the pictures myself. This allowed me to pursue my greatest passion – photography."

What are the flagship products? “Women usually buy gold in combination with natural stones. Emeralds, sapphires and diamonds - this configuration definitely sells best. Coral and amber also remain popular,” says Józef Czerniejewski.

Natalia Gold is one of the most successful Polish companies in the jewellery industry. It has over 130 prestigious awards and honours in art as well as business competitions. Among them is the very prestigious Economic Award of the Polish President, three times the main Leader Chair award in Mazowsze Mark of Quality, and these achievements were crowned by the Leader of Leaders title, Golden Eagle in the Mazowsze Company of the Year competition in the “Arts and Crafts” category, an award in the Human Resources Management Leader contest, as well as Cent for Future – a prestigious distinction presented by "Polish Market". Józef Czerniejewski also highly values the Master of Arts and Crafts title awarded by the Minister of Culture.

“Of course, such awards build the prestige of the company, shape its image, stress its importance. They are a clear indication telling customers that we are a solid enterprise and our goods are appreciated by experts. But I also maintain a healthy distance to many awards, especially commercial ones," says Józef Czerniejewski.

Many Polish jewellers have inherited their profession from their fathers or grandfathers. And what about Józef Czerniejewski? What was his “road to success?” Czerniejewski says that he is an example of the romantic road to success – a self-made man.

“I come from a large and poor family. There were five of us.

I grew up in very modest circumstances. I won’t hide the fact that I had it rather tough. But I never envied people. This is

Józef Czerniejewski received the President's Award from Aleksander Kwaśniewski

Józef Czerniejewski with Lech Wałęsa

the worst of traits… Envy, greedthese qualities can be eradicated if one grows up in a large family.

At some point, I felt that I wanted to prove to everyone that everyone, regardless of circumstances, may be the 'architect of his own fate'. I learned much of this profession from the famous master Grzegorz Grondalski in Wrocław.

Also that every man must be judged individually… And this helped me greatly in running my own business. The success of the entire Natalia Gold is proof of this. I have a technician who has been with us from the very beginning, for 37 years. Many others have been working for us for 10, 15 years, not counting the women who have already retired” says Józef Czerniejewski. When I asked him what I should wish him (and his business) for the coming years, he said: “Health, everything else I have already received from fate and achieved by hard • work”.

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Culture

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Thank you for another amazing year together!

May all your professional dreams come true.

We look forward to working together in the new year, hoping that our 2017 will be full of new challenges and even bigger achievements.