INTERVIEW

10 years of prosperity on the Polish market

An interview with Tadeusz Sobolewski, manager of Marmite International S.A., conducted by Mariola Zdancewicz.

Your company is one of the oldest firms with foreign capital which were established in Wielkopolska, and even in Poland, after the 1989 breakthrough. Please, tell us something more about Marmite.

The mother company is situated in Sweden in a little town resembling Suchy Las near Poznań, where everybody sets up a small company in one's own garage. It used to be a rather poor region of Sweden, however, due to its entrepreneurship now it ranks amongst the most affluent regions in the country and, what is more, unemployment is virtually non-existent. The region specialises amongst other things in the production of various commodities made of plastic. The owner of the company comes from this tradition. When he set up his business in Poland, he initially employed only 15-20 people. Today, with 180 employees, Marmite occupies a total area of 15 thousand sqm. We have ongoing investments, production is rising and so is the number of purchasers.

Why did the Swedes invest in Poland at a rather uncertain moment?

The history of co-operation with Polish partners goes back to the 70s. Poland became a natural partner owing to its geographical proximity. The most decisive factor, however, was the shortage of labour force in Sweden and enormous opportunities that Poland had on offer in this respect.

How does this co-operation look like at present?

Speedy development and positive experiences contributed to the fact that the major part of the company was moved to Poland. Today 80% of the production comes from our country. All these changes have taken place over the last 2-3 years.

Is the overall contribution of the Polish plant limited only to the labour force or do the Poles have any share in the know-how of your products?

Basic technology comes from Sweden, yet to tell you the truth, the most vital thing is an efficient and creative approach to production. A lot depends on individual skills of employees and these are really great in our company.

You produce primarily washbasins for furniture manufacturers. The market in this sector seems to be very demanding and difficult. How do you cope with the competition?

We have no competition. At the moment we are the largest company in Europe manufacturing this type of products. We are very flexible since we focus on providing furniture producers with washbasins at a very fast rate. Traditional firms manufacturing porcelain washbasins cannot stand this competition. Our products are made of the so called cast marble. You may have come across a notion "dolomite washbasins" since it is this mineral that constitutes one of the basic components in the production process. Swedish designers have perfected an American technology allowing to produce washbasins and toilets in whichever shape. We manufacture custom-made models and our collection includes 600 designs. Our clients choose us because we are capable of producing the most refined designs quickly and at a reasonable price.

Who purchases your products?

In Poland alone - a few dozen producers of bathroom furnishings. Part of our production is purchased by hotels. Nonetheless, 80% is exported. Our sales cover all European countries. We have also clients from the US, however, in this case there is a question of transport. We used to sell our products to Japan and recently we have acquired some contracting parties in China.

What are your plans fro the future?

We would like to amplify our existence on the eastern markets, such as Lithuania or Latvia, but also in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

What could we wish you on your jubilee?

In Sweden our company ranks as one of the fastest developing firms in the category over 90 employees. We wish to keep it up.