Mercedes chooses Poland
Daimer AG, a German automotive corporation best known as the owner of the Mercedes-Benz brand, chose Poland for the location of their new factory. The plant is to assemble two types of car engines.
The plans of the Stuttgart-based company were much talked about in the previous couple of weeks. Other locations that the Germans were interested in were Slovakia and Russia. The company already owns a manufacturing facility in Hungary.
Luckily for the Poles, Daimler chose Poland as their investment site. The new factory is to be situated 70 km west of Wrocław, one of the biggest Polish cities, in the commune of Jawor. The investor will make use of a special economic zone located there. Jaguar and Land Rover were also interested in investing in the area, but finally chose Slovakia.
The facility that will be built will cost around 500 million euro and is planned to start operating in 2019. It has not yet been announced how many people it will employ. The company is counting on hefty boost in the form of public aid from the Polish government, but the details of the deal have not been revealed.
The media speculate that the new Daimler factory will concentrate on producing short series of 4-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. Assembly lines are likely to be highly adaptable and the company is to embrace the concept of Instrustry 4.0.
Daimler AG, previously known under the names of Daimler-Benz and Daimler Chrysler, is the owner of such car brands as Mercedes-Benz and Smart. The corporation manufactures cars, trucks, buses and vans. It is also active on the financial services market and offers such services as leasing, insurance, fleet management, car rent and car sharing.
Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Development, sees the decision of the German corporation as the sign that Polish economy is growing strong. Poland is and will continue to be an attractive destination for international investors.
The country is an attractive setting for investment due to its advantageous position between the Western and Eastern European countries. Another important characteristic are access to skilled labour and moderate labour costs.
