Polish label industry invests

Polish package printing company Pegwan has unveiled plans to set up a new production facility in the Mielecka special economic zone (MSSE) in southern Poland. The firm aims to invest about PLN 7.5 million (1.8 million euros). Pegwan supplies its output to companies from the food, chemical, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Some of its major customers in the Polish market include the local subsidiary of Switzerland’s Nestle, as well as Polish brewing company Zywiec, and local construction materials maker Kenpol.

Pegwan specializes in both flexo and offset printing, and its current machine park consists of Heidelberg CD 74 Duo Speedmaster, Heidelberg SM 74, flexo UV Gallus ECS340, BASF Nyloflex Combi FI Super and Nuova Gidue M3.

The company’s decision to locate its manufacturing project in a special economic zone will provide Pegwan with preferential tax treatment for its respective investment. Following a decision made by the Polish government in 2013, the zones are to remain operational until 2026. The permission was awarded to Pegwan by the state-run Industrial Development Agency (Agencja Rozwoju Przemyslu), the institution said in a statement.

Pegwan is based in Lubartów, in Poland’s south-eastern region of Lubelskie. Like many other small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Poland, the company has been developing its capacities with the use of funds obtained from the European Union. The funds, which were allocated to Poland following the country’s 2005 accession to the EU, have allowed numerous Polish companies to upgrade and expand their manufacturing capacities, including label producers.

Among others, the Lubartów-based firm was provided with co-financing of more than one million PLN (240,000 EUR) with the aim to purchase new equipment and add new products to its range, such as labels printed on metallic paper. The acquired amount represented more than 57 percent of the total amount of the project, according to data released by Pegwan.

‘The project allowed to purchase modern printing machines, which contributed to increasing the innovativeness and competitive­ness of Pegwan,’ the company said.