It would appear that things are improving for PMPoland. Following the bankruptcy of its American investor Beloit two years ago it seemed as though the Jelenia Góra based supplier of equipment for the paper industry would share the same fate. Fortunately this did not happen and the company has been able to stand on its own two feet, not only in Poland but also abroad.
The current shareholders of the firm are Inwestycje 2000 which has a 51 percent stake and Braaten Company which has 49 percent.
PMP Group is actively looking for an export market in China where it will shortly open a service centre. This new centre will clearly aid the marketing operation. There are around 2,800 paper producers in China. The minimum investment cost of this venture isconsidered to be around USD1m. This will be the second centre of this type in China belonging to the PMP group.
The first venture in China began last year when PMP bought a paper producing facility which used to belong to Beloit. This month PMPoland teamed up with the American JJ Planck Corporation to open the John Stone trading company in Germany. It offers the equipment produced in the Jelenia Góra factory. Germany is undoubtedly the priority market for the company but it is also interested in seeking sales in other EU states. In the next three years the company is likely to find a further USD4m for investments. Most of this will come from credits, largely from BIG BG bank. Managing director Zbigniew Manugiewicz said that the company is also seeking the backing of American funds.
Management considers that this year turnover of the group will be around PLN167m, more than double what it was last year.