Cosmetic development

Kolastyna Group, one of Poland's leading producers of personal-care products, has signed a zł.43-million contract with Skanska for the construction of a new production plant with a hi-tech laboratory in Niepołomice, near Kraków. Construction work on the 10,000-sqm structure, located on a 49,500-sqm plot, is to begin in November of this year.

The start of production at the new plant is planned for the end of 2008. The new facility will allow Kolastyna to relocate its production from the center of Kraków, as well as increase production capacity and enable new products to be developed. Part of the investment cost - around zł.6-7 million - will be covered by funds acquired in the firm's February debut.

"The construction of a modern plant in Niepołomice is part of our strategy for technological development," said Andrzej Grzegorzewski, president of the Kolastyna Group's management board.

"By investing in technology, we will become more and more competitive on the market," he added.

Work on planning and design of the new plant began in 2006, as part of Kolastyna's expansion plans. These plans also led to the acquisition of competitor FK Miraculum for zł.8.3 million in 2007, in which Kolastyna now holds a 93.77-percent stake. Other brands in Kolastyna Group include Laboratorium Kolastyna and Juliette Essayer.

Kolastyna is currently preparing to take over another rival, Unicolor, and foresees other takeovers in Russia or Ukraine.

Belarus, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine are the largest importers of Kolastyna Group's products.

In 2006, the firm's revenue amounted to zł.84 million while net profit was zł.12.3 million.