Czech Kofola prepares to take on the largest Polish soft drinks producers

Czech non-alcoholic beverages producer Kofola will build a EUR 20 million factory in the Kutno part of the Łódź Special Economic Zone. "The firm will launch production during Q2 2005," said Wojciech Waryszewski from City's Development and Promotion Office. The new enterprise will employ 250, but representatives of Kofola refused to reveal details of the investment or expansion plans. "We are watching the new competitor and we are prepared for greater competition," said Barbara Mikołajczyk, president of Hellena. Kofola it likely to directly compete with Hoop, Hellena and the Zbyszko brands. It is worth mentioning that the decision to construct a plant in Kutno was also recently made by international company DS Smith, which will build a zł.99.8 million cardboard packaging plant. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 8) M.M.