Haier looks to establish manufacturing presence, one way or another

Chinese white-goods producer Haier is considering buying a factory. Rzeszow-based Zelmer refused to sell its plant to the Asian concern, but Nowa Deba-based Dezal has signalled it might be interested. "The company wants to produce under its own brand name. It is not looking for a well-established producer, but rather a location for its plant," said Jaroslaw Malecki, the president of Mares, which is developing Haier sales in Poland. The concern has not ruled out a greenfield investment, but a final decision will take at least six months. Haier hired a consulting company to analyze the profitability of the venture in Poland and other states in the region. Haier decided on this investment after a 12% import duty on white-goods was introduced. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 8) M.M. Steel sector appears to have run out of steam while global steel market on the up Last year's net loss of the steel sector amounted to zl. 1.2 billion, which although high was half of the 2001 loss of zl. 2.1 billion. In spite of some improvement, the situation of the sector is still poor as its current liabilities stand at zl. 8.8 billion. "We are short of resources for current production and steel mills are unable to meet customer demands. Additionally, there are no financial resources for further restructuring," said Romuald Talarek, the president of the Metallurgical Chamber of Industry and Commerce (HIPH). Meanwhile, global demand for steel continues to grow, but the national steel industry is unable to take advantage of demand mainly because it abandoned its modernization process. Steel output from Polish mills fell by around 5% last year, while steel production in Central European countries increased by 4.7%. (Rzeczpospolita, March 22-23, p. B2) A.Z.