Italian Kerakoll to spend $20 ml. on plant near Lodz

Italian construction chemicals producer Kerakoll will spend $20 million constructing a production plant in Rzgowo near Lodz, which should start production between 2001 and 2002. "We have been operating in Poland since 1999 and our turnover exceeded our plans as soon as the first year. This made us think about fostering investment plans," said Kerakoll Polska general director Danilo Rinaudo. Poland is very important in the strategy of the company as a whole, since it will be its base for expansion to Southern and Eastern markets. The ultimate production capacity of the plant in Poland will amount to 30% of Kerakoll's entire production capability "We are watching the competition calmly. At present we are building two factories, which will allow us to maintain our leading position in Poland," said Aleksandra Paprocka from [sector competitor] Atlas. "Kerakoll is not our competitor, since it will place its products in a lower price segment," said Krzysztof Jakubiak from [German sector competitor] Henkel Polska. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 7)