Lek to increase investments, production and exports

Slovenian drugs producer Lek, recently taken over by German competitor Novartis, plans to expand its investments in Poland. Lek is to double the production capacity of its planned plant in Strykow to be finished by 2005. "We had already increased the planned output from 0.8 billion to 1.5 billion capsules. We have decided to increase the pace of our investment due to ownership changes, which have given us access to new markets. The costs of the investment, now almost euro 39 million, will jump by about 20%," said Lek Polska president Marko Dolzan. The company will also open a new logistics center to manage import and export of its drugs. "Exports will constitute 20% of the output from the start, however the Strykow plant will become the second largest after the one in Ljubljana, Slovenia," added Dolzan. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) M.M.