Military machine

Kamil Jach: What should be done with the state-owned facilities that are still a part of a group?

Roman Baczyński: We should take a closer look at these companies. Some should be privatized, while some should be restructured and merged with each other. However, we should be careful with such plans. Not every company can be privatized because some of them are technologically old. Who would like to invest in a company that, for example, produces gunpowder using technology from the 50s or 60s? Nobody. So, some facilities have to either find their niche or group together, otherwise they will fail.

What about the market? The European Defense Agency wants it open to foreign competition.

At the moment the Polish industry's position [on this idea] is negative. We are not yet able to compete with the West on equal terms. I think we should sign a treaty opening our market eventually, but with a five-year grace period.

In other European countries such as France, the free market is not a problem for producers.

In France there is an organization called DJA which looks after French producers. It employs several thousand people. We do not need such a body, it's a waste of money. Instead we might want to consider adding a new department to the Ministry of Defense. It would deal with cooperation between our industry and the government. In Spain there is such a body employing 20 people and it works fine.

The Polish media has accused you of not executing a deal in Iraq as you should have, and also of conducting shady business with a former KGB agent. Can you comment on that? 

We lost several hundred thousand dollars and our reputation was severely damaged. The journalist said we were to repair 24 Mi-8 Russian helicopters. He also wrote that we could do it in Poland and instead we got involved in business with a former Russian spy. First of all, we were to deliver helicopters, not to repair them. Secondly, they were Mi-17s, not Mi-8s. Thirdly, we cooperated with the Russian [helicopter maintenance company] Sparc from the very beginning, we did not find them along the way.

What are your plans for the future?

We will expand further in Africa, in Algeria, Egypt and Mali. We are renewing our contacts in South America, for instance in Peru or Chile. We are also going to present a special project in India, tailored exactly to the Indian customer's specifications. Also, we signed a good deal in East Timor, and this is very close to Australia.

Interviewed by Kamil Jach