New 900-job refrigerators plant is opened by Prime Minister Marek Belka

The new facility was opened by the Prime Minister Marek Belka and chairman of the European Commission Romano Prodi on Monday. By 2007 production lines will manufacture 1 million fridges under the brand names of Indesit and Ariston. So far the company, which will change its name to Indesit Company from the beginning of 2005, has invested EUR 120 million in Łódź. It holds 14% market share in this country. "Poland is an excellent place to invest in," stressed Merloni's general director Marco Milani. According to his estimates the rate of return in Western Europe amounted to 4% in 2003, while in Poland the figure stood at 15%. The main reasons behind shifting production eastwards are costs, increasing consumption and improved distribution. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) M.M.