Pliva to shape up and move up the ladder

Croatian pharmaceutical group, Pliva, is to commence restructuring and reorganizing, beginning with its Polish-based subsidiary. The investor plans to create a company, Pliva Polska (PP) which will be responsible for managing the activities of three local entities owned by Pliva. Pliva Kraków, a manufacturing company, is to become a center for servicing foreign markets. "The Polish division is going to benefit a lot from the reorganization. Part of the production will be transferred from Germany and Croatia to Pliva Kraków. This year we will invest $15 million in a new production line, and a further $7-10 million until by 2004, for new licenses and technical know-how," announced the head of Pliva, Żejko Covic. The company also plans to join the top five pharmaceutical companies in Poland which record the highest revenues. It currently is the second largest foreign investor in the sector, behind GSK. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) A.K.