Regional flight plan
One such initiative is the Podkarpacki Science and Technology Park (PPNT) Aeropolis, which comprises land located in several municipalities. Once launched, the role of the park, which is currently in development, will be to "stimulate multi-functional development" of the voivodship, "based on the idea of innovation and technology transfer through synergic exploration of local scientific, research, economic and infrastructure potential." It specifically - but not exclusively - aims to support innovation in the regional aerospace industry.
PPNT Aeropolis targets both large international investors and domestic SMEs. The main criterion for assistance is a firm's innovativeness and the prospect of launching technologically advanced products or services on the market. This is criterion assessed by PPNT Aeropolis' council, which comprises representatives of the Rzeszów University of Technology, local authorities and presidents of major companies, including the president of Rzeszów-based IT giant Asseco.
Key partners for PPNT Aeropolis include the nearby Rzeszów University of Technology as well as the aerospace cluster located in the region, which is represented by the Aviation Valley Association. The park also cooperates with the EURO-PARK Mielec Special Economic Zone and the University of Rzeszów.
Aerospace on top
According to Waldemar Pijar, the president of the Rzeszów Regional Development Agency's (RARR) management board, PPNT Aeropolis strives to bring together a range of companies and institutions to create a hi-tech center in Podkarpackie voivodship.
"There are a number of branches involved in the project, but the aerospace industry is dominant here," he told WBJ.
Grzegorz Sobczak, editor-in-chief of industry title Skrzydlata Polska, noted, "The aviation industry, with its highly advanced technologies, is the most attractive path for the region's hi-tech development."
For the Podkarpackie voivodship, a relatively underdeveloped area of Poland, such progress is vital. In July, for example, unemployment in the voivodship reached 12.7 percent, compared with a national level of 9.4 percent. And in Q1, the gross monthly wage in the voivodship was zł.2,640.47, compared with the national average of zł.2,983.98.
"The park will enable the creation of a total of 10,000 jobs [when fully completed]," RARR's Pijar said.
Pijar added that about zł.40 million will have been invested by the end of October and that investment plans worth zł.1.2 billion have been declared by interested firms so far.
Progress and preincubation
Co-financed from EU structural funds through the Improvement of the Competitiveness of Enterprises program, PPNT Aeropolis expects to cover 400 ha in the future. The first stage of the project, to be completed in October, includes 71 ha in the S1 zone, located near Rzeszów-JasionkaAirport; 46 ha in the S2 zone, located outside the city of Rzeszów; and 3.7 ha in the S3 zone. The remainder of the first phase covers 123 ha and is located in RzeszówCounty.
"There is space for several strategic investors and about 35 companies in S1 and about 95 percent of the terrain has been reserved," said Pijar.
The S3 zone has also launched some activities, including PPNT Aeropolis' "Academic Preincubator," an initiative designed to "develop entrepreneurship of students, graduates and scientific workers of universities" in the region. The preincubator aids people with new entrepreneurial concepts to build their businesses and verify the marketability of their ideas without taking significant risks.
Comprising 1,000 sqm of space withing the premises of the Rzeszów University of Technology, the preincubator is considered a core element of PPNT Aeropolis. Tenants are assisted by experts in management, marketing, finance and other areas, as well as training adjusted to their needs.
Regional advantages
Using PPNT Aeropolis as a means of developing the aerospace industry in the Podkarpacie region is the right move, according to Skrzydlata Polska's Sobczak.
"Demand is high for the industry globally and, to a significantly lesser extent, locally," he said.
Indeed, the region itself offers a range of advantages. Apart from its tradition as a center for aviation, which reaches back to the 1920s and 1930s, the Podkarpackie voivodship has a population of over 2.1 million and good production facilities. The presence of the Rzeszów University of Technology and several technical schools also gives the aerospace industry a boost.
Geographically speaking, the voivodship stretches 18,000 square km - 5.7 percent of Poland's total area - and borders both Ukraine and Slovakia. It hosts an international airport and an important East-West transit corridor.
"This is a very nice combination of factors, which results in a synergy effect here," Sobczak said.
Sobczak stressed that development of the aviation industry cluster in the region was stimulated by big international investors as well as a number of smaller, yet thriving, companies. These firms either produce their own technologies or work as subcontractors for bigger players, but a good blend of enthusiasm and effective management was something they all had in common, Sobczak stressed.
"These people are enthusiasts who have never had any financing from the outside and yet none of these companies has ever gone bankrupt. Their products are often sold under bigger players' brands but these firms are a key element in the [emergence of the aerospace cluster]," he said.
Flight potential
The aerospace cluster in the Podkarpackie voivodship continues to grow and gain in stature every year. An additional impetus for growth has also emerged in the Bielsko-Biała region, where a similar cluster is emerging and providing opportunities for cooperation, Skrzydlata Polska's Sobczak noted.
"The scale of the cluster is still local, but the steps being taken are lead in the right direction. If everything is carried out well, there is a chance to build something significant." Sobczak concluded.
