Somfy opens R&D center

Sopem, a unit of French door and window automation producer Somfy, will open an R&D center within the premise of its factory in Niepołomice in the Kraków Special Economic Zone. "We will employ a few workers by the end of the year and 25 by the H1 2016," said Sebastian Fonta, a managing director at Sopem. The investment may come as a surprise since the company had never pledged to launch the R&D center in Poland. When it opened its plant two years ago, Sopem committed to create 250 jobs by 2017 and to invest PLN 100 million by 2020. The goals were achieved ahead of the schedule. The company currently employs 250 workers and says that it is not the end of the expansion. Sopem wants to grow along with the market, expecting to increase sales by 35 percent to PLN 100 million this year. Created in 1969, Somfy is a French leader in door and window automation for the home and building industry.