Tomasz Świgost

Chairman of Fellowes Polska

Tomasz Świgost, 49, has been quick in adapting his business to changing economic conditions, allowing him to reap the benefits of new markets. Świgost graduated with a degree in electronics from Warsaw Polytechnic, specializing in radio location systems, and stayed on to work as a senior assistant at the department of physics for seven years. In 1985, he left the polytechnic and worked for Dialog, a manufacturer of industrial controllers, acting as the firm's managing director. Two years later, Świgost and three of the company's assembly workers set up a new firm, Modulex, and continued producing industrial controllers.

With the transformation of the Polish economy at the start of the 1990s, heavy industry went into decline and Modulex received fewer orders for its products. Świgort decided that the company had to move in a new direction and turned to selling PC's and accessories. In 1992, when Fellowes entered the European market, Modulex began to import the firm's computer monitor filters and document storage products from the United States. In 1994, Fellowes established a distribution center in Germany, giving Świgort a more flexible source of imports, while sales of its products had grown enough to allow Modulex to abandon selling PCs. The relaunch of the company left Świgost with six employees and a monthly turnover of just zł. 20,000. His business grew steadily and five years later Modulex was converted into a joint stock company and sold to Fellowes. Today, the firm has 29 employees and monthly turnover of zł. 1.5 million ($357,000).

Past notes

1977 - Graduated with a degree in electronics from Warsaw Polytechnic

1977 - Assistant at Warsaw Polytechnic Institute of Physics

1985 - Started Dialog

1987 - Started Modulex

1992 - Modulex began to sell Fellowes

1999 - Fellowes took over Modulex

Word of advice

"In business you have to remain faithful to what you're doing. You have to show that you're on the market to stay."

Greg Goodale