VA drives into Brodnica

Vorwerk Autotec (VA), a major European developer and system-supplier of transmission engineering to the European automobile industry, is going to build a new factory for automotive parts, replacing an unfinished dairy investment.

The company has already bought 10 hectares of land from the city for zł.1.5 million, demolished the old facility and launched earthworks. The investment is scheduled to take off not later than in 2008 and has to be finished before 2011.

"I can not say how much money Vorverk Autotec is going to spend on the factory but I can say it is highly probable several hundred people will be employed there," Zdzisława Marciniak, City Hall spokeperson said. "The company has launched earthworks and will most probably start to build the factory in the beginning of summer."

Brodnica lies on the crossroads of several major European trade paths. One of them links Germany and Asia, the second links Scandinavia and the south of Europe.

The location is considered one of the biggest advantages of the small city, which is in northern-central Poland, east from Toruń and Bydgoszcz.

Over the last three years, due to several major investments, the unemployment rate in the city decreased to approximately 11 percent and is soon expected to fall below 10 percent.