Zachem chemical plant to be controlled by Nafta Polska

The Treasury Ministry has announced plans to commercialize one of the largest state-owned plants in the country's chemicals sector - Bydgoszcz-based Zachem - by the end of this year. The company was covered by the government's restructuring program, however it is not yet known whether Zachem is to be privatized. The fate of the company rests on a decision to be made by Nafta Polska (NP), which has received authorization to manage it. NP can therefore either sell the company or form new production units as subsidiaries of the plant. "Our product range is not closely mirrored by other companies within the same chemical production sector. Therefore we see no potential for forming an alliance. A better solution would be to leave the company intact," said Tadeusz Wilusz, a board member of Zachem. Three companies in the sector that have declared an interest in acquiring the company include Orlen-owned Anwil, Ciech, and MZCh Organika. "We are interested in obtaining a controlling stake in the company. We plan to enter the privatization process of Zachem as part of a consortium with other investors," said Krzysztof Wegrzyn, the head of Organika. It was not revealed, however, who they want to form a consortium with, though Wegrzyn did emphasize he would not want to compete with Ciech. (Puls Biznesu, p. 4) A.K.