ZCh Zachem’s plant could catalyze eastward expansion

Bydgoszcz-based chemical plant Zaklady Chemiczne Zachem (ZCh Zachem) announced that its new facility for producing polyurethane, earmarked for completion in 2002, should boost the company’s sales by an additional zl.250 million. Current sales are zl.720 million, said ZCh Zachem’s development director, Ryszard Ostrowski, but plans are to bolster its bottom line by increasing exports, which currently amount to 43% of sales. ZCh Zachem’s main foreign target markets are Western Europe, Asia and America. Ostrowski also said it would like to increase the level of exports to its Eastern neighbors as well. Management would not disclose the cost of the new facility, but it is known that it has been financed primarily through a commercial loan and its own capital. Zachem is also planning to invest about zl.8 million in environmental protection and plant modernization projects. (Puls Biznesu, p.5) M.M.