Land is not enough

When exiting National Road No. 6 but before driving into the city, one may not fail to notice the Technology Incubator launched by the city a few years ago with the use of EU funds. A V-shaped building with the area of 8 thousand sq.m. offers manufacturing and office space for business purposes. Valassis Communications Inc., an international company which in Białogard accounts for coupons from marketing campaigns launched in England, Kabel-Technik-Polska, a German manufacturer of cable bundles and control cabinets, and Master Die Casting, a Swedish aluminum die casting company, are the largest out of the eight lessees. The Incubator entities may use a state-of-the-art steel, aluminum and galvanized component powder painting line available on the premises. The Incubator employs 380 people in total.

 

The facility is managed by Invest-Park Białogard, a municipal enterprise, which is currently encouraging investors to locate their business on the 45-hectare area of land adjacent to the Incubator. 14 out of the said 45 hectares of land enjoy the status of the Special Economic Zone of Kostrzyn-Słubice, which denotes a refund of up to 55% of investment outlays. The land may be divided into plots of any size and has access to utilities.

 

However, the city goes a step further. Not only does it offer land for lease or sale but also undertakes to build facilities to be subsequently leased or sold to investors.

 

Today, investors are not looking for land but for facilities which may quickly be used for purposes of launching their business. The solution we offer enables them to save time and dispense with the formalities, says Robert Madejski, Chairman of the Management Board of Invest-Park Białogard.

 

The first facility has already been completed. Having the area of 3 thousand sq.m., built for four months, it will soon be occupied by Kabel-Technik-Polska, which is currently located in the Incubator. The premises it vacates will be used as from 1 January by SBC Windows & Doors, a Norwegian window manufacturer, whose products will be distributed to Scandinavia and Latvia. And Invest-Park has already entered into negotiations regarding a contract with another lessee – a Swedish manufacturer of electrical engineering equipment housing.

 

We can see that the new economic zones in the region are empty. That’s why we decided to go our own way and offer a ready-made solution to investors, which would let them launch their business here more quickly and conveniently. Our incubator is full, which proves that our way is right, says Krzysztof Bagiński, the Mayor of Białogard.

 

The local authorities of a city which faces unemployment of more than 13% (with a rate of ca. 25% in the district) emphasize that development of entrepreneurship is their number-one priority.

 

To this end, we have established a loan fund, Invest-Park is supporting companies in employee recruitment and training and entrepreneurship courses are offered at schools, says Małgorzata Stachowiak, Deputy Mayor of Białogard.

 

For the city, with almost 25 thousand dwellers, the upcoming years will not only bring negotiations with investors but also a battle for new-round EU funds and efforts to ensure that the S6 route, which is planned to run through Kołobrzeg, is changed so that it does not move away from the investment zone in Białogard.

 

SG