Radom. Pipelife has become a leading player in the Polish market. Unprecedented economic growth in Poland over the last ten years has clearly helped this achievement. But there are other factors… Pipelife Polska was created in 1996 by trading from a small office in Warsaw. According to Michal Mierzejewski, Marketing manager, three important events changed the future of the firm: “Our decision to build a local factory near Radom in the South of Poland gave us a strategic advantage. Plastic pipes are full of air and that makes distribution very expensive. By having our own PVC pipe manufacturing facility, we were able to capture a five percent market share within two years.” “Then in 1999, Pipelife acquired MABO, a Norwegian plastic pipe company with a significant presence in Poland. This gave us a second production facility in Kartoszyno in the North of the country and a network that embraced 15 distribution centres.” But the third event that has Michal Mierzejewski still excited was the accession of Poland to the European Union in 2004. “Europe is very much about using the power of economics. The stimulus we have received from EU funds to fix our aging roads, buildings and infrastructure has been enormous. That means our 240 Polish employees are kept busy.” Expansion “Throughout Poland our city and rural sewer networks are being renovated or replaced. This has given us the opportunity to provide PVC systems made in Radom or more up-market products that fulfill wider requirements. For example, our Pragma system of sewer pipes, fittings and inspection chambers are really state of the art. Pragma is so successful that we are launching a new generation. Called Pragma ID, the system is essentially the same concept but manufactured by us in Poland and produced as its name suggests, according to its Inside Diameter.” The firm is also active providing PVC log to the water utility sector. Polyethylene PE pipe are supplied for many major projects and then often for no-dig techniques to avoid surface disruption. But it is in the building sector that Pipelife expects to benefit from the amount of renovation and new housing construction. “We are in the process of launching a PPR system for domestic water supply and our PEX for central heating purposes,” says Mierzejewski. “The Polish plumbing industry has said goodbye to the old fashioned metal stuff. They can now buy more efficient plastic products from any one of our many distribution centres.” Depending upon which sector one considers, the firm is the number 2 or 3 leader in Poland. “We have come a long way from a small office in Warsaw. We have exciting plans to expand our business activities even further particularly in the field of supplying ecosystems. We think of plastic water tanks, sprinkler and irrigation equipment and you can see that we can sustain our Polish momentum even further.” “Polish people are very opened!” comments Mierzejewski. “We observe the market needs and create new solutions to fulfill our customers demands. That is the source of our success and the foundation for our future.” Pipelife Polska Sp. z o. o. was established in 1996 and opened its office in Warsaw. The first plant was opened in Strzałków near Radom. Building a new production hall was a major investment over there. In two years, the production in Strzałków, gave Pipelife a 5% share in the Polish market of media systems suppliers. In order to increase its share and the development potential in 1999 Pipelife purchased MABO, Norwegian group manufacturing plastic pipes. In Poland the group was represented by MABO TURLEN which held almost 10% share in the market. Its headquarters and plant was located in Kartoszyno, not far from the Tri-City area, in the Żarnowiec Special Economic Zone. Today, Pipelife Polska owns both the above-mentioned plants. The headquarters are located in Kartoszyno. The Company keeps developing its distribution network. It is to bring the products to the final Client. Pipelife exports its products to Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Scandinavia, the Baltic States and Eastern markets. Pipelife Polska is one of the leading manufacturers of complete PP, PE and PVC pipe systems in Poland.