For the third year in a row, the city authorities of Rzeszów, the BPCC and Polish trade and investment agency PAIH organised a meeting bringing together businesses from Poland and the UK. With a strong focus on aerospace and innovation, the event highlighted the close cooperation that exists between Poland’s Aviation Valley, centred on the town, and UK aerospace, clustered around Farnborough. It was also an opportunity to showcase dynamic Polish businesses that were expanding into the UK market.
The conference was opened by Konrad Fijołek, mayor of the City of Rzeszów, whose speech was followed by presentations from the British Embassy, PAIH, Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, Aviation Valley, and two local authorities, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, and Rushmore Borough Council.
BPCC members featured prominently in the conference. Dominika Dębowska and Barbara Kujawa from Grant Thornton gave an overview of accounting and tax rules for foreign investors in Poland, and Mariusz Małachowski, plant manager at McBraida presented the story of the factory of the British aerospace company that was established in Rzeszów in 2013. The BPCC’s chief advisor, Michael Dembinski, gave an overview of UK-Polish trade relations post-Brexit, explaining that now is a great time for Polish companies looking to expand into the UK, given how many of their competitors from Western Europe have quit the market. Another local manufacturer, Reconal, which manufactures glass and aluminium facades for the construction sector, offered an excellent case study as to setting up business in Britain. The decision to enter the UK after the Brexit referendum but before it was known on what basis the UK would leave the EU proved to be a bold move that turned out well for the company.
There was ample time for business networking, which extended into the evening, when Mr Fiołek himself led a guided tour through the mediaeval underground passages and cellars that extend for several hundred metres under Rzeszów’s old-town square.
The following day was dedicated to factory visits; the British delegates visited the McBraida facility which specialises in working with hard metals such as titanium, manufacturing parts for jet engines. Other factories visited included that of MTU, a leading manufacturer of military and civil aircraft engines. The UK delegates were impressed at the scale of the aerospace sector in Rzeszów, and the speed with which it has grown since Poland joined the EU.
The event was also an opportunity for the BPCC and its members to get to know Polish firms interested in doing business in the UK, with several participants actively seeking advice and contacts.
Michael Dembinski, who had taken part in the previous conferences in this series, said “each year sees an increase in the number of participants from both countries, and judging by the questions we get, firms are better prepared for UK market entry, with products and services likely to be of interest to British buyers. The key thing is to work on strategy, and avoid the mistakes that other Polish firms have already made when taking their first steps on the UK market.”
