Slabstock PU soft foam manufacturer Ciech Pianki (Bydgoszcz / Poland) has begun the expansion of its warehouse in Bydgoszcz. According to the company, the investment of PLN 9m (EUR 2m) into a fully automated warehouse with a processing centre will considerably improve production efficiency and logistics.

Ciech Pianki will now step up its efforts to extend the company portfolio and build additional storage capacity. The relevant investments are scheduled for 2018, president Dariusz Tołoczko said. Up to now, Ciech Pianki had primarily focused on materials for the furniture, upholstery and mattresses industries.

Apparently, parent company Ciech (Warsaw / Poland; www.ciechgroup.com) has now completely abandoned the sale of Ciech Pianki that it had announced in 2013 (see Plasteurope.com of 06.06.2013), and is instead expanding the company’s business. “The expansion of Ciech Pianki’s production capacities is part of the strategic expansion of the group’s activities, and the growth of its ‘Organic’ segment seems to be a new line of approach.” This division encompasses plant pesticides and unsaturated polyester resins in addition to polyurethane soft foams.

In 2016, the company’s turnover from PU foams was around EUR 60m. However, Ciech Pianki’s business was already rather sluggish at this point because of increasing feedstock prices in the second half of the year. The company, which focuses on Central and Eastern Europe, also reported on competition becoming fiercer in 2016.