6 July 2018

Poland’s rise as one of the top locations on the global business services map is made possible due to investors rating it as a reliable and stable place to do business. The country is now an established part of a network of cross-border relations between international corporations and Polish companies providing business services. They find that having an office in Poland offers a competitive advantage and boosts their growth potential.

We are going to take one by one the most famous cities in Poland considered for developing business and invest in.

The Tier One cities: Kraków, Warsaw, and Wrocław

Kraków, former Polish capital, is prospering multicultural city. It is also well communicated with neighboring major cities and has an international airport. There are about 50 large multinational corporations in the town, for example, Google, IBM, Royal Dutch Shell along with other British, German and Scandinavian-based firms.

Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is also a capital of Polish business. With its 1,7 million residents it is the biggest city in Poland and well prestige business center of Eastern Europe. You will find here well established middle class with enough money to buy your strangest ideas.  It is classified as one of the most liveable cities in Central Europe and if you manage your business on a massive scale, then this should be your first choice. Warsaw is quickly accessible by air (two international airports), train (direct trains from Berlin/Vienna) and roads (A2 highway from Poznań and Berlin, A1 highway from Gdansk, S8 road from Katowice, Wrocław).

The old German city of Wrocław has not lost its reputation. Another place where history meets modern era. Center of science and culture. It is also statistically the sunniest major city in Poland. Wrocław’s industry manufactures buses, trams, railroad cars, home appliances, chemicals, and electronics. The city houses factories and development centers of many foreign and domestic companies. It is a great hub of pharmaceutical industry.

The Tier Two locations: TriCity, Łódź, Poznań, and Katowice

A metropolitan area in northern Poland consisting of three cities in Pomerania: Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot. They are located near to one other, in a row on the coast of  Baltic Sea. Approximately 35% taxpayers from Tricity are in the middle and high taxable income class (average for Poland 10%). About 12% of Tricity taxpayers are in the highest taxable income group (Polish average 3%). It is also the center of tourism and ship industry.

Łódź is well known for its academic community as well as the constantly developing industry in the city and its surroundings. The city is located close to a major motorway junction (A2 with A1) and profits from its close position to this point. The strength of the town also lies in its very competitive costs of labor as well as rates for leasing office, or another type of space. The city of Łódź also provides several kinds of incentives that available for incoming investors, in particular for those, willing to set up business in Łódź’s Special Economic Zone.

Poznań is a mix of its rich history and modern solutions, readily available from air and ground. It is a great base for all corporations wishing to start trade with Germany.  Poznań has a small unemployment percentage (about 2-3%). Many Western European companies have established their Polish quarters in Poznań or the nearby towns of Tarnowo Podgórne and Swarzędz. Most foreign investors are German and Dutch organizations.

Katowice, the largest city in Silesia district, is a center of 4 million people conurbation. The city is still defined by its working class strength and attracts many people from neighboring cities. As for now, Katowice is trying to become a new route as a vibrant cultural center. Upper Silesia has the greatest road system in Poland; it is also closed to major Polish cities and neighboring countries with Katowice Airport being continuously modernized to reach the highest standards with the largest runway in Poland up to date. Best place for logistic centers and heavy industry.  The unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Poland, at 2%. The city is still defined by its working class strength and brings many people from neighboring cities.

Tier Three: Szczecin, Lublin, Bydgoszcz, Rzeszów, and Opole

The first two towns are on the fast track to being moved to Tier Two. The attractiveness of those cities lies in attractive costs, higher unemployment rate, but at the same time with the availability of highly experienced human resources and growing availability of office space. Based on the current trend those destinations should notice the growth of the industry in a durable way.

Besides the Tier One, Two and Three locations mentioned above it is good to know other important destinations for outsourcing,  called “satellite cities”: Radom (the satellite of Warsaw), Piła (the satellite of Poznań and Bydgoszcz), Częstochowa (the satellite of Katowice).

There are also other places like Toruń, Olsztyn, Białystok or Kielce where the outsourcing industry keeps on growing and in the line of time, they will become more noticeable on the outsourcing destination map of Poland.

Published by: Joanna Matysiak

Photo source: www.pexels.com

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