The Polish Automotive Group, which brings together only Polish manufacturers of automotive parts, was a co-organizer of the conference “Polonizing IZERA”, which took place on September 28 and 29, 2020 in Warsaw. Entrepreneurs associated in PGM also used this moment to select a new management board of the organization from among their representatives.
The following were elected for the first time: Barbara Sztyler – general director of the Sierosławski Group (producer of automotive components made of plastics and injection molds), Krzysztof Frelek – vice president of FA Krosno SA (producer of gas springs) and Piotr Borucki – president of Tip- Topol sp. z o.o. (manufacturer of membranes for suspensions for trucks, buses and semi-trailers). Members of PGM, also re-elected Adam Sikorski – the owner of PZL Sędziszów SA (producer of filters for the automotive industry and lithium-ion batteries) and Karol Zielonka – deputy research director of the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Automotive Industry Institute, for the next period of the management board’s work.
The new board of the association plans to continue the current activities, such as:
- strengthening cooperation between companies,
- building the brand of Polish automotive parts – PGM Automotive,
- advocacy of the interests of Polish entrepreneurs from the automotive industry towards public administration and large organizations.
We should attach great importance to the exchange of experiences between PGM members during meetings in our factories, because this variant of cooperation has already proved successful for us. At PGM, we are all genuinely friendly, honest and solid, it is almost unbelievable that we managed to achieve this. We must consistently work on it in order not to lose this spirit of cooperation – says Barbara Sztyler.
In turn, Piotr Borucki places great emphasis on PGM’s foreign activity:
– I am an ardent supporter of joint actions on foreign markets. The cooperation of producers in building a strong Polish brand of spare parts on distant export markets is a great value that we manage to create at PGM. And the added value for each of us is getting to know new markets and lowering the operating costs associated with exploring them – marketing, sales or logistics costs – adds Piotr Borucki.
The organization’s action plans also include new areas, such as animating joint R&D projects, supporting the Polish automotive industry in digital transformation, or integrating the competences of various companies in order to jointly offer services to large customers.
Krzysztof Frelek from FA Krosno, who also joined the management board of PGM, says about it:
– I am convinced that we should develop our competences related to comprehensive service for large automotive manufacturers, because thanks to this, the products of the Polish automotive industry can climb higher in the global supply chains for the automotive industry. As part of PGM, we have already started to create such cooperation in the so-called Full Service Supply. I would like to be very involved in this project. Frelek summed up.
For the next period of the management board’s work, members of PGM also re-elected Adam Sikorski – the owner of PZL Sędziszów SA and the initiator of the Polish Automotive Group 4 years ago, and Karol Zielonka – deputy research director of the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Automotive Industry Institute. The choice was not accidental, as the activities of both men to date were highly appreciated by the members of the organization. In addition, their knowledge and experience will be extremely important in the next challenges facing the automotive industry.
In the current political and economic situation, many Western automotive concerns have begun preparations to transfer production from Asia to Europe. I believe that our role should be to encourage them to invest in the automotive industry in Poland, in such a way that Polish factories producing parts and components for the automotive market enter their supply chains more and more effectively. It will not be an easy task, but we have our own ideas for it, which we will soon inform about – said Adam Sikorski from PZL Sędziszów.
The development of the Polish electric car IZERA may also turn out to be an important driving force for the Polish automotive industry, which is why the management board declares to support this project and all other ideas that will allow the transfer of technology to Polish companies.
I believe that the Polish automotive industry is at the begining of digital transformation and requires the involvement of modern technologies in management and a higher level of robotization. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to support Polish research institutes. Being in the new management board of PGM, I will try to be an intermediary between entrepreneurs and representatives of science, I think that it will be greatly facilitated by the fact that I represent the Łukasiewicz Research Network, which brings together 33 such research units – said Karol Zielonka.
As can be seen from the quoted statements, the new management board of the PGM Association plans to continue the current directions of activities, but also to focus its attention on completely new areas. Among other things, the entire General Assembly of PGM Members was devoted to these topics.
