Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1517379
Last year the PGZ Group continued its efforts aimed at ex- panding its potential, increasing the Group's share in the Polish Armed Forces' technical modernization efforts, and also expanding its export activities. Following a sudden 2022 development impulse, systematic work and efforts were un- dertaken throughout the last 12 months, to make use of the opportunity for a generational leap, that was given to the Polish defense industry. The decision on gradual expansion of the Polish Armed Forc- es up to 300,000 troops has forced the PGZ Group to create new assumptions for its development, so that the company can keep up with the technical modernization process, de- livering top-quality armament in quantities expected by the Ordering Party, promptly. The War in Ukraine, changing the security situation in Central Eastern Europe, also turned Po- land into a frontline state. Not only has this been confirmed by the influx of millions of Ukrainian refugees, but, primarily, by the establishment of a military equipment transit center in Po- land by the Western nations sending military aid to Ukraine. Poland, as one of the key nations donating the equipment, responded immediately, in a very decisive manner. PGZ used its firearms and support weapons, as well as munitions and heavy equipment stockpiles, to send support to Ukraine. In the longer run, the form and the scope of provided support evolved, which translated into specific actions undertaken by the management of the PGZ Group, and the management boards of the individual companies. Bumar-Łabędy estab- lished a main battle tanks maintenance hub, while PGZ Ser- wis Orel mechanics undertook work at field workshops. At the same time, within the framework of own means, as well as the funds coming from the treasury, investment efforts have been acceler- ated to boost the manufacturing capacity in key areas, including munitions, or weapons manu- facturing. Not only did the Group significantly in- crease its investment expenditure, but the level of employment also went up - at practically all of the Group's companies. The growing level of brand recognition, and the interest in the PGZ products that has been a consequence of systematic development and the geopolitical changes in the region translated into major deals concluded with foreign custom- ers, placed by buyers from all over the world. Not only does the above apply to Mesko S.A., or Ni- tro-Chem S.A., but also to FB "Łucznik" Radom, ZM Tarnów, or PCO. To face the challenges re- lated to deliveries for the Polish Armed Forces, given their growth, and to export sales, it turned out to be necessary to change the approach to investment and the methods used to obtain extra capital. Both the provisions of the Act on Home- land Defense, as well as the assumptions tied to the National Munitions Reserve, along with deci- sions on the provision of extra capital to specific companies all made it possible for the manufac- turing capacity and production volumes to grow. The machinery employed and production lines also underwent a significant modernization. All of the aforesaid factors also impacted the PGZ's positioning among the global leaders of the arms industry. What's important, not only did the PGZ Group's companies become a relevant portion of supply chains of big players, such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, or General Dynam- ics Land Systems, but they also became partners to those companies. Nowadays, this has an ac- tual impact on how programs such as Miecznik (involving Thales and Babcock), or Narew (involv- ing MBDA) progress. Furthermore, PGZ has also established a redefined relationship with South Korean industry - because of the procurement decisions made by the Polish MoD, the Korean entities naturally became business partners for several companies in the PGZ Group - including Poznan-based WZM, Bydgoszcz-based WZL-2, HSW S.A., or Jelcz. All of the aforementioned factors had an impact on the tempo and direction of internal changes at the PGZ Group. Thanks to the above, the Group has been able to manage multi-billion, complex contracts in parallel, includ- ing ones concerning multi-layered air defense systems, frigates for the Polish Navy, or various unmanned, autonomous platforms and vehicles. Traditionally, and annually, we would like to invite the readers to get acquainted with a revision of information on activities of the PGZ Group, un- dertaken in 2023. Detailed information on the achievements of the individual companies has been published online. www.fragoutmag.com