Mandam is a dynamically developing manufacturer of agricultural machinery, but the crisis in the industry and uncertainty about the geopolitical situation caused the company to suspend its investment plans. An impulse for further development would certainly be the launch of EU funds – primarily KPO.
- Mandam is a family company with exclusively Polish capital, employing 130 people.
- In recent years, the company has developed dynamically, increasing the production of machines and sales to the domestic and foreign markets. The crisis in the industry resulted in the suspension of investment plans related to, among others, with the construction of a large production hall and its equipment.
- -Companies like ours are silent victims of everything that is happening around us now and what we see in the media – notes Józef Seidel, member of the management board and marketing director of Mandam.
- The company’s plans include not only expansion, but also the creation of a research and development center, modernization of production processes and entry into Industry 4.0. The company wants to take advantage of all available support programs.
The conversation was created as part of the project “Investments in Poland through the eyes of business. Regression and hopes”, carried out jointly by ING Bank Śląski and the European Economic Congress (EEC). Premiere of the report prepared on the basis of interviews with managers of key Polish companies – during the EEC in Katowice (May 7-9, 2024).
What investments have you made in the last 3 years, and what investments will you make/are considering in the 5-year horizon? Which types of investments – in your opinion – should/are likely to lead in our economy in the coming 5 years and why?
Józef Seidel, member of the management board and marketing director of Mandam: Over the last 3-4 years, we have been investing quite heavily in the development of the company because there were such needs – the economic situation and the number of machines sold indicated that we needed to develop. First of all, we built a second powder coating line. In addition, a very large shot-blasting plant was built, which significantly accelerated the production process due to the fact that entire large frames are now shot-blasted in one cabin and it works great. We also purchased a plot of land for the construction of another production hall. It is located next door, so we have expanded the area of our company.
This last investment was related to what was planned for the next 2-3 years, i.e. the construction of a large, almost 3,000 sq m. m2 of the production hall, which was to be both a steel warehouse and equipment for steel pre-processing, i.e. saws, laser cutting machines, etc. It was supposed to be a preparation hall for further production and this was our plan and layout of the plant after construction.
But this last stage has been suspended due to the current situation in our industry and as of today the investment is not being implemented. There was also an idea for Industry 4.0 and a research and development department, which we were also supposed to launch, partly due to joining the Katowice Special Economic Zone – it was about 3-4 years ago – where, as part of this project, one of the conditions for cooperation was the creation of such department in the company. This has also been put on hold for now due to the fact that, unfortunately, it is not likely that there will be money for it in the near future.
However, when it comes to the question of investments in the economy, which will generally lead in the coming 5 years, it is certainly Industry 4.0. The form of production automation and everything related to it will certainly develop unless, for example, something unexpected comes from the East. We really wanted to invest in infrastructure – this was our main goal because we wanted to improve our efficiency and working conditions. These were the reasons why we wanted to develop and I can point to them as the main factors that will develop in the future, and half a year ago I would have said that in the near future. Now, however, this atmosphere is a bit conducive to pessimism and the fact that at this point all this will probably not develop, but stagnation will occur.
