On January 24, 2017, Applied Market Information Ltd announced that changes in the European plastics industry have been slow and steady since the recession in 2008 and 2009. However, Poland was the only country in Europe which did not technically go into recession and although overall polymer demand growth has weakened, it is still managing to show some growth driven by appliance manufacturing and consumer packaging and a recovery in automotive production.
   This growth was epitomized by polymer consumption increases estimated at just over 3.5% between 2009-2014. Particularly for HDPE, PP and PET, with Polypropylene accounting for just under a quarter of all polymers used in the country.
   On top of this, Poland has also become an important regional hub for plastics packaging printing and converting as well as having capacity for all commodity polymers.
   Poland is still expected to show good growth, driven by ongoing investments in car production and electrical goods manufacturing although the success of their plastics industry will be dependent on growth continuing in the West and remaining competitive against foreign imports. That being said, the market is thought to have the potential to grow at 3%/year up to 2019, creating a market demand of 3 million tonnes.
   Evidently, the Polish plastics industry has had to deal with a lot of change. Tracking these changes is a challenge that all businesses face and can be both costly and time consuming. AMI’s database of Plastic Processors in Poland has been compiled after hours of research and hundreds of telephone interviews; it details over 1000 plastic processors in Poland and is the best tool on the market to help you track the changes in the industry.