Poland: An old facade, a modern heart

Evonik Country Europe

Reading Time 4 min

March 18, 2024

Poland is rich in tradition, and the companies based here have become coveted partners in many sectors. From precision craftsmanship in furniture manufacturing to future-oriented concepts of green energy, Poland skillfully combines its historical heritage with pioneering solutions.

By Pauline Brenke

View of Warsaw's Old Town from an elevated position. — Warsaw Old Town, with its historic facades and the remains of the medieval city wall, is a feast for the eyes. But the impressionof history is deceptive: The center of Poland’s capital city is actually not all that old. After its destruction in World War II, it was rebuilt at a record pace and in impressive detail between 1949 and 1956. The historic Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. Evonik supports the preservation of historic buildings with its facade protection product Protectosil®.

A Baltic Sea beach with sand, rocks and a nearby forest. Offshore wind turbines can be seen on the horizon. — Along the Baltic Sea, West Pomerania beckons with waves, dunes, and pine forests. Poland’s coastline is more than 500 kilometers long. It’s a good place to spend a vacation, and it also offers attractive sites for the wind power sector. In the future, the wind turbine rotors will spin not only on land but also in the Baltic Sea. Plans call for the first offshore wind farms to already be feeding electricity into the grid in 2025. One of them is being built between Koszalin and the Danish island of Bornholm. Evonik provides the equipment for wind farms operating on the high seas. For example, crosslinkers make the rotor blades durable, while paint additives and polyurethane foam components protect the turbines from rain, salt, and hail.

A carpenter is standing at a lathe and working a piece of wood. — Poland is one of the six EU member states with the largest forest areas. That’s one reason why this country has a long tradition of woodworking. Over the years it has developed an important market for furniture, which most recently generated almost eight billion euros in sales. The largest segment is living-room furniture. Today Poland is one of the world’s five biggest furniture exporters. About 90 percent of all its manufactured units are shipped abroad. Evonik ensures a high-quality look for tables, chairs, and cabinets. The silica Acematt® gives wooden furniture a matte finish and protects the surface.

Aerial view of rapeseed fields in Lower Silesia, Poland — Every year in April and May, Poland’s fields of rapeseed bloom in brilliant yellow, creating magical patterns in the landscape that resemble an abstract painting. About two months later, the oil-bearing seeds are harvested. At a volume of more than 3.7 million tons, Poland was the EU’s third-largest producer in 2022. Rapeseed is used to produce food-grade oil and protein-rich animal feed, among other things. Rapeseed oil, along with used cooking oil and animal fats, is the basis for the production of biodiesel. NM30 alcoholates from Evonik are used as a catalyst in the production process.

Drone shot of the shipyard in the port of Gdansk. — The port of Gdańsk is one of Europe’s 15 biggest harbors and the only one in the Baltic Sea with direct container links to China. The shipyard in Gdańsk (photo) has been considered the nucleus of Poland’s pro-democracy movement ever since the Solidarność labor union was founded there in 1980. Ships are still built and repaired in its dry docks today. Ships’ hulls and superstructures are protected with coatings containing Dynasylan® from Evonik. The water-based binders are especially environmentally friendly. They release hardly any volatile organic compounds, for example.

A broad spectrum

Evonik has been active in Poland with a sales team since 1990 and has been present in a new office in Warsaw since 2020. Here a team of 14 people manages sales from four divisions with a total of twelve business lines, including Animal Nutrition, Interface & Performance, Healthcare, and High Performance Polymers. Poland is a central trade partner of Germany as well as an essential pillar for Evonik in eastern Europe.

Evonik location

1. Warsaw

Eine Karte zeigt den Evonik-Standort in Warschau

At 1 location Evonik has 14 employees.