The approximately PLN 11 million (EUR 2.6 million) Non-Destructive Research Center at the ZPS "Gamrat" special production plant will automate testing of rocket fuels and mortar propellant charges — processes previously performed manually — while expanding the site's overall research capacity.
PGZ chief Adam Leszkiewicz described the investment as critical to Poland's broader defense industry, telling state news agency PAP on Thursday that the holding group had no equivalent research capabilities at any other location.
"This center will simply serve Polish defense industry and security through functions that did not exist here before", he said.
The Jasło plant, which employs around 160 people and is currently profitable, forms part of PGZ's ammunition production domain and participates in the manufacturing chain for 155mm artillery shells, producing propellants, rocket fuels and pyrotechnic materials, Leszkiewicz said.
He confirmed the facility would also benefit from Poland's allocation under the EU's SAFE rearmament program, noting that because the program covers 155mm shell production, "ZPS Gamrat, as a co-producer, will benefit directly".
On May 8, Poland signed an agreement with the European Commission securing EUR 43.7 billion in low-interest loans for defense procurement under SAFE, earmarked for projects including the Eastern Shield missile defense program, anti-drone systems, air defense, artillery and military transport infrastructure. The government says 89% of the funds will flow to Polish industry.
With a May 30 contract deadline approaching, PGZ currently has 39 negotiating teams working around the clock, including weekends, Leszkiewicz said.
"The time pressure is enormous. We are also aware that signing is not the end — it is the opposite, the beginning — because we then face the enormous task of fulfilling these commitments within just under four years", he said.
The EU's SAFE program provides a total of EUR 150 billion in support, primarily for the purchase of military equipment made in Europe.
(jh)
Source: PAP