Polish pasta producer gets boost with new research equipment

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The POL-MAK company, thanks to EU funds, has gained the opportunity to conduct in-depth research on raw materials and products. The project has also enabled the company to provide research services for external entities, which significantly increased its competitive position on the market.Magdalena Filipek-Sobczak, director of the Lublin Agency for the Support of Entrepreneurship (LAWP), the project’s intermediate bodyThe project was a response to increasing market competition and customer demand for a more diverse product range and better quality. The company professionalised its laboratory, employing one new member of staff. With the equipment purchased via this project, it is able to better analyse its raw ingredients, such as flour and pasteurised egg mass, and finished products, for example to determine humidity, egg or fat content.It has enabled the company to carry out these R&D activities in the province's key 'smart specialisation' sector, namely the bioeconomy, and to share its research findings with other local businesses.Sixteen tonnes of pasta a dayPOL-MAK was created by Grzegorz Polak. After graduating from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, he worked in a mine for two years. He subsequently built a horticulture holding and, over the next 15 years, he set up POL-MAK. His innovative ideas contributed to the rapid development of production.The company was established as a sole trader in 1995 and now employs more than 90 people. Based in Ludwin, it sells its products across Poland and exports to countries including Germany, Ireland, Great Britain, the USA and Canada. In 1998, a new factory was built that allowed for increased production and the manufacturing of new kinds of pasta. Gradually, the volume of product increased from approximately 300 kg per day to between 15 and 16 tonnes per day.In 2003, the company became a limited liability company and, in 2007, a joint stock company. The enterprise became a member of the Polish Chamber of Pasta, the Lublin Business Club and the Association of Private Employers of Lubelszczyzna.POL-MAK specialises in production of rolled egg-pastas. The company aims to provide consumers with pasta that is as close as possible to the homemade equivalent, and includes Italian-style pastas, kneaded with a pasta press.Regional Innovation StrategyThe project is part of the Regional Innovation Strategy for the Lubelskie Voivodeship 2020, which was adopted by the regional Parliament (Sejmik) of the Lubelskie region in October 2014. The strategy has four smart specialisation areas for the region, with bio-economy development being the leading one. This area includes research fields and business sectors involved in food production and processing.Total investment and EU fundingTotal investment for the project “Research and development equipment for the Pol-Mak laboratory” is EUR 94 348 (PLN 407 103), with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 56 603 (PLN 244 261) through the “Regional Operational Programme for Lubelskie Voivodeship” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Research and innovation and competitiveness of SMEs”.