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Łódź Voivodship Office

 

You're welcome to visit Łódź voivodship

Łódź voivodship, located in the very heart of Poland, is inhabited by 2,6 million people. It occupies an area of 18.000 square km. The capital of the voivodship is the city of Łódź, the second biggest, after Warsaw, city in Poland. Together with neighbouring Zgierz, Pabianice, Konstantynów Łódzki and Aleksandrów Łódzki the city of Łódź creates an agglomeration with nearly one million inhabitants, a big economic, commercial, scientific, academic and cultural centre. Other important cities in the region are: Piotrków Trybunalski, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Bełchatów, Zduńska Wola, Radomsko, Wieruszów, Wieluń.

Transport - all roads lead to Łódź

The beneficial potential of the voivodship is a consequence of the geographical location and the already achieved social and economic development. Main transport corridors such as Berlin – Warsaw - Moscow and Gdańsk - Warsaw – Vienna run through the region connecting it with Europe and the rest of Poland. The construction of A2 (east - west) highway is highly developed, while the course of A1 (north – south) highway is now established. The crossing of A-1 and A-2 and a system of domestic roads make this voivodship into a European traffic centre. Already today the logistic centres are operating around Łódź, Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Kutno, Strykow, Zgierz. They belong amongst others to Raben, IKEA, KERAKOLL, Graveleau, Casino, LEK. The city of Łódź has its own Lublinek passenger airport, which is on the gradual development, handling international flights. The future of Łódź is also closely related to intermodal transport, which shall also utilize the Łódź - Olechów container terminal and the planned in the neighbourhood A-1 highway. The city of Kutno is also getting ready to open a container terminal joining the road and railway transport. The planned construction of a fast railway line to Warsaw shall provide Łódź with a better link to the international fast rail transport.

Economy – we are dynamic

The economy of the region is agricultural and industrial in character. The most important areas of industry are energy, food processing and beverages as well as: medical equipment, clothing and textiles, pharmaceuticals and production of household appliances. 70% of the domestic production of ceramic tiles and terracotta is manufactured in the voivodship. Bełchatów has the biggest in Europe fuel and energy complex, producing electricity from brown coal. Other multibillion investments shall further increase the output of the complex. The region is characterized by high level of the inhabitants’ entrepreneurship. There are approximately 245.000* economic entities out of which over 97% belong to a private sector. The sectors of SMEs and services are on rapid development. Łódź agglomeration is also a seat for the biggest telecommunication companies in Poland such as: Telekomunikacja Polska and GSM, which have their call centres here. It is here that Philips Lighting has its European Centre for working on the development of light sources, while the BSH company within the framework of competence centre modernizes the produced washing machines. Furthermore its here that Philips concern relocated from Dublin its accounting centre, whereas Merloni concern created an accounting centre for East Europe.

Business environment, trade fairs and exhibitions – all welcome and invite to Łódź

The city of Łódź concentrates various companies, which create a business environment, for example Aleja Kościuszki is known as the street on which or at the vicinity of which there are branches of the biggest banks operating in Poland. The city centre is scattered with legal, economic and attorney at law offices. The honorary consuls of Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Denmark, France, Latvia and Hungary reside in the city of Łódź. Many trade fair events are organized annually attracting exhibitors and public from Poland and abroad. Approximately more than 30 trade fair events are organized yearly. To the most important of them belong “Intertelecom” Trade Fair, “Yarn Market” and “Interbud” – International Building Industry Fair.

Reasons to invest in Łódź voivodship

One of the strengths of the voivodship, apart of its central location, is the rich, multifunctional economic structure, well-developed infrastructure, rich business environment, high level of education of the inhabitants, are the substantial resources of qualified personnel. As many as 208 000 inhabitants possess higher education. High supply of labour leads to a low gross pay in the sector of enterprises, which on average equals 1977* PLN while the national average for the country is 2480** PLN. Both these aspects mean that there are ample possibilities to employ well qualified and cheap personnel.

In 1997 Łódź Special Economic Zone started to operate, offering its investors tax benefits and complex services. Apart of the Zone there are many municipal industrial areas offering inexpensive and well equipped land for the industry development.

These strong points are being noticed by foreign capital. Łódź region is a seat of over 670 foreign companies and approximately 1700 joint venture companies with foreign capital, and their number is still growing. Such companies as Philips, Bosch-Siemens, Merloni, Süd Wolle, ABB, Amcor, Coca Cola, Gillette, SAPA, Shell, Coats, Continental Can Europe, Nijhof Wassink, Scania Polska, IKEA, Knauf have invested in the region. Gillette is currently constructing a new factory in Łódź Special Economic Zone. The presence of factories belonging to global enterprises also attracts the cooperating companies. On the territory of the voivodeship there are such companies as: Prettl Elektrotechnika Polska, producer of system modules for washing machines, Cables Electronics producer of cables for household equipment, Coko -Werk Polska producing accessories for household appliances and cars, Wirthwein Polska – producer of components for household equipment. Merloni has revamped one of the biggest textile factories in Łódź into a factory producing household appliances. The French “Manufactura” project is also constructed in Łódź – it is one of the biggest revitalization ventures in Europe. On the premises of a former textile factory, covering an area of over 20 ha a modern shopping centre is constructed, with anchor shops, boutiques, service points, restaurants as well as cultural and recreational facilities. Already today the future tenants have reserved nearly 100% of space.

Agriculture in Łódź voivodship – organic food foremost

Food production and processing and production of commodities are an important element of the economy of the region. Sieradz area is renowned for its cereals and potatoes, supplying their products to the central and northern part of the country. The fertile soil between Łowicz and Łęczyca is famous for the production of such vegetables as onions and carrots, as well as soft fruit: currants, strawberries and raspberries. The south – western part of the region specializes in orchards and production of vegetables. The taste and high quality of fruits and fruit juice, vegetables and preserves produced from them is known throughout Europe, and especially to the closest neighbours – the Germans.

Science and education – high-level offer

A factor guaranteeing long-term development of the voivodship is the fact that the capital of the region is a strong academic and cultural centre. There are such state universities as the University of Łódź, the Technical University of Łódź, the Medical University, the Academy of Fine Art, the Music Academy, the National Film, Television and Theatre School, as well as numerous private universities. During the academic year 2003/2004 the universities in Łódź had as many as 120.000 students. Scientific and research facilities of the universities as well as independent research units and institutes such as European Institute, Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Occupational Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Studies, the Institute of Technical Textiles "MORATEX", are partners for the industry in implementing modern technology, innovation and training of personnel.

State and private universities as well as their branches operate in many bigger cities of the region. Well known is the Institute of Pomology and Floriculture in Skierniewice. The Department of English of Łódź University and its graduates promote the English culture and science. British library is a place where the English speakers and the inhabitants of Łódź - the anglophiles meet. English language is one of the most frequently heard foreign languages on the streets of Łódź and one of the most popular languages amongst young people.

The culture - a variety of possibilities

Every lover of contemporary art should go to the Modern Art Museum in Łódź. When visiting Łódź the tourist should also drop in to see a performance at the Grand Theatre or in one of the dramatic theatres: St. Jaracza Theatre, Teatr Nowy, Teatr Powszechny. The connoisseurs of classical music know that Artur Rubinsteina was born and grew up in Łódź. Many famous artists were and still are connected with this city. One might mention such personalities as: Katarzyna Kobro, Kazimierz Dejmek, Roman Polański, Waldemar Zawodziński, Jerzy Kosiński, Andrzej Sapkowski, Andrzej Wajda and many others. Many cultural events are very special in character, and became renowned. Those are the Camerimage Festival, the ballet meetings or the year-by-year more popular Festival of the Dialog of the Four Cultures reflecting the multi - national roots of city.

The numerous cinemas, community centres, art exhibitions, galleries and clubs further supplement the range of amusement and cultural services. A street which is a phenomenon on a national scale is the Piotrkowska street with its unique climate. Its pubs, cafes and restaurants are a meeting point for the inhabitants of the city and the visitors.

Recreation - an inexpensive offer for all

The attractiveness of the voivodship is also created by the tourist offer. Łódź with its eclectic architecture, post-industrial palaces and numerous pubs close to Piotrkowska street is an ideal place for weekend repose. The large forest complexes in neighbourhoods of Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Bełchatów, the landscape parks - the Pilica Landscape Park, Załęczański Landscape Park, Warta and Widawka Landscape Park, Przedborski Landscape Park, Bolimowski Landscape Park, Łódź Uplands Landscape Park, the water reservoirs of Sulejów and Jeziorsko as well as high standard agro - tourism farms favour the development of tourism and outdoor recreation. In Łódź voivodship there are also golf fields, stud farms, biking and hiking routs leading through the most beautiful sites of the region. The lovers of active tourism through the visits to historical locations shall find in the region also interesting relics of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, art nouveau architecture. In the past Łódź was called the "Polish Manchester" there are still many buildings resembling the nineteen century English factory architecture.

A lot of information about Łódź voivodship may be found on the web pages of Łódź Voivodship Office: www.lodz.uw.gov.pl.


Contact:

Łódzki Urząd Wojewódzki w Łodzi
Piotrkowska 104
90-926 Łódź

Office of the Voivod
tel.: +48 42 664-10-10, +48 42 664-14-13
fax: +48 42 664-10-40
e-mail: sekretariat@lodz.uw.gov.pl

European Funds Management Office
tel.: +48 42 664-11-02, +48 42 664-10-90
fax: +48 42 664-10-88
e-mail: BI@lodz.uw.gov.pl


Honorary British Consulate in Łódź
Piotrkowska 89
90-423 Łódź

tel.: +48 (42) 631-18-18
fax: +48 (42) 631-11-14
e-mail: consulateUK@signa.pl
web page: www.britishembassy.pl
Monday to Friday 9.00-15.00
Honorary Consul Małgorzata Brzezińska


* data referring to February 2005
** data referring to the 1st quarter of 2005

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