PKP Cargo will restart wagon plant production in Gniewczynie, south-eastern Poland, following an agreement reached with Forespo Poland to purchase the property of the former Fabryka Wagonów Gniewczyna. Under the agreement, PKP Cargo has acquired the perpetual usufruct rights and the ownership of the real estate as well as the assets of the former Fabryka Wagonów Gniewczyna.
EUR 7.4 million is the final sale price of the transaction under which transferring the ownership of assets and property will be concluded by April 30, 2022 at the latest.
“The consent of the Supervisory Board was necessary to sign the contract with Forespo, which we hope will happen in the near future. Then we want to start the preparatory work as soon as possible before restarting the production of the railcars at Gniewczynie wagon plant,” Czesław Warsewicz, the president of PKP Cargo said.
The decision of the PKP Cargo Supervisory Board is the first step to resume the production of wagons in the plant and is a result of the increased railcar demand on the market. In 2019, the Polish rail freight operator has announced that intends to renovate and adapt the facility to restart the production process.
In Poland and whole Europe, the lack of freight cars is becoming noticeable. This was evident, for example, during tenders for the purchase of rolling stock with funding from the European Union. Some rail operators had problems with ensuring timely deliveries of wagons, there were also cases that due to the lack of technical capabilities to perform the requirements, the contract with manufacturers were not signed,” Czesław Warsewicz explained who emphasized that there is no doubt that the factory in Gniewczyn will turn out to be a business success.
On the site of the former wagon factory covering 35 hectares of land, there are industrial halls, warehouses, and offices with a total area of 50,000 square metres, numerous buildings with a railway siding with a total length of 7.5 km. The entire area is equipped and intended for industrial activities.
The Gniewczyna railway carriage factory was once one of Poland’s foremost railway companies, employing more than 1 000 people. The products that the company manufactured for the European market were of tried and tested quality, with all the certificates and references needed to prove it. As a result of repeated changes of ownership and numerous sales of the company to successive shareholders in recent years, more than 90 per cent of the company’s shares have fallen into the hands of foreign owners. In October 2014, the company announced its bankruptcy and was looking for a new strategic investor.
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