Stalatube inaugurates new stainless steel facility in Lodz, Poland

Finnish stainless steel manufacturer Stalatube has inaugurated a new €7-million production facility in Lodz, central Poland. The new Polish subsidiary and production lines are set to improve competitiveness and significantly reduce delivery times, especially in the Central European market. 

Centrally located in Poland at a motorway intersection, the Polish manufacturing facility is intended for more labour-intensive processed tube and profile products for the global market.

Stalatube is seeking to strengthen its position with this new investment in the end-user field of stainless steel tube and profile products, in particular closer to European end-user customers. Stalatube’s largest export country in Europe is Germany, which is around 300 kilometres away from the Lodz plant.

The new production facility has an approximate area of 9,000 m² and has benefited from over €7-million in investment in modern manufacturing technology during 2018 and 2019. The new high-tech plant is largely automated at all stages of the production process and meets stringent environmental criteria, safety and energy efficiency requirements.

The facility consists of two production lines: one for tube components and the other for welded tubes and profiles. With further investments to be made by 2020, the plant will also start producing ready-made welded structural solutions for selected end-user sectors.

The tube component production line uses structural steel tubes manufactured at the Lahti plant, processing them into end products for various industrial sectors, with the largest customer segment being the bus manufacturing industry. Component production consists of various types of processing steps, such as laser cutting and marking, tube bending, welding and various kitting and logistic services; if necessary, delivered all the way to the customer’s own production line. Poland is one of the largest bus manufacturing countries in Europe.

“Further processing in Poland supports the Lahti plant, as only about 10% of our invoicing will remain in Finland,” explains President and CEO Jukka Nummi.  “More than half of Stalatube’s sales go to the European market and the processed products from Poland can be delivered to customers in a matter of hours, while shipping from Finland to Central Europe would take three or four days. In addition, Poland itself has become Europe’s fifth largest stainless steel market.” 

The production of welded tubes and profiles is aimed at the global steel market. “Our goal is to provide our customers with ever-improving, tailored and, above all, faster service,” says Pauli Rumbin, Managing Director of Stalatube Poland. “We also produce customised welded tubes and profiles for both wholesalers and end users with extremely fast delivery times. Our production investments in this product category cover the entire production chain, from material pretreatment to surface treatment of the finished product. Tube and profile products can also be further processed according to customer needs,” Rumbin continues.

The plant will reach full production capacity by the end of 2019, employing about 30 people in Poland. The design, procurement and support functions also provide significant employment in Stalatube's head office in Lahti. The official opening of the facility was celebrated on 27 September 2019 with staff, customers and partners. The plant was inaugurated by Juha Ottman, Ambassador of Finland to Poland.

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