The £ód¼ Region, located in the very heart of Poland, is inhabited by 2,6 million people and occupies an area of 18.000 square km. City of £ód¼, the third biggest city in Poland, is capital of the region. Together with neighbouring cities, it creates an agglomeration with nearly one million inhabitants- a big economic, commercial, scientific, academic and cultural center.

The£ód¼ Region stands out by its favourable geographic location. Developing motorway networks linking Berlin with Moscow and Scandinavia with the Balkans will cross in the Region and connect it with Europe and the rest of Poland, turning the Region into a European traffic center.

Diversified and dynamic economy

Economy of the Region is both industrial and agricultural in character. The most important areas of industry are: energy - Be³chatow has the biggest fuel and energy complex producing electricity from brown coal in Europe which produces around 20% of energy produced in Poland.

food production and processing - agriculture plays a very important role in the economy of the £ód¼ Region, as rural areas cover 69% of its territory. Fertile soil enables the development of horticulture and market gardening, what stimulates the development of food processing and manufacturing of juices and other beverages.

building materials - Atlas Group, the leading manufacturer, is a potentate on the domestic market and holds the third position among the European manufacturers of construction chemicals.

pharmaceuticals - in pharmaceutical industry the following companies need to be mentioned: Polfa Pabianice, Polfa Kutno, Polfa Lodz and Terpol Sieradz (wholesales of pharmaceutical products), as well as Herbapol Lodz and Agropharm Tuszyn (manufacturers of herbal drugs).

production of household appliances - Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte, manufacturing automatic washing and dishwashers, as well as Merloni Indesit Poland, manufacturing cookers and refrigerators, have their plants here. Such concentration is beneficial mainly due to the presence of qualified staff and the availability of specialized subcontractors.

ceramic tiles - The £ód¼ Region is the largest supplier of ceramic tiles in Poland. Ceramika Opoczno, Ceramika Paradyz, and Ceramika Tubadzin are situated here. Such concentrated localization of those enterprises remains in tight connection with large assets of kaolin in the region. Consequently, companies from the region, manufacture approximately 70% of the country‚s global ceramic tiles production output.

ICT sector is defined as one of the leading business opportunities in the Region, especially in reference to the project of building £ód¼ Regional Broadband Network.

Among the most rapidly developing services are hotels and restaurants, real estates, rental, transport and storage.

Funds allocated for Research and Development are constantly growing, as well as number and size of scientific and research units. Institute of Occupational Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Studies or Institute of Technical Textiles are partners for the industry in implementing modern technologies, innovation and training of personnel.

The Region tenders complex and attractive investment offer, covering over 300 greenfields, many municipal industrial areas. Lodz Special Economic Zone provides its investors with tax benefits and complex services. Regional Investor Assistance Centre assists them with the full range of services throughout the investment process. These strong points have been noticed by foreign capital- the £ód¼ Region is a seat of over 670 foreign companies and approximately 1700 joint venture companies with foreign capital, and its number is still growing. Apart form already mentioned, such companies as DELL, Amcor, Gillette, ABB, Hutchinson, ECE projektmanagement, Metro AG, Coko Kunststoffwerk, corning Cable System or AIG Lincoln have already invested in the Region.

Marshal's Office of the Lodz Region Department of Entrepreneurship, 8 Pilsudskiego Avenue, 90-051 £ód¼, Poland
invest@lodzkie.pl; www.lodzkie.pl