Poland may be cheaper for films than China

Jerzy Sauter, marketing manager of Basell Orlen Polyolefins (BOP), told delegates at today’s Plastics in Central and Eastern Europe conference in Prague that China’s lower wages were cancelled out by higher transportation costs.

BOP and Boston Consulting have made detailed calculations of the savings that could be made by producing commodity film, then shipping it to Germany. They claim that costs would be 12% cheaper for China, but nearly 17% cheaper if made in Poland.

BOP is currently building a huge polyolefin facility in Plock, Poland, and is encouraging plastics converters – especially potential users of its products – to set up operations at the neighbouring technology park.

The first plastics-related company to set up on the park – though not a BOP customer – is German compounder Schulman.