Firestone Gears Up for New Manufacturing Facility

WOLSZTYN, POLAND-Marking the first North American investment in this community in Western Poland, Firestone Industrial Products Poland has acquired 8.6 acres here on which it is developing an 86,000-sf air spring factory.The seller was the local government of Wolstzyn. According to Renata Osiecka, Industrial Associate at Colliers International in Warsaw, Wolsztyn won a competition for Firestone’s investment “because of the flexibility of the community and a good preparation and coordination of the investment.”Colliers declined to provide the sale price of the land, but other real estate sources familiar with the transaction tell GlobeSt.com that the value of the transaction was about $65,000. Construction of the manufacturing facility began earlier this month. EC Harris is managing the project. Completion is scheduled for late this year.Wolsztyn is located about 70 km from Poznañ. Firestone Industrial Products HR director Arthur Barrlett says other factors in choosing Wolsztyn included its available labor force and its central location.