Chapter 4: Poland
(continued)
The following scale was used in rating: 5 = excellent reputation, 4 = good reputation, 3 = average reputation, 2 = poor reputation, 1 = very poor reputation, blank = no opinion.
Figures in cells show the average score, while those in brackets represent the number of responses.
| TABLE 4.34: PERCEPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES FROM SELECTED COUNTRIES | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | Austria | Germany | France | Japan | Netherlands | US | Scandinavia | Italy | UK | |
| Air | 3.0Ê(6) | 4.0Ê(3) | 4.6Ê(5) | 3.0Ê(2) | 5.0Ê(1) | 4.0Ê(3) | 4.3Ê(3) | 4.4Ê(5) | - | - |
| Water and wastewater | 3.6Ê(8) | 4.4Ê(5) | 4.2Ê(8) | 4.1Ê(6) | 4.5Ê(4) | 4.1Ê(6) | 4.2Ê(8) | 4.0Ê(9) | 3.0Ê(1) | 5.0Ê(1) |
| Waste | 2.3Ê(6) | 4.3Ê(3) | 4.4Ê(5) | 4.0Ê(3) | 4.0Ê(1) | 4.0Ê(4) | 5.0Ê(3) | 4.2Ê(5) | 3.0Ê(1) | 4.0Ê(1) |
| Energy | 3.0Ê(4) | 5.0Ê(1) | 4.3Ê(3) | 3.0Ê(1) | - | 4.5Ê(2) | 4.0Ê(3) | 4.0Ê(2) | - | - |
| Average Score | 3.0Ê | 4.43Ê | 4.4 | 3.53 | 4.50 | 4.15 | 4.38 | 4.15 | 3.00 | 4.50 |
| (# of responses) | (24) | (12) | (21) | (12) | (6) | (15) | (17) | (21) | (2) | (2) |
German, Scandinavian, and American technologies were ranked particularly high in the air sector. In the water and wastewater sector, technologies from Japan, Austria, the US, and Germany were ranked high, followed by products from France, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. American, German, and Austrian technologies were best rated in the waste sector, followed by technologies from Scandinavia, France, and the Netherlands. Dutch and German technologies were highly rated in the energy sector, followed by products from the US and Scandinavia.
Aside from the average score, the number of responses in each category is also significant, since to some extent it reflects the availability of foreign technologies on the market (and the perceived level of foreign activity). The distribution of responses indicates that, in the opinion of survey respondents, foreign activity was highest in the water and wastewater sector, followed by waste management and air sectors. German, Scandinavian, American, and Dutch environmental technology firms were perceived as the most active in Poland.
The appearance of Japan so high on the list is, in the researcher's opinion, somewhat surprising, since Japanese environmental products are hardly visible on the Polish market. Not a single Japanese firm presented their products at the POLEKO '96 environmental trade fair. The researcher may only surmise that perhaps some of the respondents have had experience with Japanese products such as motor drives, electric motors, or controls manufactured in Japan. The low rating of Italy, and high score of Great Britain are based on single data points, and thus the results should be disregarded as potentially non-representative. However, the fact that Italy and Great Britain were mentioned by only one or two respondents indicates that suppliers and firms from those two countries are not very active in Poland.
It is important to note that the above question focused on perceptions of foreign suppliers depending on the country of origin, rather than on respondents' actual familiarity and/or experience with specific foreign companies. Therefore, while the conclusions from Table 4.34 give a good indication of commonly held opinions, and represent the perceived level of foreign activity, they do not necessarily depict the actual knowledge of the foreign products available. The following sections present the answers to a more specific question concerning interviewees' knowledge of foreign companies and actual experience with imported environmental technologies.
Respondents cited a limited number of environmental technology providers active in Poland, and these are presented below. Table 4.35 generally reflects the poor knowledge among experts of the foreign products available on the market in Poland.
| TABLE 4.35: FOREIGN COMPANIES LISTED BY RESPONDENTS | |
|---|---|
| Country | Companies |
| Austria | Vogel, Biogest, Messner |
| Germany | ABS, Klein, Netzsch, Bellmer, Huber, Siemens, Steinmueller, Rethmann, Danfoss, Schumacher |
| Scandinavia | Flygt, Sarlin, Nopon, Noxon, Nokia, Larox, FLS Milio |
| Holland | Ama-Filter |
| Belgium | Prayon |
| Italy | Inter-Eco |
| France | Guinard, Degremont |
| Great Britain | Allied Colloids |
| TABLE 4.36: ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY SUPPLIERS, LISTED BY COUNTRY, ATTENDING THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FAIR POLEKO '96, NOV. 19-22, POZNAN | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Belgium | Switzerland | Germany | France | UK | Netherlands | Sweden | Finland | Total | |
| Air | 3 | - | 3 | 5 | - | 3 | - | 1 | - | 15 |
| Water & wastewater | 9 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 65 |
| Waste | 5 | 1 | - | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 14 |
| Energy | 3 | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| TOTAL | 20 | 4 | 9 | 37 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 105 |
Note: A total of 570 exhibitors participated in POLEKO '96. |
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The most cost-effective method to enter the Polish market is through a joint-venture or other strategic partnership with an experienced local company specializing in a similar product line.
Therefore, it is important to prepare an attractive and competitive financing package in order to increase the overall competitiveness of a product. Possible options include low-interest credit lines, partial refinancing of foreign deliveires, etc.
High demand in the air category is expected for technologies related to the abatement of air emissions and cleaner production (such as low-emission burners, etc.). Increasing demand was identified for air pollution control and flue gas purification equipment. Most frequently noted were state-of-the-art systems to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, dust and particulates, nitrogen monoxides, and hazardous chemicals. In the related energy category, technologies in high demand included: new/efficient energy and heat generation systems; retrofitting/rehabilitation of existing systems; process management and control; technologies for heat recovery and energy savings; and alternative/renewable energy systems. A whole range of opportunities exist related to the on-going program of restructuring of the energy sector (e.g. the introduction of coal cleaning or gasification, fluidized bed burners, district heating in municipal areas).
High demand is expected for the following technologies in the municipal and industrial wastewater sector: sludge treatment and disposal (very high demand); pollution prevention and waste minimization; monitoring; advanced (tertiary) treatment methods; and instrumentation, process control and software. Treatment of large amounts of saline water discharged from coal mining is still an unresolved problem. In the category surface and groundwater, high demand was identified for technologies for spill control and containment, and clean-up.
In the waste management category, high demand is expected for technologies for pollution prevention and waste minimization, and recycling and resource recovery. For municipal waste, composting and biomass conversion technologies were identified as a high demand area. Technologies for collection, transportation, and storage of hazardous waste are also in high demand. As regards hazardous waste, high growth is expected for site monitoring, and waste collection, transportation and storage technologies.
Finally, other areas where demand was found to be relatively high included technologies for spill control and decontamination, and site remediation and clean-up for industrial, hazardous, and radioactive waste.
In concluding, it is important to stress that while environmental technologies which are competitive with other Western products in terms of price and quality can be successfully introduced on the Polish market, the market is very competitive, with many foreign and domestic companies actively seeking opportunities. The key factor for a successful sale is an in-country representative office, and a dependable technical service.
