It was a special year! Together with our staff, colleagues, partners from the Miecznik Program and customers, we celebrated our first hundred years in business. We celebrated, but we only took a short break from work. We are entering the new century of our operations with many contracts and a new operating strategy, which is best summarized by its slogan: Full steam ahead!
In 2022, we put a great deal of effort into the Miecznik project: together with the Miecznik Program Management Office and our partners, we created and delivered the preliminary design of the frigates on schedule. We also jointly organized a Supplier’s Day for Polish companies interested in participating in this program as suppliers. We also strengthened our team with a number of new employees in key areas for the implementation of this project.
Last year we launched a major investment program. We prepared plans for the hull assembly hall, production hall and social and administrative building, expansion and reconstruction of the wharf, storage yards and internal roads, along with the construction, reconstruction and decommissioning of associated technical infrastructure. We have selected a managing contactor – a company that will lead the construction for us – and announced a tender for a contractor for the work, which should start as early as the end of February. We have selected suppliers of a number of machines and equipment that will significantly increase our production capacity. The first of these (a sandblasting hall, Poland’s most modern 3D CNC cutting machine with a plasma pipe cutting attachment) are already in operation!
In 2022, we completed many orders for our Navy. ORP Kościuszko and ORP Arctowski, for example, returned to service after extensive upgrades. We signed contracts and began major and dock repairs of three mine sweepers and Orkan-type vessels upgrades. We are particularly proud of our Electronic and Armament Centre which has supplied modern and secure internal and external communications systems, navigation systems and weapons components to several vessels, including ORP Albatros (which was awarded by the Minister of Defense, and ORP Mewa (which will enter service any week). Thanks to our work, these units can see, hear and defend themselves!
Last year we returned – after a break of several years – to the vocational training program. A 50-station workshop has been set up at the shipyard, where we hope to prepare the next generation of shipbuilders. We are strengthening cooperation with universities: at Naval Academy “our” specialty was been established, which we will support with a scholarship program for the best students. We also provide internship opportunities for shipbuilding students.
We participated in a number of thematic panels and industry events, including at MSPO 2022 in Kielce, where we presented, along with other consortium partners, the model of the Miecznik frigate.
We are not going to slow down in 2023! Even more hard work awaits us. We are moving forward with the largest investments in the history of our shipyard. We will begin the physical construction of frigates as part of the largest project in the history of the Polish Navy. We are working to launch the Service and Logistics Center for NATO Allied Units. We are deepening our cooperation with schools and universities. With our work, we are increasing the capabilities of our fleet and contributing to improved security of the Republic of Poland.
We wanted to thank everyone who contributed to our successes in 2022. We wish you – as well as ourselves – that this year will be even better.
