Kongsberg Maritime Poland will receive a grant from the Ministry of Development and Technology (MRiT) for the development of a research and development center in Szczecin, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), which handles the company’s application for support, announced. Every second project supported by PAIH in 2022 came from the BSS/R&D industry.
The Kongsberg Group develops high-tech systems and solutions for customers in the marine, defense, aerospace, oil & gas and renewable energy sectors. Kongsberg Maritime Poland has been operating in Szczecin since 2005. The purpose of the investment is to develop the company’s research and development capabilities by employing a team of several dozen professionals. The investor plans to expand the laboratory and employ 60 specialists as software engineers, testers and managers, as well as finance training.
“Over the last 15 years, we have constantly developed a portfolio of high added value services. The opening of the software research and development center is part of our company’s further expansion strategy based on three pillars: people, competence and world-class products and services. The ambitious development plan of the center will allow us to use the synergy between strict nautical domain knowledge and technological innovations so important in the digital reality,” said Managing Director of Kongsberg Maritime Poland, Radosław Sochanowski, quoted in the release.
The implementation of the investment also involves cooperation with the Maritime University of Technology in Szczecin and the West Pomeranian University of Technology. The university emphasizes that the possibility of cooperation in this project is an opportunity for both entities to further develop specialist knowledge and use a wide range of human resources.
“We are observing growing interest in Poland as a place to locate research and development centres. This is facilitated by the extensive base of highly qualified staff developed over the years. Poles are committed specialists who want to participate in high-value market activities, such as research and development. Companies also appreciate the attractive support instruments available in Poland in the development of this type of centers,” added PAIH President Paweł Kurtasz.
Kongsberg Maritime Poland will receive a government grant of PLN 744,750 for the implementation of the investment. The support is granted on the basis of the “Programme for supporting investments of significant importance for the Polish economy for the years 2011-2030”. PAIH experts provided advice on state aid and handling the application for it. Last year, over 70 BSS/R&D projects supported by the Agency received a positive investment decision.
Kongsberg Maritime Poland belongs to the global branch network of Kongsberg. It specializes in services and sales of solutions for the marine electronics and information technology market, as well as in servicing marine electronics devices.
PAIH is an advisory institution that is part of the Polish Development Fund Group (PFR), it is the first point of contact for exporters and investors. It also supports the inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) to Poland and the implementation of Polish investments in the country. It operates both in Poland and through foreign trade offices (ZBH).