LUG’s first manufacturing facility abroad officially open
On October 29th we saw the opening of the factory and the official start of production. The site was opened by the President of LUG S.A., Ryszard Wtorkowski, and the Governor of the Province of Misiones, Hugo M. Passalacqua. The event was also attended by representatives of the authorities of the Misiones Province and the town of Posadas, members of the Chamber of Representatives, the Argentinian business community, a delegation from the Polish Embassy in Argentina, the Polish honorary consul in Argentina Mr Miguel Antonio Skowron and the representatives of the Polish community in the region. The first LUG Group factory abroad will produce the latest generation of LED lighting fixtures dedicated to urban spaces, road infrastructure, schools, public buildings and industrial facilities.
With the celebrations of Poland’s 100 anniversary of regaining independence in just a few days, LUG opened a LED lighting factory in the heart of the Misiones Province which is where the largest Polish community in Argentina is gathered. LUG’s manufacturing facility in Argentina is the biggest Polish foreign direct investment in the country and the company’s very first LED lighting factory abroad.
-After many months of work we finalised the construction of the facility and the production line. We are ready to launch the manufacturing process and carry out the next part of our agreement with the Misiones Province authorities and serve the needs of the local market – Ryszard Wtorkowski, LUG S.A. President, comments.
The company’s new assembly and production plant built in Posadas, Argentina has a surface area of 1,600 sq. m, and the plot size is 7,885 sq. m. In addition, the building structure allows for the plant’s easy, modular expansion. The agreement signed in 2017 with the Government of the Province of Misiones allows for the expansion of the factory on the adjacent plots, making for this purpose a four-year reservation of investment areas of 8,170 sq. m.
The first LUG factory abroad will manufacture modern lighting fixtures for urban spaces, including models which premiered just a few months ago at the Light+Building 2018 fair in Frankfurt am Main. Products to be manufactured in the Argentinean industrial park Parque Industrial S.A.P.E.M. in Posadas are dedicated to two groups of recipients. The first one is the local administration for which lighting of urban areas: streets, parks or car parks, is important. This type of lighting will be produced in Argentina in the first place, so that residents will benefit from the replacement of obsolete lighting with modern LED solutions in the form of Urbino, Urbano, Urbini or the latest Avenida lighting fixtures.
The second area is the illumination of public buildings such as schools, hospitals and offices, all of which are directly managed by the province authorities. This segment of lighting fixtures will enter production in the second stage.
- Atlantic 2.0 fixtures will be produced in Argentina. It is a state-of-the-art lighting solution. The applied technology guarantees one hundred thousand hours of operation, or even 23 years at 12h light cycle, without any inconvenience, and high – almost 150 lm/W – efficacy. In addition, modern design makes this solution suitable for a very broad spectrum of applications: from industrial buildings, to modern offices or loft interiors − emphasized Mariusz Ejsmont, Vice President of the Management Board of LUG S.A., responsible for the investment in Argentina.
Today, public buildings in the Province of Misiones and in the entire region generate high energy consumption. The blame for this lies with the outdated lighting that requires immediate modernization. Hence the requirement is to provide high-quality lighting fixtures that will meet the expectations of Argentines, while retaining the ability to compete in terms of price, quality and performance. Products to be manufactured in Posadas are characterized by high luminous efficiency, and the minimum level of savings generated by the LUG solutions is more than 50 percent.
The construction of the factory in Argentina is a part of the agreement with the government of the Province of Misiones, and despite the fact that construction works took longer than originally expected, the company implemented the agreement according to the schedule. The first batches of lighting fixtures for the project carried out in Argentina were produced in LUG manufacturing plants in Zielona Gor. Further deliveries will be carried out from the factory located in Latin America. LUG estimates that in the scope of its cooperation with local authorities, it will modernize 50.000 street lights in the Misiones Province itself. This will generate energy savings of up to 70% compared to the currently used solutions. The factory in Argentina is LUG’s strategic centre for expansion in the region of South America.
In the expansion into Latin markets, the company is accompanied by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency. - PAIH's trade office in Buenos Aires, as the first and only Polish development institution, accompanies the LUG company in the implementation of its investment strategy in Argentina. However, the Posadas plant is one of the first stages of the company's expansion in South America. We are introducing a Polish brand into a business environment in Argentina and we provide the support through the formal and legal meanders. We arrange meetings regarding the participation of LUG in local tenders and other projects throughout the country - comments Karolina Barmuta, head of the PAIH trade office in the capital of Argentina. - Congratulations on your success. We are always ready to support LUG in the further stages of expansion - adds Barmuta.
