SOLARIS STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW ASSEMBLY FACILITY

Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. embarked at the beginning of August upon the task of expanding its manufacturing capacity by constructing a new assembly facility at Bolechowo. The new assembly building is being erected on the plot of land

adjacent to the current site where Solaris buses and coaches are manufactured. The construction project has been divided into four stages. At the end of each individual stage each subsequent part of the new facility will be put into use.

Currently, the first construction stage is under way. When finished, a new 6200 sq. metre facility will become operational. This is scheduled to take place in December, and the new building will house the bonding operations and the paint shop. Moreover, the new facility will also house the operations which are currently carried out at the "Assembly I" section of the plant. This includes fitment of axles, adding floors and windows as well as fitting of the hydraulic and electrical systems. This stage of the construction project will also include new rest and refreshment rooms.

The second stage of the new facility construction project, due to start in September, will consist in adding another 3000 sq. metre section of the building. This will eventually accommodate all the operations now carried out at the current "Assembly II" section of the plant. When finished, this will see all the assembly operations, currently carried out in two separate buildings in Bolechowo, grouped under one roof.

Stages III and IV of the expansion project will see the addition of yet another section that will accommodate the body frame manufacturing department plus warehouses and offices.

The floor space area of the new facility will total 22,000 sq. metres. This is nearly twice the size of the current manufacturing operations. The whole complex is scheduled to be finished in early 2007.

The investment project is worth a total of PLN 36 million. The new facility is being built by Skanska Poland. The building is designed using a mixture of steel and reinforced-concrete technology.

„This major investment project will help us to increase our manufacturing capacity to nine buses per day when the new facility is in place, compared to four buses daily we build today. Also, the new facility will enable us to significantly cut our manufacturing costs. Currently, buses and coaches at various stages of the manufacturing process need to be transported, first between our Środa Wielkopolska and Bolechowo plants, and then shunted between the two facilities at our Bolechowo site. By building one large facility we will be able to consolidate a large part of the manufacturing operations under one roof, which will be far more efficient from the manufacturing point of view and obviously more cost-effective. This does not mean that we are closing down the Środa site where currently bus body frames are manufactured. The worksforce will remain at the current level, only the production profile will change as the Środa Wielkopolska site will switch to making bus body frame components”, said Krzysztof Olszewski, Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. Chairman and Chief Executive.

"Today Solaris Bus & Coach employs nearly 950 people, and building a new manufacturing facility will enable us not only to expand our manufacturing capacity, but also to create new jobs," added Krzysztof Olszewski.