There is still a lot of work ahead
Robert Purzycki interviews Sławomir Gajewski – the President of the Management Board of Torus Company, the investor of the “Alchemia” office complex in Gdańsk.
Is Tricity still one of the best places to live in Poland?
I am not sure whether I do keep track of official rankings well enough, but it is true that Tricity has always been at the top among the most popular places to live. It is one of the most crucial factors for our development company while choosing investment locations.
It simply cannot be denied that it is an exceptional place, that will provide a vast array of possibilities not only for admirers of coexisting historical monuments and modern, dynamic urban organisms, but also for those who value entertainment and leisure at their best. All of these features are obvious components of Tricity. If you also mention some of the major assets of this agglomeration, such as the Kashubian Lake District or the Hel Peninsula, I believe it will require no further praise.
However, within the agglomeration itself it is Gdańsk that is far ahead in terms of development and leasing of modern office space. Currently, within each 100 square meters of general office space in Tricity 80 square meters are located in Gdańsk.
It is natural, mainly because Gdańsk is the largest and the strongest part of Tricity. It also needs to be said, that it is also due to the fact, that at some point Gdańsk started supporting this business, realized the potential for development. The authorities did not succumb to general opinion saying that the branch of modern business services is unstable, that all these new companies will disappear just as quickly as they sprung into existence. Our experience so far proves exactly the opposite – new BPO/SSC companies are being constantly established, and they are not mere call centers – which also are being set up, thus diversifying the market in a positive manner. Besides, nowadays the relocation of a manufacturing company does not have to last much longer than the relocation of a company operating from an office.
So you think it is a good direction (one of many directions) of development for a town?
I am the president of the development company, and my major task is conducting successful office space leasing transactions. A good cooperation with the authorities encourages me to say that Gdańsk and the whole region benefit from developing in this direction and from drawing investors of modern business services sector.
Such agglomerations as Wrocław or Kraków, with which we now try to compete, have also realized this before. BPO, SSC or ICT service centers do not only ensure more workplaces for the ambitious and well-educated “locals”. It also brings people from outside who rent apartments, go to restaurants, do shopping. Generally, drive the market.
What kinds of companies do you attract?
The reason why we stand out from the crowd is because our clients represent various sectors and provide different services. Outsourcing companies (accounting, finance, HR managing, logistics) are not the majority. Call centers hold a still relatively low position in the market as well. What makes our company stand out is arguably the large sector of IT companies.
We are proud to collaborate with such brands as: Kemira, Mol, Regus Cognizant, GWO Publishing House, Grupa Progres or Compuware. This may provide a general idea of the aforementioned versatility and the class of enterprises that trusted us.
What are the economical assets of the Coast for the companies that decide to locate their business here?
In my opinion, it is most importantly a good availability of skilled workforce, and a broad offer of top-quality office space with stable price. The location of Gdańsk causes its relatively significant impact on labor market. We can count on prospective workforce willing to come from the whole coastline, from Szczecin to Olsztyn and Bydgoszcz. This ensures a large number of prospective employees and guarantees, that entrepreneur’s plans will not fail due to a lack of appropriate staff. On the other hand, as I have already mentioned, prices of leasing space did not change significantly for over 6 years.
I would also underline the important part played by the Invest in Pomerania company. It has accomplished a sure standardization of information and service for all of those who are willing to invest in Tricity, be it Gdańsk, Gdynia or Sopot.
Does infrastructure in its broad sense (I also mean culture and entertainment) manage to keep the pace of economical factors?
It seems, that a huge progress has been made here as well, even though we may not realize this on a daily basis. It is enough to compare the present days to our memories from 8 or 10 years ago. We have two event halls, superb international music festivals, and even the quality of music performed at local music clubs, such as “Ucho”, has increased noticeably. When it comes to infrastructure, we should not forget the airport that develops wonderfully, and along with the A1 Motorway and Pendolino trains such a comparison to previous years shows unambiguously what a great progress we have made.
In order to remain fair, let us also speak of what lessees and their workers complain about, what is there that they may not like about our region?
Speaking of infrastructure, we may smoothly move to the topic of missing direct links to European cities, such as Paris or London. However, I also think that what may pose a real issue is that sometimes employers’ expectations may not be met by skills or education of our workers. The education employees receive in Poland still does not make them fully prepared to participate within the international market, and I do not only mean the knowledge of foreign languages (and not only the knowledge of English).
And when we speak of harsh, daily life, let me summarize it in an anecdotal manner – one might say, that because of how other nations picture Poland most of the people to actually visit this country are positively surprised.
To an end let me ask you the almost fundamental question – what are your future plans?
Just as any company that develops successfully, we try to think about the future, make strategic plans, but for now we are fully focused on completing the “Alchemia” – 130,000 square meters of office space. Do believe me, there is still a lot of work ahead.