The TECHNICAL FABRICS PLANT “BONlTEX” S.A. in Bolesławiec has transformed from a state-owned enterprise into what is known as a State Treasury joint-stock company, and only apparently does the change in name seem insignificant. In practice, it represents a giant step toward modernity and structural changes in management and organisation, economic autonomy, and independence in deciding the company’s future. It is the proverbial leap into deep water: strong and capable swimmers make their way toward the saving shore, while others—dilettantes, dreamers and failures—simply drown on encountering the hard and brutal laws of the free market.
“BONITEX” took its chance and potential opportunity for economic development and, so to speak, immediately adopted new organisational forms in accordance with the regulations of the Commercial Code (as a company). New institutions and once-unfamiliar concepts found fertile ground: the General Meeting and the Supervisory Board overseeing the Management Board, as permanent elements of systemic transformation. The changes took place evolutionarily and harmoniously, without tensions or frictions, and this was already the achievement of the management team, with its extensive professional experience and genuine sensitivity to social issues and the fate of the individual. Unfortunately, the entire operation could not be carried out painlessly and without losses: in 1991, around one hundred people had to leave the factory, and the workforce shrank to 160 employees. The deregulated domestic market absorbed no production; the mining industry faced collapse, and no one wanted to take delivery of the conveyor fabrics and other components manufactured in Bolesławiec—despite their high quality and unquestionable practical value. Economic crisis has its own laws. Stagnation could mean bankruptcy and complete exclusion from the domestic market, and therefore unemployment and the ruin of the plant. This, however, was unacceptable, and director TADEUSZ NAKONIECZNY felt too emotionally attached to his “child” to seek a more lucrative position for himself, although as an outstanding specialist and dynamic manager he had such opportunities outside Bolesławiec.
He stayed and continues to manage “his” factory, where employment has already risen to 238 people, the average wage reaches 7.2 million złoty (in the old currency), and the huge halls have been fully utilised, with the most modern technological lines in Europe—and therefore in the world—installed. Core-spun yarns are a new product, and overall ZTT “BONITEX” is one of Poland’s most significant manufacturers of technical textile products. Their high quality is determined by the modern technologies used in the production processes.
Engineer TADEUSZ NAKONIECZNY makes no secret of his satisfaction in conversation. I should add that he could claim the lion’s share of the credit, although modestly and fairly he distributes it among the technical staff (14 people with higher education, an exceptional degree of stability) and the entire workforce. He values human effort and respects his colleagues’ achievements; he does not pretend to be the only expert, although there is no doubt that he is one. A professional.
At “BONITEX”, top-class automated machines reign, along with an energetic and dynamic manager, an efficient and objective superior with great authority. A man suited to the new times: communicative, flexible, well-read, familiar with management mechanisms and economic issues, but also not shying away from sociology and psychology—a technocrat and humanist in a well-judged combination. These facts and seemingly unrelated details contain the answer to why “BONITEX” emerged from the crisis, while the very modern “ELEKTRONIKA” of years ago collapsed—with losses that the city could not recover. People have always been, and remain, decisive for progress and development: they either prove themselves or they do not, but without them nothing happens...
The plant now has full creditworthiness, which is the best evidence of its economic condition. It has a chance for dynamic export growth to the West—to the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia. Core-spun yarns are a new field of production specialisation with unlimited possibilities: for military needs (bulletproof and special-purpose fabrics), and even... space exploration. Close cooperation with the Institute of Man-Made Fibres is worthwhile, while grants from the Committee for Scientific Research will allow the purchase of a new specialised spinning machine, although the entire machinery fleet was already replaced in 1989, with the bank loan taken for this purpose repaid. The modern, fully automated spinning line cost 32 billion złoty, but it is the only—or one of the two—best solutions of its kind in Europe. This is the opinion of Western experts who come to Bolesławiec, tour the plant and make no secret of their admiration: the highest technological standard, a true engineering miracle at the end of our century! One can shed provincial complexes and feel satisfaction. Of course. But these are not the end of the successes and achievements. The preparatory department has the world’s best twisting machines (costing—no small amount—200,000 German marks) and Italian looms (12 purchased at 100,000 marks). The Management Board allocates considerable sums from profits to investment because this promises progress. The same money could be spent on consumption—but what then? In short, a balanced development strategy and social policy remain in sensible equilibrium, which is why the successes are visible to the naked eye. The value of the impregnation-and-stabilisation line, producing finished, ready-to-use fabrics, can hardly be overstated (there had been problems with this in the past). From 1989 to 1994, “BONITEX” invested 10 billion złoty each year in equipment and technologies, guaranteeing today’s level of automation and modernity. They are already thinking about the needs associated with the imminent construction of national motorways, working on the technology of so-called geotextiles. The technology for manufacturing them has been mastered to 80%, creating an almost unimaginable production opportunity. Here, they are ahead of their time, and that means complete success and satisfaction.
The plant is preparing to eliminate its lignite-fired boiler house, planning to connect to the municipal industrial heating system. It is a costly solution—a heating-pipeline connection—but environmentally justified. It is one element in the struggle for clean air in Bolesławiec. The plant helps schools and healthcare services, especially the hospital. It cooperates with local-government authorities and does not refuse material assistance to social-welfare institutions. In short, it is a model, leading industrial plant whose achievements and contributions are difficult to overestimate. And how much care there is for internal order, tidiness and aesthetics, for the factory’s greenery and flowers; how many spontaneous, unofficial initiatives there are on behalf of one’s workplace and its near and distant surroundings. “BONITEX” has been included in the National Investment Funds programme and slated for privatisation, but the workforce already treats the factory as its own property—valuable and deeply personal.
Director TADEUSZ NAKONIECZNY is constantly on the move, because this is the best form of promoting the unique factory. He is planning a trip to the area around Munich (partnership arrangements and cooperation), and participation in International Trade Fairs in Łódź, Poznań and even Paris must also be prepared. The very names of these cities speak of Europe’s interest in Bolesławiec’s production. It turns out that major business can be conducted and significant profits earned with technical fabrics—provided that common-sense thinking extends far into the future. Behind the factory gate of “BONITEX” they possess the most valuable patent of all today: a patent for wisdom. And that pays dividends...