We can sleep soundly and not worry about good-quality water for ourselves and for generations to come, said Mayor JÓZEF KRÓL at a meeting at "RULIMPEX" on June 14, 1995. It is a true treasure worth its weight in gold today...
And it all began with the establishment of the PRODUCTION AND TRADING COMPANY "RULIMPEX", owned by RYSZARD RULIŃSKI, a young and resourceful businessman who, in 1983, decided to take his family's future into his own hands by establishing a private company producing breadsticks. The beginning was modest, as the times were not easy either: the authorities stubbornly defended socialism as if it were independence, so private enterprise aroused suspicion... A room of approximately 50 square metres, adapted from a former greengrocer's shop, and a bank loan to purchase the necessary equipment were enough. Friends also provided substantial help, risking their own money in the form of high-interest loans. But to purchase raw materials and pay the first wages, even their own car had to be sold. That was the price of risk, but also the recipe for complete success.
And the company's development? During the first two months, three people worked at the plant: the owner, his wife and an additional employee. A month later there were six people, then ten working in three shifts. Let us remember that this was a difficult period, the first months after martial law was lifted in Poland. In 1985, production was moved to a building of approximately 300 square metres purchased outright. Twenty-five people found employment there, and the range of products expanded considerably. The years 1989–1990 brought another investment: a bakery with a usable area of 780 square metres, where, for the first time in Poland, production of genuine French baked goods (baguettes, croissants and rolls) was launched. The workforce already numbered 60.
But the owner of the thriving company was not satisfied with that: he leased a huge production hall measuring 6,000 square metres, brought in water from a separate intake and, in May 1992, launched a production line for carbonated drinks in PET bottles, with a capacity of 3,000 bottles per hour! A year later, the bakery was already producing 25 types of baked goods, including traditional products. The purchase of a bottle-blowing machine made it possible to manufacture the company's own plastic bottles. Two years earlier, after modernising workstations and employing people with disabilities, the company had obtained the status of a sheltered workshop. A bottling line for edible oils was launched, along with production of bottles for them, vinegar and other non-carbonated liquids. We will omit further details of the company's development and focus only on its present state.
Huge production halls with largely automated modern equipment, 3.5 hectares purchased outright with a view to further expansion, 10 types of carbonated water, a transport fleet of 12 lorries and a genuine sensation—its own mineral-water intake from TRIASSIC formations (200–220 million years old!) with fantastic parameters and exceptional health value! The commissioning of the underground-water intake and the ceremonial launch of production of the mineral water named "RAJSKA" and tasty low-calorie "LIGHT" drinks provided an occasion for a meeting attended by a broad group of guests, including Chairman of the Municipal Council WŁADYSŁAW LANDSBERG, Bolesławiec Mayor engineer JÓZEF KRÓL and many others.
The water source—because this is the most interesting part—is located at a depth of 82 metres and has a certificate from the State Hygiene Institute–Research Institute in Poznań, bearing the signatures of Dr of Pharmacy Teresa Latour and Dr hab. Eng. Wojciech Ciężkowski, an expert of the Ministry of Environmental Protection in the field of water protection. According to scientific authorities (we will omit the detailed physicochemical test results and the content of anions and cations here), this is a hydrogen-carbonate–sodium-calcium water whose composition does not differ from that of similar bottled waters in Poland and abroad, while its highest quality is evidenced by the absence of nitrate and nitrite ions (the absence of the former indicates high health quality). Based on averaged results, the water was found to contain 345 mg of dissolved mineral components per litre and no organic contaminants (natural purity and a natural, multi-mineral chemical composition). Experts from Poznań claimed that, chemically, this water resembles the well-known domestic waters "STAROPOLANKA" from Jelenia Góra and "ANKA" from Szczawno Zdrój. Could this mean naming our town on the Bóbr "BOLESŁAWIEC–ZDRÓJ"? It is, of course, a joke, but we have excellent water—that is an indisputable fact. Mr RYSZARD RULIŃSKI took steps to substantiate this claim, and he must not be denied this achievement.
And a few more observations based on an on-site inspection of the impressive company and the owner's explanations. The workforce grew to 150 people this year. Nearly half of those employed are people with disabilities. Two doctors work half-time in a modern, well-equipped medical office which, as the first workplace clinic in the town, has ECG equipment connected to a computer; a nurse also watches over the employees' health continuously. In short, concern for the welfare and health of the workforce goes hand in hand with the company's rapid, dynamic and wide-ranging development as an industry leader. Here, people think in terms of the future, plan boldly and prudently, with considerable foresight—and that surely determines the company's success.
Finally, let us return once again to the universal mineral water "RAJSKA" and the drinks made from it in 10 flavours. Mr Ryszard jokes that the name comes from the time when this water was created in paradise, in distant, ecologically pristine geological eras. Its versatility lies in the fact that it contains all the minerals necessary for the proper functioning of the human body. For people with problems metabolising sugar and for fans of low-calorie products, "RULIMPEX" offers sugar-free LIGHT drinks sweetened with aspartame, the only permitted sweetener produced by NUTRA SWEET of Switzerland.
Are they tasty? We can paraphrase the Roman saying: I came, I saw, I tried. To avoid covert advertising, I suggest trying them yourself. It is worth it.