Facilitate industry development - the first day of the Industry in Transition Congress is behind us

Bringing together different industrial sectors will help meet today's challenges and survive unexpected crises, participants of the European Industry and Energy Congress Industry in Transition, which began today, said in Katowice. Tomorrow is the second day of INTO, which is a platform for exchanging knowledge and views, but also a place for jointly seeking solutions to the most important problems of the modern economy.

There are many challenges ahead for the economies, not only of Poland, but of the entire European Union. Strategies to combat global warming and climate change, which have been implemented for many years, are causing Polish industry to change dramatically. The EU's ambitious goal of achieving climate neutrality in just 26 years - in 2050 - is prompting both policymakers and entrepreneurs to seek new solutions.

At the dawn of the green revolution

We have, as Tomasz Zjawiony, president of the Katowice Chamber of Commerce, said during the inaugural session, times of great challenges and opportunities.

- We stand on the threshold of a green revolution that will transform our country. Armed conflicts affect energy security, and crises show how fragile the system is. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in the industry, in new technologies. I believe that this congress will be a platform to exchange knowledge and views. Only with joint forces can we achieve sustainable goals - stressed Tomasz Zjawiony, organizer of the European Industry and Energy Congress Industry in Transition.

The RIG shouldered the burden of organizing such a meeting in order to make the Industry in Transition Congress a platform for discussion, exchange of experiences and views, but also for making demands. The voice of industry and energy entrepreneurs was heard today by Polish Government ministers.

Perfect place for dialogue and energy transition

The inauguration of the Congress was attended, among others, by the Minister of Industry. It is worth recalling that for several months the headquarters of this ministry, as the only Polish ministry, has been located precisely in Katowice - the industrial heart of Poland.

- In Katowice, we should create a place for dialogue on energy transition, where we will discuss legal changes, simplification of administrative procedures to facilitate the development of industry. I have a request to entrepreneurs to communicate their opinions and wishes. We want to chalk up productivity, for example, in the steel industry in Poland and Europe, where production is expected to increase by 3-5 percent. - Marzena Czarnecka, Minister of Industry, said.

Here the transformation has already taken place

The Silesian region still drives the Polish economy, but it is a very different drive than it was just a few years ago. Participants in Industry in Transition are debating at the International Congress Center in Katowice, in what is known as the Culture Zone, which a dozen years ago was a traditional industrial coal mining zone. Today, Katowice and many of the cities that make up the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis are mines but... new industry: modern technology, business meetings, architecture, design or Europe's best economic zone.

- Katowice is a good place for discussion, radiating ideas. We are constantly building this place of discourse. Today there is more of a meetings industry in Katowice than coal and steel, but this is a good way to go. A HUB of new technologies and gaming industry is being built in the place of KWK Wieczorek. We have places waiting for new investors and huge potential, we can't waste it - noted Mayor of the City of Katowice Dr. Marcin Krupa.

Cooperation, cooperation and more cooperation

Only joint action, utilization of the potential of various industrial sectors and cooperation will guarantee that the planned industrial transformation, the green energy revolution will become the driving wheels and strengthen the Polish, and at the same time the European economy pushing it on the tracks of rapid, reliable and stable economic development.

- The European Union accounts for 30 percent of the world economy. Anyone who does not understand that we live in a global world is doomed to failure, the one who understands this is doomed to success. Only together are we able to compete - effectively and in a partnership manner - explained Michał Dąbrowski, President of the Industrial Development Agency in Katowice.

Together, means not only cooperation between individual companies but also between business and higher education, participants in the discussion on the European Skills Pact stressed. For several years, this EU solution has already benefited more than 2 million people from across the EU, more than 1,500 organizations, and 18 strategic partnerships have been established (data from 2022). Among others, a representative of construction giant Strabag is counting on such partnerships and cooperation with universities.

- Today, a construction engineer is no longer a person who only knows how to build. She should be able to build efficiently, energy-efficiently, quickly and with as little effort and resources as possible, eliminating waste - explained Dariusz Kolasa, technical director of the General Construction Directorate of Strabag Ltd.

Second day about the future

Tuesday, June 4, will be the second day of the European Industry and Energy Congress Industry in Transition. Starting at 10 am, at the International Congress Center (entrance from the Spodek side), participants will discuss, among other things, prospects for the development of the green hydrogen market, the formation of the legal framework for renewable energy sources, but also future transportation and electromobility.