WDP will be constructing a new 60,000 sqm warehouse for Pirelli in Slatina, Romania as part of an expansion of the tyre manufacturer’s existing production facility. WDP projects an investment of some €40 million for this development.

Panattoni Europe has laid the cornerstone to mark the beginning of the construction of a dishwasher factory for BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego, dedicated to Industry 4.0. The facility, featuring close to 58,500 sqm, is being built in Łódź next to the Central European Logistics Hub and is the developer’s largest manufacturing project. Completion of construction works and handover of the facility to the investor is planned for the beginning of 2019, and first appliances will leave the factory in mid-2019.

Accolade Group will invest €8.6 million in the construction of a new industrial park near Zdice, right at exit 28 from the D5 motorway from Prague to Plzeň. The project will offer 12,100 sqm of leasable space and might start operating by 2020 or earlier.

Panattoni Europe will develop its third manufacturing facility for Ideal Automotive. This time, the factory will be built in Świdnica, at the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone Invest-Park, and will take up approx. 27,400 sqm. Construction works will commence as early as this April, and are scheduled for completion in Q4 of this year. The lease was mediated by the advisory firm Colliers International.

LS Cable, a Korean manufacturing company, has decided to launch its division in Dzierżoniów - in the region of Lower Silesia. The facility will be established within an existing object offering 10,000 sqm. Experts from JLL represented LS Cable in the processes of seeking the appropriate property and negotiating purchase conditions.

China has reclaimed top spot in Cushman & Wakefield’s global ranking of the most attractive markets for manufacturing, confirming its status as the sector’s powerhouse. Last year’s number one ranked country, Malaysia, falls to third place behind Lithuania.

Panattoni Europe will develop a manufacturing facility for Pilkington IGP. The project will take up more than 10,000 sqm at Panattoni Park Białystok. Production will be launched by early September this year, and at the initial stage of operations the plant will employ approx. 200 people.

A 20,000 square meter logistic centre was taken over by SEG Automotive's domestic unit, which specializes in the development and production starter motors and generators. The technologically advanced warehouse – featuring indoor GPS-tracking – is the largest interconnected hall in the region.

CTP has opened a new production plant in South Bohemia, built to suit the needs of Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. The company will produce interiors for passenger cars at the plant which spans a total area of more than 23,000 sqm on two floors.

Central European industrial markets have a bright future ahead of them but regulatory issues and labour shortage can pose a threat to further growth in many countries. The speakers of the first ever Prague Property Summit analysed the potential of the market from a European perspective.