Forwarder Hires “Highly Skilled Team” to Man New Gdansk Office
UTC Overseas is launching a new base in Poland, with the US forwarder seeking to capitalize on the European nation’s burgeoning project and industrial manufacturing sectors.
The Gdansk office on the Baltic Sea coast will be headed by Jakub Walasek, a seasoned project professional with experience of handling large-scale projects involving ocean, river, and inland transport in Poland, UTC Overseas said. Walasek will be backed up by a “highly skilled team” of workers, including civil and mechanical engineers who will provide boots-on-the-ground supervision of all projects.
The office will report to Istvan Csepan, UTC’s regional general manager for power generation in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
“This group will bring highly sought-after and important engineering and transport skills to add to UTC's scope of services,” Csepan said. “Their knowledge of the logistics market and contacts in the industry will benefit UTC, and we will be well-positioned to capitalize on the growing potential in Poland and the surrounding countries of Central Europe and the Baltics. This is important as some of our key customers are expanding their presence in the region, establishing production and supply facilities.”
Marco Poisler, UTC’s COO for energy and capital projects, said the new office in Poland was a “significant step” towards expanding the company’s footprint in the industrial project sector, which includes renewable energy initiatives. “Poland is also an important transit point for countries in the Central European region,” the executive said.
Poland is one of Europe’s fastest growing markets for renewable energy, with plans to install dozens of solar plants and onshore and offshore wind farms over the next decade.
The country is also betting big on nuclear power.
Last year, state nuclear power company Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe selected U.S. firms Bechtel and Westinghouse to work on the design, engineering, and construction of Poland’s first large-scale nuclear power plant, or NPP. The plant is likely to be installed close to Lubiatowo-Kopalino on the Baltic Sea coast, near Gdansk.
Construction is slated to start in 2026, with first power in 2033.
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