The selection of key sectors of Lublin's economy aims to indicate which branches are crucial for the current and future development of the city. The list of key industries is also intended to show potential investors which sectors of the economy of Lublin have optimal conditions for growth.
Lublin's economy does not have a clearly defined industry profile. The high diversification of the industry is a result of, among others, the political transformation in the 90s, which contributed to the creation of a significant number of SMEs and micro-enterprises outside the area of sectors traditionally developed in Lublin, such as food processing. Currently, Lublin benefits from its multispecialisation, being a place of development of modern and innovative companies from various areas of the economy. At the same time, it creates opportunities for closer cooperation between science and business in a broad spectrum.
Lublin is a city which boasts a long tradition of automotive and machinery sectors going back to the interwar period. It is an important place on the map of production centres for passenger cars parts, lorries, tractors, coaches and aviation equipment.
The tradition of the Lorry Production Plant, and later Daewoo Motor Poland Factory is now continued by several numerous small and medium companies using the resources and long-term experience of Lublin industry. A significant group are the sub-suppliers creating components for vehicles produced on the assembly lines of large automotive concerns. Another group are the companies designing innovative technological solutions – part of a wider production process aimed directly at the end customer. Of importance to Lublin's advanced engineering technologies sector are the R&D centres specialising in the design of innovative technological solutions for the needs of particular clients. The scope of their activities includes construction design, process modelling and safeguarding technical documentation pertaining to production. These companies represent the following industries: aviation, automotive, and the machine sector, as well providing elements for the space sector. Moreover, the automotive and machinery sector is supported by 'Lublin Automotive and Machinery Upland Foundation', which aims at establishing ecosystem, that will increase the competitiveness of Lublin industry in trilateral cooperation between entrepreneurs, universities and local government.
The highly rated Lublin's healthcare sector is based on the highest quality medical services and developing biotechnology sector, and its driving force is its strong academic background.
There are 13 well-equipped hospitals in the city, including four teaching hospitals of the Medical University, which educate future medical personnel and provide a place to implement unique treatment and diagnostic procedures. The high quality of services and competitive prices in the private sector encourage patients from abroad to visit healthcare centres in Lublin. The sector's potential is strengthened by a successful cluster of healthcare and health-promotion services which offer a cooperative platform for the university, R&D units and healthcare centres, as well as business entrepreneurs and institutions. The cluster supports R&D activity, cooperation between units, and fosters the high quality of medical services.
The driving force behind the sector is the academic background - future employees of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are educated at four universities. What is more, The Medical University of Lublin is the most popular medical school in Poland among international students from several dozen countries. The implementation of projects with extensive commercial potential is a trademark of Lublin’s universities and research laboratories. The effects of Lublin scientists' efforts are the invention of artificial bone, a malaria vaccine, the creation of mutanases and ectoine, alongside a number of studies connected with the invention of new drugs, polymers and solutions in energy technology.
Lublin has one of the best developed IT ecosystems in Poland in the form of the Lublin IT Upland (LWIT), which is supported by a continually growing pool of IT talents and opportunities to locate companies in modern office buildings.
Lublin is one of the most significant IT ecosystems in Poland and one of the most promising Polish cities in terms of location of IT operations. The majority of renowned Polish companies operating in the industry located in Lublin, as well as many foreign companies of international renown. The chances for career development in this sector are seen by students of Lublin universities studying within the framework of programmes created in cooperation with IT companies and responding to the needs of the industry. Thanks to this, the IT sector in Lublin is constantly supported by a pool of talents trained and ready to work in the profession. Moreover, the size of the industry, which already employs around 10 thousand people, makes it possible to find also experienced IT specialists on the market. A short distance from Ukraine is also an opportunity to attract skilled workers from the Ukrainian market. The team built in this way can use modern office space in Lublin, thanks to its high supply and lower prices than in other key centres of the sector's development in Poland. This creates comfortable and friendly conditions for creative work, which also has a positive impact on the integration of employees within the LWIT ecosystem during meetings organised for technology enthusiasts.
Due to the long tradition and its location in the heart of a large agricultural region, Lublin is an important food processing centre.
Lublin Region is the Polish centre for agricultural production which provides 1/3 of the raw material for the entire domestic market. Its natural topography, climate and fertile soils are invaluable assets. Growing various types of cereal, industrial plants, vegetables and fruit, along with animal husbandry, allow Lublin to be a source of raw material supply. Moreover, the ecological food sector is also growing rapidly, with 2000 farms being run in the region.
The best-developed sectors in Lublin include grain-milling, fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat, brewing, herbs, bee-keeping, tobacco and spirits. Businesses benefit from cooperation with higher education institutions, which allows them to develop their products and implement innovative solutions. Farmers are keen on being supported in introducing new crops for industrial needs. Additional advantages are Lublin's strategic location, good transport infrastructure as well as perfect conditions for running logistics business allowing companies to distribute their products successfully.
The increase in demand for chemical products in Poland and worldwide makes the chemical industry develop dynamically also in Lublin. Chemical products are used in construction (e.g. adhesives, paints and varnishes, plastics, asphalts, etc.), cosmetics and personal hygiene products, medicines and pharmaceuticals, and disposable medical equipment and in agriculture and the food industry (e.g. fertilizers and plant protection products and packaging).
One of the dynamically developing chemical enterprises in Lublin is Centrum Odczynniki Chemiczne Midas-Investment. The company produces, among others, salts of acids which are additives to feed and fertilizers. Permedia sp. z o.o. is also of significant importance for the chemical industry in Lublin. – one of the leading Polish companies producing colouring agents and additives used in the processing of plastics, resins, paints, varnishes, enamels, ceramics, masses for the construction
industry. One should also mention Hüttenes-Albertus Polska – a producer of chemical materials for the foundry industry and the company Standard which supplies a wide range of chemical materials used in many industries on the domestic and foreign market.
Medisept also belongs to dynamically developing companies from Lublin chemical sector – producer of comprehensive solutions for hygiene maintenance and disinfection. In the region there is also the nitrate fertilizer plant – Zaklady Azotowe Pulawy – from Grupa Azoty, which is one of the key capital groups of the chemical industry in Europe. Zakłady Azotowe Puławy in cooperation with Microsoft Technology Center created a technology incubator where prototypes of solutions which enable the even faster transformation of the whole fertilizer-chemical sector in Poland and Europe will be created.
Lublin, due to an extraordinary quality of life and the accessibility of office spaces, is seen nowadays as a key location for the modern business services sector in Eastern Poland.
Lublin is one of the most prospective Polish cities in terms of locating business services operations. The rapid rise in the importance of the sector in Lublin in recent years occurred due to its convenient location and excellent accessibility, numerous infrastructure projects, a pool of skilled workers and a growing office market. The vast majority of the BPOs, SSCs, IT centres, F&A centres, and R&D centres operating in Lublin were launched in the past five years. What is more, Lublin's business services centres have broadened the scope of their activities since their launch and the level of advancement of the services offered by most entities has increased. These two aspects were also accompanied by an increase in the number of jobs. As for now, Lublin is home to more than 30 BPO/SSC/IT centres which employ at least 100 people, and the total employment in BPO/SSC/IT and R&D centres is over 13,000. Moreover, Lublin is the largest field of modern office spaces as well as real estate for investments in the eastern part of Poland, with one of the highest office-space growth dynamics. Lublin's advantages are also the discernibly more competitive costs of space lease and significantly lower processing rates during the purchase of real property compared to other large cities. The city is a reservoir of educated staff for BSS companies. Each year, higher education institutions in Lublin provide around 18,000 graduates, among which a large group has experience in specialised business services.
Lublin's assets, such as its location and infrastructure, will allow it to become the primary logistics centre for the eastern border of the EU.
It owes this to its favourable location at the junction of transport routes heading from the Baltic states to the Balkans, and from Western Europe to Ukraine and Russia. An additional advantage is the transport network being constantly developed as well as excellent access to investment resources. High-flow-rate expressways surround Lublin. The railway infrastructure allows for transporting goods to Eastern Europe as well as to Baltic seaports, and Lublin airport offers freight transhipment.
Moreover, the city is abundant with investment areas perfect for logistics, as well as industrial developers, and local government institutions provide full support to entrepreneurs during the entire investment process. Lublin is proud of its vast pool of highly qualified employees, graduates of such universities as the Lublin University of Technology and the Technical School of Transport and Communication. What proves that the city offers great opportunities for industrial developers operating in the logistics sector is the fact that key players in the sector located their businesses here.