Polish ammunition firm to boost output severalfold as part of EU-Ukraine plan

[March 25, 2023]  WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish ammunition maker Dezamet, a unit of state arms producer Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), will substantially boost capacity to supply EU-funded ammunition to Ukraine, Poland's prime minister said on Saturday.  

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki leaves after an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium March 24, 2023. Olivier Matthys/Pool via REUTERS

The announcement by Mateusz Morawiecki comes ahead of a planned visit by EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, to Dezamet on Monday.

Seventeen EU member states and Norway this week agreed to jointly procure ammunition to help Ukraine and to replenish their own stockpiles, the European Defence Agency said.

Dezamet, which produces ammunition for artillery, mortars and grenade launchers, is one of PGZ group's more than 50 armaments enterprises.

"This plant can count on new orders and funds, we will be launching new production lines at this company and the others to produce ammunition," Morawiecki told Radio RMF when asked about Breton's visit to the factory.

"We want to multiply the output severalfold as quickly as possible," he said.

Morawiecki said that he also counted on private companies in Poland to boost their ammunition production.

PGZ plans to increase its workforce by several thousand people, chief executive Sebastian Chwalek said on Friday. The group currently employs around 20,000 people.

(Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; editing by Clelia Oziel)

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