Japanese company Daikin Industries has opened its largest factory in Europe in Ksawerów near Łódź. The plant is estimated to be worth €300 million. The factory will produce modern home heating systems, including heat pumps.
Daikin Industries was founded in Osaka in 1924. The company employs more than 104,000 people worldwide and is the only manufacturer in the world that designs and produces heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, as well as compressors and refrigerants, entirely in-house. Daikin has a total of 12 factories in Europe, and the new plant in Ksawerów is the largest.
Decision to locate in Poland
The company decided to invest in central Poland due to the region’s good transport links, developed road infrastructure, and access to skilled workers and Łódź’s academic base. Łódź is the third‑largest city in Poland and has several technical universities, including the Łódź University of Technology, which educates engineers and specialists in mechanics, automation and energy.
– The Ksawerów factory near Łódź is an important milestone for our global operations and reflects our long‑term philosophy of locating production close to the market where we sell. By strengthening our production base in Europe, we can respond even faster to local needs and develop long‑term partnerships in the region – said Masanori Togawa, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Daikin Industries.
Employment and production capacity
The plant currently employs 134 workers. In the near future, the company will announce new vacancies for individual positions. By 2030, the plant is expected to create 800 jobs. Initially, the estimated number of employees was as high as 3,000. The energy crisis and high coal and gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine increased demand for heat pumps. Recently, however, sales of heat pumps have fallen, and the company was forced to reduce its production capacity.
The decision to launch production lines based on heat pumps is a direct response to rapidly growing demand for eco‑friendly heating solutions in Europe. Company representatives stress that heat pumps produced near Łódź are intended to support Europe’s energy transition and reduce CO2 emissions by moving away from fossil‑fuel‑based heating.
Significance for the local market
The Ksawerów plant is Daikin’s largest European factory producing heat pumps. Ksawerów is a village about 10 kilometres south of Łódź, in Ksawerów municipality, Pabianice county. The Łódź region has long struggled with higher unemployment than the national average, and the new investment has the potential to create hundreds of new jobs for the local community.
Daikin Industries is a global leader in heat pump, air conditioning and air filtration technology. The company has representative offices and production plants on all continents. The new factory in Poland is intended to serve the European market, which has been growing dynamically in recent years, especially in the segment of renewable‑based heating. Heat pumps produced in Ksawerów will be delivered to customers across Europe, and the proximity of the A1, A2 and S8 motorways enables fast transport of finished products to domestic and foreign customers.
