Although Łódź remains Central Poland’s economic powerhouse, new development is increasingly spreading beyond the city, with large-scale production and warehouse facilities being built in locations such as Stryków, Zgierz, Piotrków Trybunalski and Łowicz.
Central Poland’s satellite cities attract developers with land availability and robust road infrastructure, while tenants benefit from opportunities to scale their operations, as well as lower leasing and labour costs. The region is interconnected by a network of key routes along the A1 and A2 motorways and the S8 and S14 expressways. Central Poland boasts nearly 5.2 million sqm of warehouse space, with a further 160,000-plus sqm currently under construction. Although a third of the region’s stock is concentrated in Łódź, neighbouring cities are steadily gaining prominence, led by Stryków and Piotrków Trybunalski. Smaller, but by no means less important, locations across the region include Łowicz, Kutno, Radomsko, Zgierz and Pabianice.
A common market, different specialisations
Central Poland is increasingly developing as a single market, with individual cities playing distinct roles. “Łódź’s advantages include a large labour market, a robust academic and skills base, as well as a well-developed logistics and industrial sector,” says Jan Olszewski, Senior Advisor, Industrial and Warehouse Department, Newmark Polska. “Łódź is a large city with significant consumer demand, which in turn drives e-commerce growth. This translates into growing demand for last-mile logistics, set to be one of the key segments of the local market. The range of warehouse facilities available is also changing. Alongside smaller buildings, more sophisticated projects with larger office components are also being developed.”
Why, then, are big-box warehouses being developed in Stryków and Piotrków Trybunalski? Large plots of land are needed to develop big-box projects, and these are increasingly in short supply across Łódź. In addition, both land prices and property taxes are higher in the provincial capital than in satellite cities. Moreover, investors from other market sectors are also interested in attractive land plots within the city’s administrative boundaries. This is why smaller industrial parks, typically ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 sqm, tend to be developed in Łódź, while big-box facilities exceeding 100,000 sqm are built in secondary locations,” says Jakub Dudkiewicz, Regional Director, Newmark Polska.
An ecosystem outperforms individual cities
Marek Sekieta, CEO of the LODZistics Cluster, a logistics business network in Central Poland, notes that Łódź is the core of a logistics ecosystem spanning a significant part of the province. “Its advantage lies in the broader market environment, while connecting the potential of universities with the needs of the economy is gaining importance – this includes joint research and projects, as well as early identification of the skills that companies are likely to require in a few years or further down the line,” he says. “Companies are no longer asking how many graduates they could recruit, but about their skills and whether they will be prepared for the changes taking place in the economy. Today, in addition to logisticians, we need automation engineers and IT specialists, data analysts, AI and cybersecurity specialists, as well as management and finance professionals. This is why the interdisciplinarity of the Łódź academic ecosystem is likely to become our advantage.”
Stryków: A logistics hub and increasing competition for employees
Stryków, one of the strongest examples of a satellite city, has over time emerged as an independent economic centre. Its location by the A1 and A2 motorways has for years attracted production and logistics companies, with projects developed in the city by leading developers, including Hillwood, Logicor, Segro, Prologis and Panattoni.
According to Newmark Polska, Stryków already has more than one million square metres of warehouse space, accounting for over 20 per cent of Central Poland’s total stock. A further 38,000 sqm is currently under construction.
The high concentration of businesses has long been one of Stryków’s main strengths. Today, however, it also means stronger competition for employees. “Stryków’s warehouse market began to take shape nearly 20 years ago. Its strategic location and improving transport links attracted major companies, which expanded their operations and created attractive jobs. Today, employees have a wide choice of job opportunities and benefit from competitive employment conditions. This makes it increasingly difficult for new investors, particularly those requiring a large workforce, to compete for talent,” says Jakub Dudkiewicz.
According to Jan Olszewski of Newmark Polska, it is precisely the difficulties in accessing workers that connect Stryków with Zgierz. “With nearly 270,000 sqm of production and warehouse space, the latter is a younger market that can capture part of the demand from its more mature neighbour. Thanks to the proximity of Łódź and new warehouse development, Zgierz can also provide an additional talent pool that companies operating there can tap into. Warehouses have been developed there by the likes of Hillwood and Panattoni.”
A possible solution to labour shortages lies in a well-thought-out development of transport infrastructure in the region. “If new jobs are created but commuting by means other than by car is difficult, the whole ecosystem may lose some of its potential. That is why public transport, metropolitan and regional rail services, integrated timetables and park-and-ride facilities are not merely elements of transport policy. On the contrary, they are an intrinsic part of economic and labour market policies,” says Marek Sekieta.
Talent is the biggest advantage for tenants
Stryków’s advantages have been appreciated by Corning, a specialist provider of glass materials and optical technologies, which has opened a production and technology centre in the city. “A strategic location in the centre of Poland and Europe, providing access to key transport routes and our clients’ markets, was of paramount importance for us. Equally important were further growth opportunities and the availability of skilled engineers graduating from higher education institutions in Łódź province,” says Łukasz Srogosz, Regional Manufacturing Manager EMEA OCS, Corning.
The company’s 25-year presence in Poland shows that talent is the region’s biggest strength. “Their skills, commitment and culture of continuous development have enabled us not only to expand our production capacity but also to establish a leading R&D centre for Corning across EMEA,” notes Srogosz.
Piotrków Trybunalski: The southern gateway to Central Poland
Located at the junction of the A1 and S8, providing easy access to Warsaw, Łódź, Silesia and Wrocław, Piotrków Trybunalski is the region’s other major logistics hub. Leading developers in the area include Prologis, Mapletree, P3 and Reino.
“Thanks to the proximity to the intersection of two key transport axes, our clients can shorten journey times, consolidate cargo flows and improve operational flexibility with a warehouse in Piotrków. Another advantage of this location is its robust logistics and industrial infrastructure,” says Jacek Freund, CEO of xCargoLogistics, adding that clients now expect opportunities to scale operations quickly in line with volume fluctuations and seasonality. “That’s why we are seeing rising demand for transloading, picking, co-packing and inventory buffering. Piotrków makes it possible to combine these services with transport and distribution in a single location,” says Freund.
Łowicz: A cheaper alternative to large hubs
Łowicz is one of the region’s youngest logistics and industrial markets. Its strength lies in its location between Łódź and Warsaw. “Łowicz attracts warehouse tenants primarily thanks to its proximity to Warsaw and its lower labour and leasing costs. Benefiting from this mix of factors, the city is increasingly on the radar of retailers, e-commerce players and logistics companies seeking lower costs while maintaining access to a large consumer market,” says Jan Olszewski.
Tenants at Hillwood Łowicz include SellBEST, an e-commerce retailer offering home, garden and fitness equipment. “To accommodate the growth of online sales, we were looking for a location that would allow us to centralise logistics processes – from receiving imported goods to distributing orders across Europe. Łowicz meets these needs and is an attractive alternative to leading logistics hubs. It combines all the key advantages of Central Poland while allowing us to avoid some of the challenges typical of the largest urban areas, such as more congested infrastructure or stronger competition for talent,” says Agnieszka Wereska, General Director, SellBEST.
Less competition, greater specialisation. Satellite cities complement Łódź
What’s driving the region’s growth? According to Jan Olszewski, it is the ability of the cities to cooperate. “What will matter above all is people and their capabilities, as well as the ability of companies, local governments and institutions to work together. Meanwhile, the whole province remains cost-competitive compared with the rest of Poland. An additional driver for the region’s development will be the ongoing progress on the Central Communication Port (CPK). The planned transport hub will drive demand for modern production and warehouse space. As a result, the region will strengthen its position as a major economic hub in Europe, generating new jobs and spurring the growth of local business infrastructure. Today, we have an opportunity to strengthen the advantages of the region, where individual cities are honing their specialisations while reinforcing one another. This combination will be increasingly attractive to companies looking to secure opportunities to grow and scale their businesses in the years to come,” concludes Olszewski.
