Our mission is to support the development of the region’s economy and stimulate the development of entrepreneurship, in particular in the SME sector, by providing modern support services, and promoting innovative solutions and investments. History of GAPR Ltd.

History of GAPR

Upper Silesian Accelerator For Commercial Enterprises  Ltd. (formerly called Upper Silesian Agency for Entrepreneurship and Development Ltd.) in Gliwice was established in 1999 as the Local Development Agency Ltd.

GAPR Ltd. is a company with the City of Gliwice as its main shareholder, the task of which is, in particular, to support micro, small and medium enterprises. Supporting SMEs is an important element of Gliwice’s policy, and the creation of a company has become an instrument of its implementation. For 19 years, the Agency has been conducting intensive activities for science, business and local government. It creates favorable conditions for the creation of new companies and the development of existing enterprises. The company has a unique set of resources, thanks to which support provided to companies can be comprehensive.

A special urban space was created in 2008 on the revitalized areas of the former “Gliwice” mine – the “New Gliwice” Business and Education Center. Office space and several hectares of investment areas covered by tax preferences for business activities in the modern technology industry are available as part of this complex.

At the end of 2013, after winning the tender announced by the Ministry of Treasury, the Agency has become the owner or co-owner of several attractive properties in the region and several companies for entrepreneurs.

The company acquired Bytom and Żory Industrial Park together with factory halls and office buildings in which there are rooms for rent. In Żory, investment areas are also available for development.

Through the Upper Silesian Agency for Entrepreneurship Promotion Ltd., which is a subsidiary of GAPR Ltd., the company became owner of the Rybnik Technology Incubator and co-owner of two Local Development Agencies – in Sosnowiec and Jaworzno, as well as the Regional Development Agency in Bielsko-Biała.

The company is the main shareholder (approximately 98.68%) of the Silesian Center for Science and Technology of Aviation Industry Ltd. in Czechowice-Dziedzice – the most modern center in Europe, dealing with the production and testing of composite construction elements with the use of autoclave method and thin-film composite technology (Thin Play Technology).

Through capital involvement in the Center, GAPR Ltd. supports the development of an innovative aviation industry. It is a large laboratory of composites and strength tests, where prototype elements are produced as well. In 2014 it will be enriched with the latest technological equipment in the field of thin-film composites, which currently operates only in Switzerland and the United States. For this purpose, the Center received a subsidy in the amount of PLN 10 million from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.

GAPR operates dynamically, systematically expanding its structures and assets. In 2016, the Agency started implementing the space development plan at the territory of Wire Factory in Gliwice. According to this plan, an office part will be created in the former areas of the Factory for companies from the creative industry (that means those combining economic activity with widely understood culture and technology) and a cultural part, where various events are to take place. But this is not the end of new tasks. Recently, GAPR became the owner of half of the Gliwice airport and started its modernization. As a result of GAPR activities, the airport will keep its recreational value, but it will be open all year round and for a larger number of users.

Current potential of GAPR has allowed us to appear not only on the local or regional market, but we also successfully provide our services to enterprises throughout the whole Poland.

Currently, GAPR consists of:

• Business Center GAPR Ltd.
• New Gliwice Business and Education Centre
• New Gliwice II (former areas of the Wire Factory)
• Żory Industrial Park
• Bytom Industrial Park
• Business Center in Jaworzno
• Silesian Center for Science and Technology of Aviation Industry Ltd. (capital group)
• GAPP Ltd. with the Technology Incubator in Rybnik (capital group).

GAPR organization structure:

• Shareholders’ meeting
• Supervisory board
• Chairman of the board
  • QMS Manager
    
  • Director
    • Incubator Section, Parks and Property Management
      • Industrial Parks (ŻPP, BPP, JPP)
        
    • Projects Realization Section, Development, and Quality Management
      
    •  Section of Consulting, Trainings and Marketing Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Center
      • GAPR Training Center
  •  Organizational-Accounting and Finance Section
    • Secretariat
      
    • Loan Fund

GAPR bodies

Shareholders’ meeting:

• Gliwice
• Zabrze
• Gliwice land district
• Municipality Knurów
• Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów I Kanalizacji Sp. z o.o
• Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej – Gliwice Sp. z o.o.
• Zarząd Budynków Miejskich I Towarzystwo Budownictwa Społecznego Sp. z o.o.
• Zarząd Budynków Miejskich II Towarzystwo Budownictwa Społecznego Sp. z o.o.
• Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu S.A. w Warszawie
• Municipality Żory
• Municipality Czechowice-Dziedzice

Supervisory board:

• Jerzy Łoik – President
• Tomasz Włoczyk – Vice President
• Jan Sochecki – Member

Management:

• Bogdan Traczyk – Chairman of the board