Paper Mill Kalety

Solo visit. Building is being demolished at the moment (but slowly, Polish way).

Factory was operational from 1884 to 1994. Builder of the plant was the Count Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck, the owner of numerous mills and mines, and magnificent mansions in Świerklaniec. Cellulose factory was established in 1884, and to increase its profitability in 1899, paper mill has been added to process the raw material manufactured on the spot. In 1918 a consortium was taken over by the German company Natronag. The year 1922 brought further changes, Paper Mill become part of the newly formed Polish state. Then it began a period of it's greatest prosperity. One of the most important dates is 1925, when the owners purchased the largest and most modern paper machines at the time in Poland. Before World War II the factory produced 9.6% of the total paper production and 20.1% of cellulose in the country. It suffered from bombs and arson during the war, and never really came back to it's former glory. New, more modern mills has been built in Oświęcim and Ostrołęka. Insufficient amount of investment in machinery has led to the slow downfall of the factory and successive decline in its production. When the transformation of 1989 came, outdated facility could no longer endure it. In 1991 cellulose production unit was closed, and in 1994 the factory went bankrupt.