Poland - Polish outdoor equipment company climbs in popularity

Fjord Nansen is a Polish company specialised in outdoor equipment such as tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, vacuum flasks and outdoor clothing.

The company, based in the village of Chwaszczyno near Gdynia, lives by the motto "be wild at heart." In the words of the owner, Dariusz Staniszewski, you are wild at heart "if you can get up at 5 in the morning to swim the waves of stormy weather in a kayak and then go to work at 10."

Exports are increasingly important to Fjord Nansen and EU trade deals support that endeavour. Between 2013 and 2014 about 25% of the company's turnover was generated from international sales. A key market is Ukraine. In 2011 the company exported a record 23% of its production there.

Fjord Nansen hopes the EU-Ukraine trade deal, which has been provisionally applied since January 2016, will not only facilitate its own business there but also improve the economic situation in Ukraine.

Fjord Nansen has also seen growing demand from Chile, another country with which the EU has a trade agreement in place. Indeed, between 2014-2015, EU exports to Chile increased by 13.3%.

Read more about the EU's trade relations with Ukraine