As one of the co-founders of APS Energia, a local company that has achieved international success, can you share with us what led to its establishment?

The company was established in 1995 by myself and other founders who used to work at the Warsaw University of Technology and at the Aachen University in Germany. However, we were not paid much as university professors assistants, which led us to start producing PVD devices for plasma coating in low-temperature high vacuum. In 1996, we expanded our services and began providing power supply systems for energy, oil and gas, metallurgy, and chemical sectors. Over time, we have grown to mainly serve the energy sector, renewables, energy storage systems, and e-mobility. Recently, we have also started developing solutions for the nuclear energy sector, which we believe has great potential.

In the ongoing energy transition in Poland, do you think renewables will play a major role?

While I believe that renewables have a role to play, I also think that nuclear fusion is the key to achieving free and clean energy for humankind. However, I do want to emphasize that countries that use coal, including Poland, are already producing electric energy in an advanced, fairly eco-friendly way, with desulfurization and dust extraction systems in place. If not from renewables, then I believe nuclear energy is the cleanest energy source we could use in Poland.

Considering your success in expanding APS Energia outside of Poland, what do you think sets your company apart from others in the industry?

We started by selling plasma coating technology, which was not widely available in Poland at that time, and we exported 100% of our production to countries like Japan, the United States, Korea, China, Switzerland, Holland, France, Germany, and Czechia. In 2007, we sold this branch of our activity to a leading multinational corporation, and invested the proceeds into the development of our power supply and emergency power supply division. Since then, we have continued to expand and diversify our operations, investing in countries like Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Czechia, Ukraine, Turkey, Australia, Uzbekistan, Central Asia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Balkans. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what is your forecast for how it will affect your company in the short and long term?

We work for sectors that are strategic for the economy, such as energy, oil and gas supply, and railways, which means that our clients cannot suspend operations, and we continue to work and supply our products.

What are your vision and goals for APS Energia in the coming years?

As we just celebrated our 25th anniversary, I am keeping an open approach to determine the best way forward. While the Russian market still has enormous potential, we are also initiating direct and subcontracted sales in Asia, the Middle East, and North America. We plan on further diversifying our sales into more geographical markets and participating in large projects, including from the nuclear energy industry. Ultimately, my personal goal is to leave behind a decent world for my children, and to use our limited resources wisely. As the president of Eritrea, a Maoist, works in the forest two days a week without running water or electricity, we should remember what truly matters.