Sanok Rubber Company S.A. (formerly Sanok Stomil Rubber Industry Plant S.A.) is a Polish company specializing in the production of rubber products, based in Sanok, Poland.
History
Polish Company Sanok for the Rubber Industry
The was established in 1932 during the Second Polish Republic in the newly annexed district of Sanok. The official founding date was 24 January 1932. The enterprise was built with capital from French and Swiss shareholders. Construction was undertaken by Bronisław Kędzierski and Co. Building and Reinforced Concrete Works, with the factory's dedication occurring on 20 March 1932. The founder, owner, and first director was Dr. , an Austrian citizen and rubber technology expert, with his brother Karol Schmidt overseeing construction as the shareholders' general representative. The company was named Polish Company Sanok for the Rubber Industry. In 1932, the factory's directors were Eng. Piotr Lipczyk and Dr. Oskar Schmidt, with Schmidt later serving alone. In 1936, a second plant, , was established under Karol Schmidt, with Oskar Schmidt as general director. Both factories operated under shared management and interests.
The Sanok factory was included in the Central Industrial Region (COP), alongside a machine tool factory established by the Schmidts in Sanok, receiving 15 years of industrial and tax benefits from the Ministries of Treasury, Military Affairs, and Industry. The factory produced gas masks, sponge threads for the aviation and shipbuilding industries, and balloons. It demonstrated growth during the economic crisis of the 1930s.
In 1934, French scientist Auguste Piccard visited Sanok, intending to use factory materials for a new high-altitude balloon. Later, based on an invention by Dr. Oskar Schmidt and technical director Władysław Kubica, the factory rubberized the envelope of the high-altitude balloon Gwiazda Polski in 1938. The rubberizing process followed a proprietary recipe developed at the factory.
The company's assets included a factory nursery, a store offering food purchase credits, a community center with a radio and phonograph for dance evenings, training courses, universal life insurance, a vacation system, a resort in Nowy Sącz, and summer camps.
In 1938, the company employed 500 workers, 14 technical staff, and 40 office employees, with a factory area of approximately 15,000 m² and buildings covering 8,000 m². In 1938, the Minister of Industry and Trade fined the company 5,000 PLN for failing to register three cartel agreements related to rubber thread sales with other companies. In 1939, the share capital was increased to 2.5 million PLN.
The company's headquarters were at 9 Władysław Reymont Street in Sanok, as was the accumulator factory. The company had a representative office in Warsaw at 18 in the 1930s, and later at in 1939. Representatives also operated in Kraków, Lviv, Poznań, Bydgoszcz, and Vilnius.
After acquiring a license for Laticel production, the company exhibited at the Poznań International Fair in 1937. In the summer of 1938, it participated in the Eastern Trade Fair in Lviv. In 1938, the factory received a gold medal at the Warsaw Hospital Exhibition for its porous rubber Laticel products (window and door seals, mattresses, and pillows).
Following the outbreak of World War II and the German occupation, the factory ceased operations. The Germans transported equipment and machinery to the Semperit plant in Kraków, while the Sanok Accumulator Factory was subordinated to Accumulatorenfabrik, though production was not continued, and only a repair shop operated. During the war, Edward Zajic, originally from Karviná, was appointed director of the rubber factory, transferred from Limanowa. He was also the head of the Sanok branch of the and the Union of Retaliation in the underground, later dying in Auschwitz concentration camp. Toward the war's end, the factory's buildings and infrastructure were destroyed due to military actions. The company's value in 1939 was estimated at 700,000 USD.
Employment and workforce Initially, the factory employed 5 office workers and 15 laborers. By 1936, employment grew to over 1,200, reaching 1,500 in 1938, including 150 in laboratories, and approximately 2,000 by 1939. Due to the initial need for skilled workers, staff were recruited from factories in Wolbrom and Dębica. In the 1930s, Władysław Kubica served as director. Before 1939, employees included (vulcanizer), Władysław Gut, , (also a member of the factory's Balloon Club, 1938–1939), and (clerk from 1939). In the late 1930s, the press noted exemplary employer-employee relations, with no strikes or trade unions.
Production Before 1939, the factory relied on natural gas as an energy source. It produced gas mask components, rubber plates, transmission belts, V-belts for alternators, bicycle tires and tubes (noted for durability, e.g., "cord" and "rekord" models), rubber rims for carts, fire hoses, patented doors, rubber horseshoes, bath sponges, rubber heels, rubberized leather for soles, brake hoses (ordered for British freight wagons), assault boats, and balloon fabric. The factory also produced tents. Schmidt acquired an English license for Laticel, a porous rubber used for vehicle seat fillings. Recycling was widely used, with reclaimed rubber from production waste reused for tires, brakes, and railway components. The factory also manufactured rubber parts for military equipment.
Sanok Stomil Rubber Industry Plant
At the war's end, the Sanok County National Council decided to rebuild the factory. However, other Polish People's Republic authorities transferred the rubber factory's infrastructure to the Rzeszów Grain Plants, and later, leased buildings served as fertilizer warehouses. Eventually, state authorities planned to relocate the preserved infrastructure to Bydgoszcz, but thanks to the intervention of Sanok's then-starosta , the factory received financial support. Oskar Schmidt attempted to reclaim the nationalized company by the Polish Committee of National Liberation, intending to produce essential post-war goods like heels and soles from rubber waste. Ultimately, Decree No. 58 of the Minister of Light Industry, , on 14 December 1950, transferred the Sanok Stomil Rubber Industry Plant to state ownership.
Reconstruction was decided in 1954 and executed from 1956 to 1960, costing 100 million PLN. Pre-war machinery was returned from Kraków, and new infrastructure was built. The factory, officially named Sanok Rubber Industry Plant, reopened on 20 February 1960. In 1960, it produced 370 products with 185 employees. The factory celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1970.
In 1970, the factory was renamed Stomil Rubber Industry Plant. In 1976, it began producing V-belts under a license from the American company Gates. In 1978, the factory was expanded at a cost of 4 billion PLN, focusing on products for the domestic automotive industry. It employed 5,000 workers and occupied 58 hectares in the Olchowce district on both banks of the San river. Employment grew from 500 in 1964 to 2,100 in 1974, and over 5,000 in 1978, making it the city's second-largest employer after Autosan (7,000 employees). In the 1970s, Stomil supplied about 70% of its rubber products to the Polmo Bielsko-Biała, including seals for the Fiat 126. In early 1975, it delivered 400,000 hockey pucks.
In 1978, a medal commemorating the factory's 1973–1978 expansion was issued, designed by . On 1 August 1978, Polish Prime Minister Piotr Jaroszewicz visited, followed by First Secretary Edward Gierek on 9 August 1979. The day after martial law was declared on 13 December 1981, the factory's workforce went on strike, leading to internments, arrests, and dismissals, similar to events at Autosan.
The factory expanded its social infrastructure, including eight residential blocks, a sanatorium in Rymanów-Zdrój (opened in July 1973), a resort in Myczkowce, a health clinic with 13 specialist offices at Przemyska Street opened in 1978, and investments in municipal projects like waterworks and sewage treatment.
The factory sponsored the sports club. In 1982, it celebrated its 50th anniversary, marked by a commemorative medal.
By 1993, the company's assets included: Eight residential blocks (approximately 1,200 apartments by 1978), A factory canteen, A sanatorium in Rymanów, A resort in Myczkowce, Two nurseries, A kindergarten, The Chemik Cultural-Educational Club and the Sanoczanka sports club, A swimming pool complex in Błonie.
Employment and workforce By 1980, the factory employed 5,000 workers, dropping to 3,700 by 1990. Directors from 1957 to 1991 included Henryk Zwoliński, Adam Przybyło, Adam Szpet, (1967–1977), (1977–1981), (1981–1990), and Andrzej Hołubowski (1990).
In the 1970s and 1980s, factory committee secretaries of the Polish United Workers' Party included Jan Buśko and . Employees included , Marian Daszyk, Tadeusz Paszkiewicz (born 1948, former trade director, later president of PHU Stomil East, a trading company with 65.69% Stomil Sanok ownership), Eng. , , , (1974–1981), (deputy director from 1979), and .
Awards and recognitions Kowalski Award from readers (1974) "Jubilee Address" (1984) Badge "For Merits to ZSMP" (1986, awarded to the factory's youth organization) Gold Honorary Badge of the Polish-Soviet Friendship Society (1986) Badge "For Merits to Krosno Voivodeship" (1987) Badge Meritorious for Sanok (1987)
Stomil Sanok Rubber Industry Plant S.A. After becoming a joint-stock company on 1 January 1991, Marek Łęcki, previously Autosan's economic director, was appointed CEO and chairman through a 1990 competition.
Łęcki proposed a management buyout to the Ministry of Ownership Transformation, which was rejected. With consulting firms, Enterprise Investors was selected as a business partner. In 1990, part of the company's assets formed Pass-Pol (originally Pass-Stomil), with Stomil Sanok as a co-shareholder, employing nearly 2,500 workers by 2013.
In September 1993, Enterprise Investors acquired 80% of Stomil Sanok's shares from the State Treasury for 8.7 million PLN ($4.5 million). Employees received 15% at a lower price, and management took 5%. Łęcki reduced employment from 3,700 to 2,500, and to 1,400 by 2003, with Michał Boni, an Enterprise Investors consultant, aiding in workforce management.
On 14 September 1995, the company received ISO 9001 certification. Since 28 January 1997, it has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In 2002, it received the "Pantheon of Polish Ecology" award from the Minister of Environment and the Polish Center for Testing and Certification.
In July 2003, the management group, holding 10% of shares, purchased additional shares from Enterprise Investors via a management buyout, supported by pension and investment funds. In October 2014, the company acquired the German company Draftex Automotive GmbH.
Sales The automotive segment, including body seals and anti-vibration systems, accounts for 45% of revenue, supported by foreign specialists. German company Tagex is a main partner, supplying drive components like V-belts and chains.
In 2013, sales reached 720.1 million PLN, with 471.3 million PLN from exports and a net profit of 68.2 million PLN.
Domestic sales Domestic sales of V-belts and construction seals are managed by , fully owned by Stomil Sanok SA, through six warehouses. In 2010, the "Stomil Agro" segment for agricultural machinery was established, offering Deutz-Fahr tractors and combines. In 2013, domestic sales via Stomil Sanok Dystrybucja contributed 7.3% to the Group's sales, with own products comprising less than half.
Foreign sales Sales of proprietary products – mainly V-belts and seals – on Eastern markets such as Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine are conducted through subsidiary companies. The share of each individual company does not exceed 10% of the total sales value of the Stomil Sanok Group: