First, the army was skimping on their orders for years because peace was supposed to last forever. Then the politicians started furnishing the board rooms of Polish defense companies in an unprecedented manner.

We bought most of our weapons abroad for huge amounts of money, which, in addition, was borrowed, while Polish industry gained nothing from these purchases. For years, the Polish arms industry had to be satisfied with the empty slogan that the Polish army cannot be strong without a strong Polish industry.

The Polish arms industry started to change after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, although those who were leaving enterprises were to leave behind numerous problems that the new managers of the arms industry would need to spend a long time resolving at some point.

Before the elections, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz – chairman of the Polish Peasants’ Party, PSL, coalition partner of the Third Way – announced that half of budget spending allocated to the purchase of weapons would go to Polish defense companies. He even confirmed this as deputy prime minister and minister of national defense.

He had already made the assurance that the government would do everything it could to modernize the Polish defense industry.

– I would like these production capacities, of the Polish industry, both state-owned and private, to be fully utilized – emphasized Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

– This means that the supply chain for the army would also include both private defense companies, as well as companies producing dual-use products that the army needs very much, having most frequently been bought abroad to date – he said.

This is an important declaration. Not only because the previous authorities did not like private companies as they only had a limited influence on their operations and could not boast that it was thanks to the government that they produced such good, world-famous products and systems, but also because Polish plants that currently work for the army, mostly belonging to Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa [English: Polish Arms Group], have full order books. Many of them are working to full capacity, while an increase in this capacity requires substantial recapitalization and upgrading. It would also take at least a few years to establish new plants or production lines.

Instead of waiting for new plants to be built, it would be worth taking advantage of the opportunities that are at hand, namely private companies.  And they have a very large potential.

VIGO Photonics devices were sent into space

One of such plants is VIGO Photonics from Ożarów Mazowiecki just outside Warsaw. To say that it is a Polish company that specializes in developing advanced technologies, which are constantly being developed in its own laboratories as a result of which it can offer its customers infrared detectors that have the best parameters in the world, is an understatement.

The company is globally successful and is currently the leader on the infrared detectors market. It has a production line enabling it to create its own semiconductor layers, process those that have already been manufactured and produce chips, and is equipped with a complete assembly line for making end products. It also develops its own electronics, which, when integrated with the detector, creates ready-to-use detection modules, which are known and valued in countries around the world.

What is behind the technical names of the devices produced at VIGO Photonics and what are they used for that make them so important for the world?

It appears that it would be easier to mention areas in which their detectors are not applicable. They are used, among others, in environmental protection, as volatile substance analyzers, they detect even traces of chemicals or poisonous gases in factory chimneys, as well as exhaust emission control devices in cars.

They also contribute to our safety by checking the distribution of the temperature of axles, wheels, bearings and brake calipers in high-speed trains. A change in the temperature of these components often provides information about a potential failure, which could lead to a train being derailed and a disaster taking place.

Devices using VIGO detectors in medicine can non-invasively measure the blood-glucose level and detect disease markers on the basis of the concentration of various chemical compounds in the human breath.

The company’s devices have even been sent into space. Uncooled MCT infrared detectors were used on the Curiosity rover that was sent to Mars in 2011, to explore the red planet in NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission.

It was precisely this company’s detectors, which were used in a tunable laser spectrometer designed to collect environmental information, that contributed to the discovery of methane on Mars in 2014. VIGO’s subassemblies are also currently used in the Artemis mission, which has the objective of making manned space flights and man’s landing again on the moon.

Like many private companies from the high tech sector, the company is better known outside Poland than domestically. However, the company hopes that this will now change. It hopes to expand production to include defense sector products.

– Ukraine has shown that even small private companies grow if they are innovative, organized well and cooperate well. They can be commercially successful on domestic and foreign markets – claims Adam Piotrowski, CEO of VIGO Photonics.

-Of course, if the country wants to make purchases overseas or on other continents of devices, which can be produced by domestic companies, no one will stop it from doing so, but it seems that this is not a very far-sighted policy – emphasizes Adam Piotrowski.

He also explains that the logic of politicians until recently was such that the most important task of Polish soldiers would be to go on missions. There would also be American workshops there, where we could repair our equipment and U.S. equipment. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Now, Polish workshops have to repair Polish equipment, and possibly also U.S. equipment, which is used for fighting in Ukraine, and we will be building multi-dimensional fortifications on the border with Belarus for the soldiers defending it.

He emphasizes that this requires a permanent local supply chain – not only of steel, screws and spare parts, which are needed for final assembly, but also many other components that the army needs.

Components for warning, fire detection and health monitoring systems

It is good that we pay attention to the production of gunpowder. That is understandable, because it is highly necessary today. But this should not prevent us from remembering other critical elements of arms and military equipment, such as thermal imaging systems which enable soldiers to detect threats on the battlefield, or various types of sensors enabling the detection of chemical, biological and even nuclear threats.

– Germany, the U.S. and France currently supply this type of equipment to us. But, after all, we have our own. Polish technologies of this type could be integrated with Polish tanks, combat vehicles and other equipment, including a soldier’s individual equipment – says Piotrowski.

He adds that it is good that the WB Group supplies its Fonet ICT systems, which are already integrated in Krabs and Rosomaks, to tanks; that the army has FlyEye drones for reconnaissance and artillery targeting, as well as Radmor radio stations. It is good that we are assembling and upgrading tanks domestically. All this is important.

But buying from one or two plants producing military equipment is not yet a jump start for Poland’s industry, the driving force of which was supposed to be the arms sector.

In order to give this declaration some substance, the government needs to buy much more from Polish companies. However, it has been the case to date that, even companies that produce very good, proven products that are useful to soldiers on the modern battlefield, have had problems reaching the military.

A saying that was popular in past times still reverberates that, sometimes, if something has a Made in Poland sticker and was designed or produced in Poland, it has to be worse than a similar one produced abroad. This has to change.

– We produce many systems that can be used for security and civil defense in Poland. We make components for warning, fire detection, health monitoring and many more systems. 97% of our production is currently exported. Some of it then returns to Poland, integrated into various types of devices that Poland buys – says VIGO’s CEO.

– All cogeneration stations and power plants in Poland have our emission detectors that someone from Western Europe previously bought and integrated into their products. This is also the case with the railways. The whole of Europe, and not only, uses our detectors, which “look” at trains from underneath and detect possible threats, such as overheated brakes. Now, Poland will be introducing high-speed railways and it is almost certain that the first choice of the buyers will also be to buy such systems from Western Europe instead of our own – adds Piotrowski.

The CEO argues that his strategy is not to restrict production to Poland alone and this is not his objective at all, but it’s a little sad that 3% of sales are made domestically, while warehouses of numerous foreign automotive, biotech and automation companies as far as the eye can see are located near Warsaw.

– It’s a shame that these plants and warehouses do not have devices integrated by Poles from subassemblies invented and produced in Poland – he emphasizes.

The plant’s people have ambitions and the ability to change this. The company is on the eve of starting major investments. A contract was recently signed to co-finance an investment project for €100m.

Innovative products on a global scale

The Taiwanese are among those interested in the plant’s production. Their recent industrial delegation led by James C.F. Huang, former Taiwanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and currently president of TAITRA (the Taiwan External Trade Development Council), visited VIGO with journalists from leading Taiwanese media.

fot. INFO FOTO FACTORY

The increased activity in the cooperation with Poland, especially in the broadly understood semiconductor industry and preparations for the forthcoming SEMICON Taiwan 2024, meant that the Taiwanese were particularly interested in finding out about the Polish plant’s production.

They decided they should find out about the latest solutions in photonic technologies, on which VIGO Photonics is working, as well as the detectors it produces.

– We are in the process of building a new factory. This project’s budget is almost a billion zlotys, of which $100m is co-financing. We plan to partially finance this project with profits, but also with external funds. VIGO has been a profitable company for 30 years. It makes money on its products. We reinvest some of the funds in new ventures – says Emil Batorowicz, Marketing Director at VIGO Photonics.

VIGO has been listed on the stock exchange since 2015. Since then, its share price has been rising by an average of 20–30% per year. It is sometimes stable for 2–3 years and then increases again. The company is not afraid of innovation; it is constantly introducing new-class products, keeping up with global trends.

– The company is investing over 60m zlotys from the share issue in the start of production of thermal imaging arrays, which are the most important components of the thermal imaging cameras placed, for example, on tank turrets and observation devices on other equipment – emphasizes Emil Batorowicz.

The company is now expecting another technological leap. It has just signed a contract with the National Center for Research and Development for the production of photonic integrated circuits for mid-infrared applications in the ‘HyperPIC’ project.

In less technical language, this means that the company is now becoming involved in the production of photonics (including developing techniques for collecting and processing images, as well as collecting information using electromagnetic radiation) integrated with military optoelectronics. This will enable the company to launch innovative products on the market on a global scale. According to consumer market research, optoelectronics of this type generates hundreds of millions of euros in revenue per year.

Electronics for the military is also a potential 100–200m zloty market for VIGO, but much larger for the integrators of the devices in the platforms they produce, such as drone, tank and self-guided missile manufacturers.

– We produce components, but we enable our customers to produce entire systems. Our components are the heart of these devices – says Emil Batorowicz.

Their infrared detectors are already used in the heads of intelligent ammunition, which can hit a target with high degree of accuracy on the basis of a thermal trace, without posing a threat to civilian structures. The new investments will enable even smaller components to be produced which are therefore even more useful.

– This is important to us because, although our devices are in space, we actually earn money from industry, defense and transport. Space is just the icing on the cake. It is cool and fashionable, but not very profitable today – emphasizes Piotrowski.

– Profit is rather generated from what the satellite enables. For example, it enables moving tanks and troops to reconnoiter the area and detects threats. Therefore, since our devices and detectors are on Mars, at the international space station, and they will now fly to the Moon, they could also be on Polish satellites – adds Piotrowski.

They save health and lives on the battlefield

In the latest Artemis program, the company’s devices on the lunar lander will monitor air quality, protecting the health and lives of astronauts. The next project is to enable components that take up several cubic centimeters to be placed on a single chip.

Watches, cellphones, cars and other electronic devices worn or used on an everyday basis will then be equipped with medical sensors that will monitor health parameters and the quality of the air around us.

This is no longer science fiction today. VIGO is currently working on the development of an entire laboratory placed onto a single chip, which will be contained in a watch or another similar device, that will examine, for instance, the chemical composition of the skin, blood and body fluids, such as saliva or urine and, based on the analysis of these tests, will give alerts that there is something wrong with our health.

It is also working on a glucose testing device. It will be a breakthrough on the market when developed. It will allow the glucose level to be tested without the need to be pricked with a needle. Such devices will be available on the civilian market, but VIGO also has an offering for the military.

The devices it offers to the military can be used not only in space. They can equally well serve land-based forces, saving lives and health. Such as, early warning systems showing that they have been detected.

– Some sort of radiation must be directed at a tank or other combat equipment to detect it. VIGO’s detectors detect single particles of light – photons – as a result of which the vehicle’s protection systems are automatically activated and it has a chance of safely moving out of firing range – explains Emil Batorowicz.

Another example. In the heat of battle, a tank crew may not initially notice that a fire has started inside. When it spreads, it will reach the ammunition that is stored and the whole of the tank will blow up. VIGO’s sensors can detect the first flame as soon as it sparks off so it can be quickly extinguished. The tank could still be operational.

The safety of soldiers is also ensured by the warning devices that are produced. They are better than radar. Radar shows that something is moving, while VIGO’s device enables infrared observation and can detect even a single soldier lying down or another heat-emitting stationary object.

– The truth is that the components produced by the company from Ożarów often constitute 90% of the value of the whole of the electronic device that we buy from foreign companies, and we have a large potential of electronic, optoelectronic, photonic and microelectronic companies in Poland that can supply the military with very good radars, cameras, security systems, fire protection systems, radiation warning systems, blinding systems and missile guidance systems that can be built using these systems. This is a good solution in all respects – argues Adam Piotrowski.